Carnival: The Burial of the Sardine

Alright ladies and gentlemen and the rest of you, tonight was the end of Carnival. The last event was something called The Burial of the Sardine. Yes, that's not a typo, sardine. The stinky little fish that come in a can. Except here the potent little buggers are eaten in all kinds dishes from tapas to paellas, not just on crackers at the hobo camp. 

Tonight's event has everything to do with the death of the king of Carnival. His passing was announced this afternoon at city hall, his body was 

placed on a bier, and a procession of costumed figures followed him through town down to the beach. Not to be missed (sorry but you'll have to look elsewhere for photos of this because mine turned out terribly blurry) 

were the gaggle of wailing widows following his parade float-turned funeral carriage. Most of these wailing widows were men dressed like church ladies in their sunday finest. (and many of them could be seen disappearing into La Lococola immediately after the ceremony.)

The funeral itself was another spectacular evert full of costumed figures and fireworks. There was a reading of what I think was his will or some kind of death announcement. (Again I curse the fact that I haven't learned much Catalan.) Then his body was carried by his retinue down to the edge of the sea, followed by a crowd of mourning townsfolk. I was pretty far back in the crowd so I couldn't see everything that went on. But suddenly the crowd surged back and the bier burst into flame. This was followed by a musical fireworks display that would rival that of any fourth of July celebration. 

As for the bit about the sardine, part of the ceremony is the burial of a sardine. I have no idea from where this custom comes. And I've actually tried to research it. There are numerous stories. The simplest and best I think is that the burial of a sardine attracts evil spirits to the sardine so they'll leave the soul of the passing king alone. 

El rey es muerto. Viva el rey!