A Serendipitous Festival

Shortly after arriving in Majadahonda, I looked up Madrid festivals on the Internet. Festivals are a Spanish thing, right? There were so many, but most were quite far into the summer. However, there was one in particular that was going to happen that very week!

On June 13, I attended my very first Spanish festival: San Antonio de la Florida. I attended with a former au pair, who I actually met that night. We were not exactly expecting much once we got to Parque del Oeste. Little did we know, that we would walk into this:

One of Madrid's biggest street parties! In just a two-block radius, there were rides, games, concerts, traditional dancing, and just all around entertainment.

In old Dell Rapids style, it reminded me a bit of Cootie Days! (Except much cooler...) Also, I had never actually seen one of these in person, just in movies:

The best part of the evening was the traditional Madrid dressers. The festival is in honor or San Antonio, the patron saint of seamstresses. Tradition states that single girls place 13 pins in the baptismal font of the hermitage. If one sticks to her finger, then she will marry within a year. Here are the kind women we met who were very curious as to why I wasn't married yet:

Little girls dressed in traditional clothing danced to the music. So adorable!

At last, my Dancing with the Stars training has come in handy. So many Paso Dobles! And I actually knew what that was!

The dancing was truly fascinating and lovely to watch. Makes me wish that I was born in Madrid.

The man in the middle of this picture talked to us for over an hour. So much Spanish--I thought my head would explode!

After all of the traditional people left, there was a concert to follow. It was one of the funniest concerts that I have ever been to. To start off, the female singer costume changed after about every song, while the male singer simply left his shirt open. 

Most importantly, there were synchronized dances to almost every single song. It felt like an 80s teen movie where every person knows the exact same dance at the prom. Awesome.

Also, this is the most high-tech DJ that I have ever seen...

With traditional, funny, and interesting bits throughout, the night turned out to be an absolute blast. So Madrid, so Spain!

At the end of the night, we said goodbye to San Antonio de la Florida. What a pleasant surprise. Some might say it was serendipity.