Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

-speaking cultures, a ''verbena'' is an

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, bree ...

, modest

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, or dance party, especially one held at night. An old tradition, they usually take place after dark in summer. Nowadays, some major cities, such as

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, host "permanent" ''verbenas'' (''revetlla'' in Catalan); however, these have a less traditional character than those that appear for only a few days each year. A large contemporary ''verbena'' features mechanical

amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

attractions, and usually some sort of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

. Typical ''verbena'' food includes

churro A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They are also found in Latin American cuisine, Philipp ...

s, ham, cheese, marzipan, candied egg yolks ("yemas"), candied

quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which contains apples, pears, and other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright golden-yel ...

("membrillo"), and sugared fruits—though in recent years, modern

junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calorie#Nutrition, calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, Protein (nutrient), protein, or m ...

s have found their way into the mix. There are always

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s—usually Spanish

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

sangría Sangria ( , ; ) is an alcoholic beverage originating in Spain and Portugal. A Punch (drink), punch, sangria traditionally consists of red wine and chopped fruit, often with other ingredients or Liquor, spirits. Under European Union, EU regu ...

and lager beer. There is usually music and dancing, either organized or spontaneously. In recent years, ''verbenas'' have incorporated recorded

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, and even

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

, but in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

and even beyond,

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

and other traditional music still dominate ''verbenas''. When the musicians take a break, a runner carrying fireworks (''

toro de fuego A ("fire bull" or "bull of fire") (Basque: ''zezensuzko'') is a festive activity in Spain wherein a metal frame resembling a bull, with fireworks attached to it, is set alight, and then carried around town at night as though chasing people in t ...

'') may dash into the crowd. The word ''verbena'' comes without alteration from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. The term originally referred to the plant verbena, from which the term for a fair derives.

Artistic representation

One of the most famous ''

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

'' (Spanish

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

) pieces in the ''

género chico Género chico (literally, "little genre") is a Spanish genre of short, light plays with music. It is a major branch of ''zarzuela'', Spain's form of popular music theatre with dialogue, and differs from ''zarzuela grande'' and most other operatic f ...

'' ("smaller genre") is ''

La Verbena de la Paloma ' (''The Fair of the Virgin of la Paloma'') —subtitled ''El boticario y las chulapas y celos mal reprimidos''— is an 1894 zarzuela with a libretto by and music by Tomás Bretón. It premiered on 17 February 1894 in Teatro Apolo, Madrid. It ...

'' ("The Fair of the Dove"), set at a ''verbena'' on the night of the Virgin of the Paloma, August 14; it was also made into a 1963 movie. There is a 1939 film called '' Verbena Tragica'' (also known as ''Tragic Festival''). The song "Verbena de San Cayetano" celebrates a ''verbena'' in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

References

{{Reflist Festivals in Spain Culture of Spain

Artistic representation

See also

References