TRUCKIN' WITH TRANSHUMANCE
Mood:  bright
Topic: Ruminations
Sunday's sight of the day: Sight of the Day: The annual transhumance (sheep movin' parade) march took place through the center of Madrid, and not a moment too soon. Shepherds were worried that spending a week in the Casa de Campo, surrounded by Nigerian prostitutes would be detrimental to the health of the flock, as some sheep - wait for it - had taken to eating prophylactics left by the sex trade workers. (And they wonder where Almodovar comes up with his material...I tell you, folks, you cannot make this stuff up....)

Were the sheep cute? Yes, especially when they jumped the police barricades to get at the flower beds. (Spanish to the core, these sheep! Tell 'em not to, and they're THERE!) But the sheep have relatively little to do with the entire merino culture: the pendones, teams of standard-bearers who carry 15-meter high staffs bearing damascene silk banners, were far more interesting and, frankly, were having a lot more fun. Ditto for the Maragatos, descendants of Moorish horse traders from north-west Leon province. True, most of those dressed as Maragatos probably don't still live in the region, and I'm willing to wager that 80% haven't been near a horse in their lives. But it's exciting to see that they're willing to dedicate time to preserving the culture of their region. Other Spaniards may be embarrassed at what they see as provincialism; for a foreigner, it's a singular opportunity to witness a part of Spanish culture that doesn't come to Madrid very often.

And what about the sheep? Odds have it that they'll spend their winter away from the sex trade workers, in a specially enclosed area in the Casa de Campo park; when March comes, they'll start the long march back up to Leon and Asturias.