San Isidro!

La Fiesta de San Isidro is one of the most thoroughly celebrated fiesta's in Madrid's calendar. San Isidro is the city's patron saint after all and each year, over the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of May, Madrid's squares, parks and streets are filled with people and music. Families dressed in the traditional costume of Madrid (waistcoats and caps for men, frilled dresses and headscarves for women) head to el Parque de San Isidro to eat rosquillas and enjoy their day off from work and school.

Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too well on the Friday morning so missed the great crowds in fancy dress. Annie and I decided to have a picnic in the park anyway on the Saturday to soak up some festival atmosphere. So, armed with my blanket and snacks, we set off...

We found a lovely spot in the shade by a pond with a gushing fountain and just watched the world go by for a couple of hours. Then when we got a bit peckish we headed back to see if we could find any food and came upon a group of dancers from Paraguay:

 

 

It seems that the feast day of San Isidro is also celebrated in other countries around the world including Mexico, Ecuador and Nigeria.

 

 

 

 

The dancers wore beautiful white skirts that caught the light as they swirled around and around. Incorporated into the dance were sections in which they would balance clay pots or wooden skittles on their heads. By the time they were finished some girls were skipping about with a precarious tower of 5 skittles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a video I managed to get of one of their dances:

 

 

 

 

After the dancing was over Annie and I headed to the foodstalls and ordered a plate each of steaming Paella and a jarra of fruity Tinto de Verano.

 

 

 

 

It had been a very relaxing day and after a quick shopping trip to Principe Pío we headed home in the sunshine. That night I heard the muffled booming of the huge firework display organised over the lake in Retiro park - I hope San Isidro is feeling good after all this veneration!