NEW YEAR'S EVE IN SPAIN

Once more people will get together to savour the last dinner of the year. Once more people will overeat expensive food even in spite of being filled up. An average Spanish New year’s eve dinner would be made up of king prawns, croquettes, hake, veal, lamb, asparagus, fish soup, and all kind of desserts such as rice pudding, custards, ice cream or fruit. There would be another typical food called “turron” or nougat candy as well as many other sweets. There will be expensive wines and champagne to drink a toast to the new year. There will also be silly traditions such as starting the new year with red clothes or eating twelve grapes during the twelve rings at midnight. People will go to parties at that time to have fun in several clubs where they will get drunk until the dawn. Such clubs charge very expensive tickets and serve adulterated drinks very expensive too. This people will spend an average of one hundred euros without counting the dinner. While they overeat and overdrink, there also will be people starving in Spain. People sleeping in cars or under the bridge. People ruined because of morgages that cannot pay anymore. Children who will not receive any present. There will be sick people who are not attended because of government cuts. Many people in Spain will hold New Year’s Eve differently. For those who will overeat and overdrink that day I would urge them to think about these people who are not so lucky of enjoying an abundant dinner in the last day of the year. If after thinking of them, they still celebrate New Year’s Eve this way, they would be proving being really bad persons, selfish and insensitive. Why can’t we eat the last dinner of the year like any other dinner? Why it cannot be a single dinner? Why do we must overeat? Maybe because we have been taught by the capitalist system to live Christmas this way. We have been taught to spend as much money as possible these days. We have not been taught to help unlucky people who are in need. We have been taught to be selfish and consumers. I don’t want to belong to this group. And I am not going to follow the capitalist system advices anymore. Actually I want to belong to the other group. The group of people who will starve that day. I will starve that day too through a voluntary abstinence. I will not party nor get drunk. I will not spend money in unnecessary gifts. This will be my way of paying homage to this unlucky group of people. Someone wants to join this group? Happy New Year !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRn1vIMeSx4

    

JOSE MOTA

I know you could accuse me of writing about sad things lately. It is not my fault. The situation in Spain is dramatic, so when talking about news, most of them are negative. That is why this time I am going to talk about something or rather someone funny. He is a well-known Spanish comedian called Jose Mota. He has worked as a comedian since 1985. He has conducted the New Year’s Eve specials TV shows for the last twelve years. All his programmes have achieved top-audience levels. He has made fun of Spanish politicians, bankers, football players, singers or movie stars. He is a great impersonator therefore as he imitates someone it looks like he is the celebrity itself. He also creates common characters. They are not celebrities but common people whom you could meet anywhere. Let’s talk about some of his characters. “La señora del visillo” is an old lady who lives in a village and she spies her neighbors in order to tell others personal things about them. “El tio de la vara” is a country bumpkin who secretly turns into an avenging man who hits with a stick anyone who involves in any sort of wrongdoing activity. “Facundo collado” is a security guard who deals with celebrities at his working place. He asks them for autographs and makes any negative comment about them at the same time so they get angry with him. “El cansino histórico” is focused on the Middle Ages. He is a vassal who runs into famous characters and urges them to have a drink together in a nearby bar but they refused. Then he gets angry with them and insults them with many funny words.

Jose Mota also has performed in Santiago Segura’s movies called “Torrente” as well as several plays. As a voiceover actor Jose Mota has dubbed many movies such as Shrek, Hellboy, or Monsters. He still works and is preparing the New Year’s Eve show of this year. All Spanish people are looking forward to watching it. All Spanish people have really laughed with his shows. Making laugh has never been an easy task. In this time that so many Spanish people cry or live worried,  Mr. Mota has been responsible for replacing sadness with laugh. How nice work !!! There are hundres of videos about Jose Mota’s shows on youtube. You just have to type his name. I have put up two links of some of his more funny sketchs. I hope you enjoy them. If you have ever seen any of his shows comment on this blog about what would be your favorite sketch. Thank you !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXr2P15kpew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWy5mHG8Y-M