Three Kings. Eight Reindeer. Twelve Days. Or What You Will.

Having ranted about the Christmas Fat Man, I thought I should fulfill my promise, and write about the Reyes Magos.

Christmas is over, and New Year's is passed, and in days of old I would be back at work today, as it's January 2.  But while today is kind of sort of technically not a holiday, anyone with children or teachers in the family still has this week off (ah, the tyranny of the school calendar), because nothing will happen or can happen until January 6, Three Kings Day.

The Reyes Magos (or "wise kings" as one Spaniard I know quaintly referred to them in English) have been appearing everywhere in Madrid on their long ride to bring gifts, possibly to el niño Jesus, but definitely (with the enthusiastic help of the Corte Inglés department store and many smaller merchants) to Spanish children (and preferably from the point of view of the merchants) adults as well.  Even with some exposure via Puerto Rico, the ongoing advertising frenzy here is really impressive.  There are already big bleachers set up all along the Paseo de la Castellana (like those set up for the Thanksgiving Day Parade on Central Park West in New York) in preparation for their grand arrival in Madrid this Friday (obviously they have to stop in Madrid Friday in order to get to Bethlehem by Saturday) in a Cabalgata (or more properly camel-gata), officially devoted to celebrating "the power of imagination and creativity."  I understand people are encouraged to arrive at least six hours early to see the parade from a good vantage point.  Fortunately, there are also local parades in other parts of Madrid.  I may check out the Carabanchel one, which parades down General Ricardos, which is conveniently within walking distance of my apartment, and which thanks to a relatively large contingent of non-Catholics in the neighborhood may be less well attended.  Will share photos if I end up going.

A further note on Spanish custom and gender norms....

 

Having just watched "El Intermedio" I have a quick further thought

 

 In light of the current (and recurring) hysteria about sexual harassment by politicians and so on in the Anglosphere, I watched the final (absolutely funny and charming) segment of "El Intermedio" this evening with something like shock.  I think it's superb that the Spanish manage to be concerned about sexism while still managing a considerable sense of humor about what my Complutense mentor refers to as the "national characteristic of invading people's personal space."

On Ads and Aspirations....

Some speculative and unscientific hypotheses I have developed watching the "publicidad" on Spanish TV

 

Faithful readers who are practicing their Spanish may appreciate the clips below, as they are narrated nice and slowly and clearly.  Be warned, however, that while repeated viewings will lead to full comprehension, they may also lead to a strange desire to buy beverages and cleaning products.

I'm just back from a fun but exhausting weekend in Belgium, and feeling very happy to be back in my cozy city once more, where I can see the sun.  I've been given another good archive lead, which I will follow up shortly, as tomorrow and Friday are both puentes which I plan to use for rest, recuperation, and possibly some writing time.  In the meantime, here are a few thoughts about Spanish TV which have been kicking around my head for a while (I watch way too much TV here), and which being away for a few days brought into focus.

A Russian friend of mine this weekend, in the attempt to persuade me that the world was not falling apart, said that she traced social progress through Hollywood movies because they are mass, popular culture, so once an idea is there it is never radical or elitist, but by default mainstream, and said that she traced the rise of tolerance to the ways movies were made now as opposed to fifty years ago.  I see her point, but what I didn't say at the time is that even Hollywood movies are frequently aspirational: they don't so much reflect an actual social consensus as the social consensus that the people in Hollywood wish existed.  In that respect they may be more progressive than the US as a whole.  (My friend doesn't know the US at all except from the movies, so she has no way of realizing that.)  I assume that the same is true for Spanish TV advertisements, and perhaps even more so since the point of a TV ad is even more explicitly to get people to buy stuff, so obviously the ads present an aspirational lifestyle --- a world which doesn't exist but which could if you are willing to buy X product (or a dystopia which doesn't exist but which might if you don't buy X product).  Still, to the extent that ads reflect both the preoccupations and the dreams of their target demographics, I have made a few tentative hypotheses about Spain the present day.  These are unscientific and unsupported by any hard demographic data, but I bet they could be confirmed (because I bet the highly paid people who made the ads confirmed them).  Read on for my thoughts, and for some funny youtube clips.