Hey all, sorry for the gap between this post and my last post. I recently started an intensive session class called Social Context: History of Contemporary Spain. The class meets for three hours a day, five days a week all of last week and this week. A week from today, however, I will be starting classes with Spanish students at the Universidad de Sevilla. More to come on that subject in the future. Anyway, as promised, I wanted to post about the Sevillano nighttime culture. My last post documented the culinary culture of Seville and provided a brief introduction to the unique schedule of the Sevillano day.
As in America, Sevillanos start the day early with a cup of coffee. Most stores open at around 10 a.m. and remain open until about 2 p.m., when they close for a brief siesta. As previously noted, this siesta is a resting period of a few hours in which Spaniards relax, eat lunch, or sleep. Unlike the drab American workday in which there is a push for constant productiveness, Spaniards allow themselves this siesta period and reopen their stores from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. So, although Seville is a bustling, active city, there is certainly a sense of "island time" when compared with a teeming, quick-paced metropolis like New York City. Not to mention, many of the Sevillanos stroll carelessly around or leisurely ride their bikes down the cobblestone streets.
Even the nightlife feels the affects of a more eased, airy environment. The tapas bars rarely open before 8:30 p.m. and people milk their slight dinners for hours, finally paying the bill close to 11 o'clock. Next, Sevillano adults might walk around town, window-shopping with the intention of finding the perfect pastry shop to finish the night. As for the Sevillano juveniles, however, the night lasts much longer. Sevillano youths trounce around on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights looking to dance and fraternize. Sadly, in the American college environment, alcohol is the main form of recreation. Students drink to excess and often suffer the consequences. American college kids have the dangerous tendency to drink a lot of alcohol (in the form of shots of hard liquor) in a short amount of time, before stumbling over to parties at on-campus houses or fraternities.
In Spain, however, the adolescent culture is much different. Sure, Sevillanos certainly appreciate socially drinking alcohol, but in a much more reserved, comfortable manner. Rather than rapidly guzzle shots, Sevillanos begin the night with the botellón. The botellón, which translates to "big bottle," is a period in which a group of Spanish youth leisurely drink before moving to a bar or a discoteca. Whereas Americans drink a lot of alcohol in a short period of time, Sevillanos drink less alcohol and pace themselves over a longer stretch. A botellón can take place inside someone's house or in the street. Up until now, I have only experienced smaller botellóns in my own residencia. The past few weeks have seen Spanish college students occupied by the final exams of their first cuatrimestre (semester), but I am told that larger, public botellóns take place when the weather is nice right beside the river. During the botellón, Sevillanos drink wine, Cruzcampo or tinto de verano, a type of sparkling red wine. The botellón is more about socializing than gorging oneself on alcohol.
After the botellón, at around 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Sevillanos may move to a bar. Here, the drinking fare is the same, and the goal to socialize, meet new faces and converse with friends remains unchanged as well. The night ends with a romp at the hottest discoteca, of which there are many. These discotecas are like American clubs and formal attire is required. At the discotecas, Sevillanos dance to their favorite music, of which there are many genres. Funnily enough, many discotecas play the same hip hop and pop songs that they play in America. The only differences are that the songs may be out of style in America and the verses of the song are re-recorded in Spanish (though the choruses remain intact). Finally, Sevillanos return home after a long night, at 5 or 6 a.m. They catch up on a little sleep before waking up for classes, counting the minutes until their siesta. Needless to say, drinking is still a popular form of socializing, but there is little pressure on Spanish youth to drink for the sole purpose of getting drunk. Rather, Spanish people drink to calm their nerves and enjoy their friends and their favorite music. Check back soon for a new roll of photos and some more posts before the week's end!
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