Vilanova and Sitges bid farewell to Carnival after seven days of debauchery
Seaside towns celebrate Ash Wednesday with thousands mourning death of King Carnestoltes
The seaside towns of Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sitges, just around 30-minute drive south of Barcelona, bid farewell to Carnival on Ash Wednesday in multitudinary shows after seven days of debauchery.
Both towns buried King Carnestoltes after he arrived on Thursday in Sitges, and on Friday in Vilanova i la Geltrú. The two municipalities had been partying and enjoying the festivities since Fat Thursday, with a Merengada meringue food fight in Vilanova, and a show and parade in Sitges.
In Vilanova, the ceremony started with thousands wearing black and mourning the death of King Carnestoltes in the early evening, even thought, at the time, he was still alive. He read a manifesto before being buried.
Sitges has seen a lot of crying and a long gloomy ceremony as King Carnival read his last wills on the Fragata beach before being burned down.
After Carnival, this iconic seaside town welcomes the Senyora Quaresma, or Madame Lent, which ends a magnificent week of glut and sins. She then goes and gives out 'bunyols de vent' a lent desert to everyone that wants one.