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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Burial of the Sardine


Carnaval here ends with a parade that marks the traditional burial of the sardine, supposedly to commemorate the generosity of Carlos III toward his subjects gone very badly wrong: He held a public feast of sardines to mark the beginning of Lent, but they took so long to arrive and it was so warm out (at this time of year?) that his subjects had to bury them in the ground as the only way to eliminate the stench.

For lack of a better cultural reference, it seems a bit like a cross between the Philadelphia Mummers' Parade and a New Orleans Funeral.









The ceremony includes a satirical requiem for the sardine. There is video below, but please be warned that it includes a variety of off-color jokes, many of them about chorizo.







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