Phenomenon of Botellón

 Botellón is a Spanish way to spend nighttime. The name comes from word botella which means big bottle. During this night young people drink alcohol on the street, squares, listen to the music and talk to each other.



Spanish buy alcohol in supermarkets. There are plenty of shops which sale ice cube for them as well. Everybody knows this kind of place in their city. So they meet without arranging. They usually spend there time from 11pm till 3am and later go to the clubs.
This customs comes from Andalusia but students from Extremadura make it more common in the '90s.
Most of the participants are men but every year come more girls. The most popular drink is beer, mixed drinks and calimocho. The less common is wine and cider. They also smoke cigarettes and cannabis.

Opponents of botellón talk about bad sides of effect. Major problems are: noise, vandalism and health issues. 

Some locals governments set special area for this entertainment.  In Granada is square which capacity is 20,000 people. In Alicante is a square on a pier.

Some of online botellón were reported having half million of users e.g. macro-botellón which happened on March 17, 2006.

San Fermín

I like Spanish festivals because are very exuberant and many people from abroad come to take part in them. Even one million tourists come to see them. One of that festivals is San Fermín from Pamplona in Nevarra. It is a catholic holiday but one of the most important event is the running of the bulls (encierro). 

  Encierro

The festival begins on 6th of June and finish on 14th of June. People wear white clothes with red scarves. After that all bulls die during the corrida which is organized for participants.

Tradition of San Fermín was born in the 14th century. It was connected with the beginning of the summer, sale of cattle in town on the square and holiday in church.



What do you think about Spanish style of life and culture?