Spanish students enjoy a Festival of Street Entertainment in Bilbao

Between the 4th and 9th of July, students from our Spanish school were able to witness a brilliant spectacle of street entertainment along the main shopping areas of Bilbao, from Plaza Moyua along Gran Vía and culminating around El Arenal. The festival was called “Bilboko Kalealdia” and celebrated all different kinds of street entertainment.

For example, students enjoyed dancing to a music concert described as “gypsy/ska/Balkan/reggae and swing” behind Plaza Moyua, as well as watching incredibly impressive gymnastics acts, such as a trio of British girls under the artistic name of “Mimbre” and some street bands playing a fusion of songs from central and eastern Europe.

One of the pièces de résistance of the street festival was a group of men, dressed menacingly and head-to-toe in blue, who began their procession at Plaza Moyua and ended with a spectacular show in front of the Arriaga Theatre on Thursday evening. A band accompanied the blue men, playing ominous beats from the back of a converted truck, and each man along the street had a barrel, which was used as a prop in their coordinated routines and as a musical instrument.

There was so much to see, the weather was nice all the week and the students had a great time seeing Bilbao in an entirely different way