by multicultural festivity enthusiasts Dan and Dídima
Welcome back to The Holiday Bonus: The feature where we show you the best part of adding another cultural perspective to your creative team. Namely, turning their holidays into office parties. (Check out the previous features on Wizards Kings Day and San Agustín.) Up today: Día de Asturias!
Asturias is the one that's comfortably far from France, but uncomfortably close to Portugal. Also, it's yellow.
Asturias, Dídima's homeland, is a region in the Northern coastal part of Spain. Because regions in Spain have pretty distinct identities, the Spanish people all love being from their neck of the woods just as much as they love being Spanish--probably more even. It would be like if America was made up of all Texases. (I'll pause while you shudder.) Obviously this has some downsides (like the fact that Barcelona insists on speaking their region's crappy step-child version of Spanish, Catalan), but not for you, American employer! Oh no, for you this is pure upside: adding Dídima to a team not only means you can celebrate Spanish holidays, but Asturian holidays too! Let's break down their big day, and ask that question for the ages:
How can we turn this into an office party?
First some quick background. Asturias Day, September 8, is focused on celebrating traditional Asturian stuff. It's a place of forests, mountains, the sea, dairy farms, and sidra (apple cider). I guess what I'm trying to convey in a nice way is that it's sort of country. There are definitely some good-sized cities (Oviedo, Gijon), but if you're going to celebrate tradition, you're going to focus on stuff like music, meals, old school carnival games, and getting totally shit-faced. Now, most of this you won't easily replicate in your office. I mean, do you know somebody who plays bagpipes or somebody who makes a mean tortilla patata or somebody who works leather or blows glass? (Yeah? Well get off the internet and hang out with that person.) But the real key to Día de Asturias is pride. To make a successful party, you gotta go all in and pretend you're an artisan cheese maker slash lumberjack who can pour sidra with the best of them. Nay, not pretend--believe. You must become an artisan cheese maker slash lumberjack who can pour sidra with the best of them!
The Costumes
Traditional Asturian dress, please. That means this:
Wear your costume with pride! Dance! Be merry!
The Libations
Okay, time for a crash course in sidra. Sidra is a carbonated alcoholic beverage derived from apples. It's kind of a big deal in Asturias. They seriously have places dedicated to serving it. Which in itself is a very specific practice. Here's a dude showing the proper way to pour:
Avoid looking directly into the eyes.
And here's me fucking it up:
Fig A: Stupid American.
A pro sidra pourer takes your glass and puts the sidra bottle as high as possible over his head, pouring directly down into the tilted vessel. Traditionally everybody at the table shares the same cup, so you drink the whole thing in one gulp (only like an inch of the cup is filled), then get the pro server to refill for your friend's turn.
Here's me showing the proper way to drink:
Any Asturias Day depends on sidra. There's no greater measure of pride than drinking for your country! (/Your autonomous region within your country!) Obviously the US doesn't make sidra proper, but you can always amass some six packs of Strongbow or Woodchuck Draft Cider. I can't say it's really the same thing, but it is related, and it will get you, ahem, inebriated.
The Food
Asturians are proud of their cheese, cured meats, jams, bread, and deserts. You should eat all those things. But if you're going to do this celebration with pride, you have to eat Fabada Asturiana. It's just their thing. Here's a recipe for the culinarily inclined. It takes some time and skill though. Nobody said pride was easy. (Just ask Ricky Martin.)
The Activities
You watched the costume video, right? Do that. It's easier after you practice the sidra ritual a couple times. Remember that Asturias Day oftentimes takes the form of a festival/carnival-like atmosphere, so here's what else to do:
You would think that being a girl from Europe I should know about fashion, style and clothes. Ok, you're right. I will share in this blog section all this fashion ability that I have in my spanish blood. As you know the fashion gap between Europe and America is about two years. So basically, I can tell you what will be cool before it's cool here. (I am not a fortune teller, I just have Spanish contacts)
And here is my first question for you: What is wrong about denim jackets? Why not denim jackets? I don't understand why people don't wear them. It's completely normal (trust me, I'm European. We make the rules about these things). Denim exists besides pants (yes, america, yes). Then, if you stopped using denim jackets in the 80's maybe you should consider wearing them again. Recycling can be an option (it is understandable if you can't because of size problems with age, ugly patches, or your mom probably threw it away). Denim jackets are a great garment during Spring and Autumn time. Maybe all the time if you live in SF. It is perfect for a casual attire. Because it matches with almost with everything (skirts, casual dresses, nice dresses, shorts...) and colors.
But just being a denim jacket doesn't always make it acceptable. Sorry to the owner of this jacket or if you found a photo of your mom wearing something similar, but it's an absolute no. If you find something like that, never buy it. If you have it, burn it or give it to Good Will, or save it for a theme party about bad denim jackets.
Hey and don't forget to roll up the sleeves to give it more of an edge. Much cooler, of course.
If you were wondering, distressed and bedazzled denim jackets, obviously no. They weren't cool, aren't cool and never will be cool.
Wearing a denim jacket with jeans or a denim skirt is not that ok. But if you do (are you Canadian?), never use different tonalities of denim, please…
So those are the basic rules for denim jackets. It has already been cool about two years in Spain, so it should be the perfect time to start wearing them here. Here is a photo of me,my two-year-old jacket, my friend Raquel and a cute kitty.
For good or bad here is the first part of the playlist that I am creating. If you know me you would say "it is very Dídima," and if you don't you would get an idea.
I love music. I am better at listening than playing it. I used to play the piano and the drums. When I work I need to listen to music, it helps me to get inspired. Sometimes the inspiration requires listening to the same song over and over (I didn't kill any yet…at least not for me).
I decided to share with Spotify (something really European too). If you don't have it, sorry. If you do, great, you can listen to it. And if you have the premium, much better for you without listening to this painful advertising. (Can you believe sometimes advertising is not that good?!)
Click here to listen the playlist on Spotify: visa
by trans-culturalist communications theologians Dan and Dídima
Every day in advertising brings new challenges. (We're assuming here. We don't have jobs yet.) To get through it, you need a lot to be going your way. Hard work, persistence and luck are all great, but even those aren't always enough. Some times it takes divine intervention.
Now, to restate, we're not technically in the ad industry yet, but we've hung around plenty of people who are. If they're any indication, ad folks aren't always on the best terms with the man upstairs. When you need that divine intervention, but you're not exactly on a first-name basis with Big G, fear not, the Spanish have a solution for you: go through an intermediary.
Every day happens to be some saint's day: a day on which they're totally in tune with the holy spirit (sort like it's their birthday, and heaven's throwing the party). You just have to know which saint's day it is, and that's your man. Beg him to give your heavenly wishes some wings.
So how do you know which saint to turn to when the the office descends into chaos?
Easy. You consult your Advertising Saints Prayer Calendar, which you got by clicking here:
