The festival of San Jorge last night went beyond my expectations-- I guess I should've expected it, because Spaniards always know how to through a party. Here's a bit of the story (fictitious) behind San Jorge:
San Jorge was a victorious Christian knight in the wars between the Christians and the Moors. This part of the story is entirely true. Here comes the not so true part... In Cáceres at this time there was a dragon; some say he had as many as seven heads. The dragon kept raiding the city, eating everything in site, people included. It was a dangerous time for the pueblo. They knew they couldn't go on with this danger and uncertainly forever, so they made a deal with the dragon. They sent the dragon to live up on top of the mountain, and every day a lovely young maiden, drawn at random, had to go up and feed the dragon. Sounds like a good deal, right? The problem was, the dragon would not just eat the food, he'd eat the maiden too. The townspeople begged the king to put an end to this, to find some way to kill the dragon. But the king refused, because this situation was working. Working for everyone except the young maidens. Time went on, and every day another maiden was eaten by the dragon without the king batting an eye. Then one day, they drew the name of the unlucky lady, and it was the king's daughter, the beautiful princess of Cáceres. Suddenly, the king was not so content with the situation. He refused to let his daughter die as the victim of the dragon. The town's people revolted against the king-- their daughters had not been spared, so neither should the king's be! The king sent out a cry for help in a desperate attempt to save his daughter before mealtime. San Jorge heard this plea, came riding in on his white horse, and rode up the mountain. A battle ensued, and San Jorge came out as victor over the dragon and savior of Cáceres.
Last night in the plaza, costumed interpretive dancers acted out the Christian and Muslims wars and the story of San Jorge. Upon the Christian victory, a fireworks show began over the plaza, which is an unbelievably beautiful setting for fireworks. Right at the firworks were ending, the dragon (which was on the steps of the ayuntamiento/city hall) burst into flames, symbolizing the victory of San Jorge. After the show there was also a giant hunt in the old quarter for a hidden chicken, full of 300 euros, and its eggs, each worth 50 euros.
Also, entirely unrelated... I forgot to mention in my last post that a group of about 15 of us went out for dinner and the movies on Friday night. We went and saw the Hunger Games-- what an awesome movie! I think I'll be reading the books before too long :)
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