The streets were lined with spectators eagerly awaiting the start of the procession - which was more or less on time. The music coming out of the sound system along the route was SO loud you could feel the pavement vibrating - unsuprisingly the only empty spaces along the route was right next to these speakers!
There were 41 penyas taking part in the fancy dress procession but I must say I was somewhat dissapointed this year. You could tell that there is a recession on .... last year you could see alot of money had been spent on the extravagant costumes. The opening last year had an entourage of semi clad girls with amazing glittering peacock fans and head gear - this year, due to lack of funds the two girls were costumeless... gyratting naked with just some body paint to cover their dignity! This was an indication of what was to follow... one penya had been very creative by making their costumes out of newspaper. Others included American football team; Butterflies; Cowboys; Doctors; Smurfs; Simpsons; Basketball team to name some. The crowds enjoyed themselves boping to the beat of the music and cheered all the participants along.
The procession was all over by 11pm and on the way home I passed by "The Square" on Calle Gerona - it was almost deserted except for some smokers outside having a quick fag. Alot of the nightspots are still closed such as Broadway and waiting for the season to begin... roll on Easter.
