December 6th: Constitution Day (Dia de la Constitucion)

Dia de la Constitucion (Constitution Day) is celebrated on December 6^th every year to commemorate the day in 1978 when Spain became a democracy.

After the dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975, a general election was held in 1977 and this resulted in the sitting of the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving a new constitution. The constitution was approved and was also accepted by the Spanish people in a referendum in 1978 and Constitution Day has since been celebrated as a national holiday on 6th December in Spain.

Since 1978 the constitution of Spain has only been amended once in order to enable the citizens of other European Union countries living in Spain the right to vote for candidates in local elections, as well as run for office themselves.

Despite the fact that nowadays not too many people in Spain participate in the celebration of Constitution Day, the majority of the Spanish reminisce about the 1978 referendum and are truly proud of their constitution.

Constitution Day in Spain is a national holiday and a day off and as it is such a festive occasion, the Congress of Deputies organizes an open doors day which means that everyone can visit the lower house of the Spanish parliament if they wish to do so.

Stepping back in time

Spain is such a beautiful country and boasts many places which are steeped in history. Thanks to a trip arranged by LA Digital Camera Club, a local camera club of which I'm a member, I recently had the good fortune to be able to visit one such place, Bullas, which is situated in the mountains in the region of Murcia. Due to it's altitudes of 1500-2000 feet and the mediterranean climate, it provides ideal growing conditions for the grapes which are used in the wine making which has made Bullas famous over the years.

After an early start we finally all arrived at the Bodegas del Rosario which was a co-operative established in 1950 and now produces about 85% of the region's wine.  It is a huge site where the wine is made, stored and dispatched.

We met our tour guide in the "tienda" (shop) and were promptly taken to the first stop of the tour, the yard, which is where the grapes are delivered and then classified according to their quality. From there they are harvested into boxes and stored until they are ready for sorting before being put into the massive fermentation tanks. The fermentation tanks differ in size depending on what type of wine is being made. We were then shown the section where the special wine is fermented and stored in oak casks. 

Our next leg of the tour was to see the "almacen" (warehouse) where the wine is finally bottled, labelled, boxed, crated and put on pallets ready for distribution.

Our tour ended an hour later back in the tienda where we were all treated to a wine-tasting session. The tour was great value and we were even given a free bottle of wine of our choice to take home with us.

After making our purchases in the tienda, we then moved on to the Museo del Vino de Bullas (the Bullas Wine Museum)  which was the site for our next tour. The museum is located in an old winery which dates back to the beginning of the 19th Century and once belonged to the Melgares de Aguilar family. In the mid 19th Century the winery's annual production was estimated to be around 350000 litres and was one of the largest wine producers in the old region of Murcia.

We were shown a short video of the history of the area and wine making and then were then taken round the museum which is housed on two floors. Many of the original tools and machinery have been conserved and are on display including the huge earthenware jugs which are still buried in the ground. They also have displays which show various parts of the old wine making process.

All in all, both tours were very informative and well worth the visit.

We finally went on to a local restaurant where we had a lovely "menu del dia" (a 3 course lunch) which was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

To Queue Or Not To Queue-Spanish style

One of the first things we discovered when we moved out to Spain was that the Spanish people in general don't grasp the concept of a queue.
Many a time I've been waiting in the queue at the "correos" (post office) when someone will walk in and go straight up to the counter, ask a question (even while the cashier is serving someone) and they will then end up being served straight away! It's very frustrating at times, especially if you've been waiting patiently for a long time.  Our local post office has now introduced a ticket system to solve the problem but this isn't always successful. Quite often people do not bother to take a ticket or the cashier will advance the ticket number so quickly that, unless you are an athlete and can get to the cashier in 1 second flat, you've missed your turn and then it's panic stations as the person with the next number along is at the desk before you and you have to wait all over again!
Another funny thing we find is when you are waiting for your appointment at the doctors surgery. When the doctors' door opens for the next patient to go in, several people all head towards the door at the same time-just like a herd of stampeding cattle. When the doctor calls your name you have to fight your way through the crowds to get in, only to find that someone else has beaten you to it and, surprise surprise, they get seen and you have to wait until they come out even though it was your turn! Also, quite often, you'd go in and someone will follow you in and ask the doctor a question about a prescription or a problem they have while you sit there!
Whilst on the subject of of queuing at the doctors surgery, when you go to collect your repeat prescriptions from the receptionist it's always best to ask who is the last in the queue as quite often when you get to the desk, someone will jump up from a chair and go in front of you as they've been sitting down rather than stand waiting for a few minutes.
A friend recently had a rather embarrassing moment whilst waiting to see the receptionist. She'd been waiting quite a while and several people had done the usual "trick" of going up to the desk, asking a question and getting seen immediately. It was finally her turn when a lady went straight in front of her. My friend tapped her on the shoulder, told her in her best Spanish that she should get to the back of the queue and wait her turn, only to realise that it was her friends grandmother that she knew very well and she felt so embarrassed at the idea that the lady may have thought her rude, she promptly let her go in front of her!
After living here for 5 1/2 years you tend to get used to the quirks of the Spanish people. Who knows, in another 5 1/2 years I may have perfected the art of queue jumping myself!

Communication Breakdown!!! ooops

We have had some funny experiences when trying to get to grips with the Spanish language over the years. One of the most memorable moments was when Tony went to the Accident and Emergency department of our local hospital when his ankle had swollen to nearly double it's normal size.

It was a Sunday morning and it was fairly quiet when we arrived. We didn't have to wait long before we were called in to see the doctor. When asked what the problem was, Tony told him that he had a problem with his "tornillo". He felt quite pleased with himself at being able to explain in Spanish what the problem was (the doctor spoke no English at all). The doctor looked rather puzzled and we then realised that maybe he hadn't got quite the right word so Tony pointed to his ankle. The doctor smiled and then told him it was his "tobillo"-what Tony had said was that he had a problem with his "screw"! We made a quick exit after Tony got his treatment and we vowed that if we ever had to go back, we'd take a dictionary with us!

 One of the main problems I have found is pronouncing the long words-after 5 1/2 years I can now manage to say "ayuntamiento" ("town hall") with very little effort but still have problems with "mantenimiento" (maintenance). I found the trick is to break the word down bit by bit e.g man-ten-im-i-ento-you may find the natives look at you a bit strangely but at least you're trying! The main thing we have found is that if you try to speak Spanish, people are very willing to help you and will often correct you so that you know what to say in future. 

 The best way of learning the language is to get out and mix with the local people. You pick up lots of phrases that perhaps you wouldn't have learnt through a school or in books or courses that you pay for. Nothing is more empowering than being able to hold a proper conversation with your neighbour in their language.