Friday marked the start of San Froilán, Lugo’s grand
festival. It highlights the Gallego traditions but also includes modern fun. I
knew it was supposed to be big since it lasts a week, but since Lugo has less
than 100,000 inhabitants, I didn’t expect it to be this wild. Imagine a town’s
homecoming fair… plus a music festival and a never-ending flea market, with
festivities consistently lasting til the wee hours. Seriously, at 2:45 AM, one
stage was still occupied, and the streets were still bustling with everyone from toddlers
to the elderly.
To start, we witnessed the showing of livestock in front of the
town hall. It was interesting until I noticed they were being dragged by the
ring in their noses.
Later on Jenny, Lauren, and I headed to a concert by
Heredeiros da Crus, a Galician band. The music was sway- and jump-worthy rock,
and the ambiance was fun. I love when people can sing along, even if I can’t.
It was like a game for me to see what I could understand, and then try to sing
along with the crowd on choruses. This
was my favorite of groups that played their own music. We also checked out the
fair part which included some kiddie rides, Bingo, churros, and lots of bright
lights. We left feeling a sensory overload.
Saturday was the saint’s actual holiday, and for my part
included some people-watching in the Plaza Mayor. An estimated 110,000 people
attended San Froilán, coming from nearby pueblos to celebrate with their
families, so there was definitely a lot to observe. Then, once again, was a
variety of concerts. In the afternoon groups performed traditional Galician
music (bagpipes and drums) and dance. Later on there was a band that sang
English cover songs. When it got dark I
watched fireworks from my apartment. Then two of us headed out to a concert by
Festicultores, a Galician ska band. After we tired of dancing to ska, we headed
to the other stage which was surrounded by older folks. It was a pop group that
apparently sang Spanish hits. A bit later some of the older people dispersed
and it became rock music. To be specific, they played some of my favorite
Spanish bands such as Extremoduro, “El Roce de tu Cuerpo” by Platero y Tú, and
“Posada de los Muertos” by Mägo de Oz. Safe to say I was stoked and screamed the lyrics with the best of them.
Sunday was a chill day, as if Lugo was recovering from two nights of all-night fiestas. However there were more wandering Galician bands,
with people spontaneously waltzing (or whatever it was). At night we went to La
Pegatina’s concert with Lauren’s Spanish roommate and friend. They’re a bit
more famous in Spain, and play a variety of upbeat tunes, like ska meets
merengue. Apart from being happy dance music, the band seems really
down-to-earth. One of the members put on a cape and crowdsurfed as we cheered
“Es el super galego.”
 |
| Creepy street performer puppet |
Concerts have been going on every night since, and will end in a grand finale of the popular Spanish band, Love of Lesbian. I went to a show a few days ago that was Celtic/Galician and people in the crowd just got up to dance a special Gallego dance, and then just regular dancing in pairs.
