265 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
265 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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travel
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brittany_ferries
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8503064
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# Holidays in Spain: Cantabria festivals
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## There's an amazing variety of festivals to enjoy in the Cantabria region
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of Spain, says Annie Bennett.
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![Cantabria festivals: unusual costumes at La Vijanera in Sili][1]
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Image 1 of 2
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Cantabria festivals: unusual costumes at La Vijanera in Sili
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![Cantabria festivals: grilling sardines at the Carnaval Marinero in
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Santoa][2]
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Image 1 of 2
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Cantabria festivals: grilling sardines at the Carnaval Marinero in Santoa
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3:40PM BST 13 May 2011
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From small village celebrations to major cultural events, you are likely to
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come across a festival in some shape or form whenever you are in the region.
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**La Vijanera**
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On the first Sunday of the year, the village of Silio is transformed by the
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festival of La Vijanera, which sees its residents parade in a variety of masks
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and animal skins in a piece of street theatre designed to ward off evil
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spirits. You can see an even stranger sight in February in Santoña, where
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locals dress up as fish for the Carnaval Marinero. But it's the summer months
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that are particularly lively.
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**San Juan**
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The midsummer festival of San Juan - Saint John - is celebrated throughout
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Spain on June 23 and 24 with bonfires and beach parties. One of the best places
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to experience it is San Juan de la Canal beach in Soto de la Marina, just west
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of Santander. There is live music until midnight, when the bonfire is lit, then
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the fireworks start and the dancing goes on into the small hours.
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## Related Articles
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* [Family holidays][3]
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13 May 2011
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* [Holiday in Spain: Cantabria introduction][4]
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13 May 2011
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Something similar will be happening on a lot of other beaches, including
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Suances and, of course, Santander.
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Inland, there are good San Juan festivities in Corvera de Toranzo, about half
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an hour's drive south of Santander, with local choirs, a big barbecue and
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children's activities.
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At the eastern end of the coast, Castro-Urdiales celebrates San Juan and also
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holds another festival, El Coso Blanco, on July 1. Starting in the evening,
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there is a parade of elaborate floats then the locals party the night away to
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the sound of live music.
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**Baños de Ola**
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If you are in Santander in the middle of July, you might wonder why there are
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a lot of people on El Sardinero beach wearing old-fashioned bathing costumes.
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They are commemorating the custom of Baños de Ola -- wave baths -- which began
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in the mid-19th century when the health benefits of swimming in the sea were
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first recognised.
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As well as enjoying the party atmosphere on El Sardinero and other beaches,
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there are also exhibitions and guided tours to help you find out more about
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that glamorous period in the city's history. The festivities continue in
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Santander with the Semana Grande taking place in the last week of July, with
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bullfights, theatre, concerts and street parties.
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**Santander International Festival**
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Semana Grande is followed by the [Santander International Festival][5], which
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carries on throughout August with a varied programme of cultural events,
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including live music and performances by renowned international artists.
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There will be celebrations throughout the region on Cantabria Day on August
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14. Perhaps the best place to experience this festival is Cabezon de la Sal,
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25 miles south-west of the capital. There is a livestock market, after which
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cattle, sheep and goats are paraded through the streets. There is also a local
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crafts fair and lots of traditional food as well as folk music with pipers and
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drummers.
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**Gala Floral**
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During the last two weeks of August, you might come across a festival
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involving lavish displays of flowers. One of the most extravagant is the Gala
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Floral in Torrelavega, which takes place this year on August 21, at the end of
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the week-long Virgen Grande festival, when there is a parade of floats
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decorated with thousands of multicoloured blooms.
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On the last Friday in August, you might want to drop into the seaside town of
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Laredo to take part in the Battle of the Flowers. This tradition dates back
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more than a century, when emigrants brought tapestries back from Latin
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America, which were then recreated by the locals using flowers. After the
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procession of floats adorned with freshly picked petals, everyone ends up
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throwing flowers at each other and there is a fireworks display on Salve beach.
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There is a totally different kind of festival at the end of August and
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beginning of September in Los Corrales de Buelna, south of Torrelavega, when
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the locals stage a dramatic re-enactment of the Cantabrian Wars, which took
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place between the Cantabrians and the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.
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Witnessing any of these festivals will give you a fascinating insight into the
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strong traditions that make Cantabria such a distinctive region, as well as
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being a lot of fun too.
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][7]
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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[Tweet][10]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8503064/Spain-
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Holidays-Cantabria-festivals.html
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Telegraph
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## [Brittany Ferries][11]
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* ### [Sponsored »][12]
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* ### [Travel »][13]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][9]
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* [Tweet][10]
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* [![Brittany Ferries][14]][15]
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Brittany Ferries competition
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### [Win a trip to Cantabria][16]
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[![Win a trip to Cantabria][17]][16]
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Here's your chance to win a return cruise-ferry crossing from the UK's south
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coast to Santander, courtesy of Brittany Ferries.
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[**Enter the Brittany Ferries competition here**][16].
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The closing date is June 30, 2011.
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Travel with Brittany Ferries
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### [Travel with Brittany Ferries][18]
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[![Brittany Ferries: Cap Finistere][19] ][18]
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Take the Brittany Ferries service from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander and
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you get a wonderful mini-cruise as part of your holiday.
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### [Where to stay in Cantabria][20]
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[![Cantabria accommodation: Hotel Torre de la Ruesga][21] ][20]
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From chalets and quaint casas to luxurious escapes, Debbie Toms picks her top
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places to stay in Cantabria, Spain.
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### [Cantabria holiday accommodation][22]
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[![Hotel El Rebeco, Fuente De][23] ][22]
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There are many fantastic places to stay when you travel to Cantabria with
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Brittany Ferries. Here's some of the very best.
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01894/La-Vijanera-
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costum_1894975c.jpg
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[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01894/Carnaval-Marinero-
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_1894976a.jpg
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[3]: /sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8503238/Family-holidays-Cantabria-
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Spain.html
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[4]: /sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8502837/Spain-Holidays-
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Cantabria.html
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[5]: http://www.festivalsantander.com
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[6]: #
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[7]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-article-
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What-are-these.html
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[8]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
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this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
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the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such
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as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
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%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8503064
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/Spain-Holidays-Cantabria-festivals.html %0A%0AFor the best content online,
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visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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[9]: javascript:print()
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[10]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
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[11]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/
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[12]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/
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[13]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/travel/
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[14]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01895/in_association_wit_
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1895213a.gif
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[15]: http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/
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[16]: http://www.cantabriabycar.com
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[17]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01895/Brittany-Ferries-
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c_1895248e.jpg
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[18]: /sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8502918/Brittany-Ferries-
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Cantabria-Spain.html
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[19]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01894/Cap-
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Finistere_1894901e.jpg
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[20]: /sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8503323/Holiday-accommodation-
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Cantabria.html
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[21]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01895/hotel-torre-de-
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rue_1895159g.jpg
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[22]: /sponsored/travel/brittany_ferries/8510228/Cantabria-holiday-
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accommodation.html
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[23]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01892/Hotel-de-
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Rebeco_1892182g.jpg
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