San Antón - yet more animal cruelty

Horses leap bonfires in controversial festival


More than 100 horses and riders leapt the flames of roaring bonfires in a small Spanish town in a centuries-old festival that has raised the ire of animal rights activists.

Smoke and flames filled the night in San Bartolomé de Pinares, a central Spanish town of some 600 inhabitants, in the annual festival held on Thursday, the eve of Saint Anthony's Day for the patron saint of animals.

One by one, horses and their riders jumped the flames of large bonfires lit in the narrow, paved streets of the town, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Madrid.

 
 
 
Vocabulary:

to leap (jump) -

a bonfire -

roaring (adj) -

a flame -

the eve of -

narrow -

lit -

paved -

to sit astride -

fiercely -

to date back -

concerned (worried) -

welfare -

to no avail -

to bless -

a mane -

a tail -

plaited -

to catch fire -

to sprinkle -

evil -

to ride  (rode, ridden) -

to engulf -

indeed -

to sting -

a youngster -

to pass down -

a helmet -

checkered -

the reins (of a horse) -

to reject -

to slip -

harm (n) -

to tame -


 
 
 


Comments

Anonymous said…
Hello i'm Conchi, it have been very difficult to find the way to leave a comment and i didn't know how to do anything.
I liked the text about horses,
Excuse me , i don't have time to write anything more.
Roberto said…
To leap:Saltar. A bonfire:Hoguera. Roaring:Ardiente(o rugiente).A flame:Llama. The eve of:La vispera. Narrow:Estrecho. Lit:Iluminado. Paved:Pavimento. To sit astride:Sentarse a horcajadas. Fiercely:Salvajemente. To date back:Datar de (desde hace). Concerned:Preocupado. Welfare:Bienestar. To no avail:Sin utilidad. To bless:Bendecir. A mane:Melena. A tail:Cola. Plaited:Trenzado. To catch fire:Prender fuego. To sprinkle:Rociar,esparcir. Evil:Malo,malvado. To ride:Conducir. To engulf:Engullir,envolver. Indeed:Ciertamente. To sting:Pinchar. A youngster:chico joven. To pass down:Transmitir. A helmet:Casco. Checkered:cuadriculado. The reins:Las riendas. To reject:Rechazar. To slip:Escurrirse. Harm:Daño. To tame:Domesticar.
luciti said…
Hi Grahem!

I have read the article.

It's difficult undertanding why spanish people need to do things onlyn because it's a custom, even things what are a savagery. However there are good habits that they are ancient and spanish people don't respect, for example, to give way to somebody in the street or to give sit to somebody
in public transport, not to sholift.... I think that it's what a father have to learn to his son!!
lucia
Graham said…
Hi Conchi,

Welcome to the blog.

It can be difficult to get started in the blog. But after the first few times, it'll get much easier.

Just look at José - he's an expert now.


Go to Spain or Madrid to find other local or national stories.


Sorry , I don't have time to write anything else.


What's the difference between excuse me and sorry?

You can tell me in class tomorrow.

Graham said…
Hi Roberto,

As far as I can see most of the words that you have translated are fine. I only have doubts about: paved - it's an adjective, pass down - to give to the next generation and I'd translate indeed as "de hecho" or "en efecto".

Sometimes it's easier to look up the English definition.

One word can have many meanings.

Graham said…
Hi Lucía,

We missed you in class the other day - José was lost without you. :-)

I couldn't agree with you more. I have never understood the arguement - "but it's a Spanish tradition".

I will never understand why people get enjoyment out of seeing animals suffer.

"You can judge a society by the way it treats its animals" said Gandhi. I wonder what that says about Spain.


It's difficult to understand why Spanish people need to do things just because it's a custom, even things that are savage. However there are good habits that are old and Spanish people don't respect them, for example, giving way to somebody in the street or giving your seat up to somebody on public transport, not shoplifting.... I think that it's what parents have to teach their children!!


See you next week.
José said…
Hey Graham, I have not told you that all Scots are drunks but, with all due respect, I don´t believe that you are teetotal.

I told you last weekend that nobody does it quite like you do. I mean that you are the unique that check our writings. You stimulate the participation and you compel we to study more. Also, you do with good mood. ¿Am I a teacher´s pet?

On Hogmanay I went to Houyhnhnm, a country from the book Gulliver´s Travels of Jonathan Swift. This man was from Ireland, as you know. I had been to Houyhnhnm (Houys) for four days. In this country the horses were in control, not the human beings. The human beings (Yahoos) were wild, meanwhile the horses were very intelligent. I saw the Yahoos made the worst works and the horses despise them. One night, in a horsy festival, the Yahoos were tied to the horses. The Yahoos were dragged by the horses along the ground filled of flames, bonfires and smoke. It was spooky, the Yahoos were scary and they were roaring. It was very cruelty. The horses laughed and they said that the Yahoos had not been frightened. It was an old tradition in Houys.

Greetings. José.
Graham said…
José,

Would you believe that I was tee-total for about six months?

For me it's easier being vegetarian LOL


I wish everybody was as happy as you are with their lessons.

You can please some of the people some of the time but...





... I mean that you are the only one that checks our writings. You stimulate the participation and you compel us to study / make us study more. Also, you do it all with a good mood. ¿Am I a teacher´s pet?

(I'm surprised - am I really in such a good mood at 8am????. Yes, you are a teacher's pet - if you were a dog, you'd be an unusual pedigree :-))

On Hogmanay I went to Houyhnhnm, a country from the book Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift. This man was from Ireland, as you know. (I didn't know)
I saw the Yahoos did the worst jobs and the horses despised them. ... It was very cruel.

I like your story. I'd love to see the tables turned one day and human beings understand how cruel we treat animals.

I think you are coming on board the animal rights boat, José.

Sooner rather than later you will give up eating lamb.


See you on Tuesday.


luciti said…
Hi Graham!

I'll go to class tomorrow. José will be happy....
Thanks for all your corrections!
Bye.
José said…
Yes, Lucía, you know that this class is not the same without you. Please, come you son.
José said…
Graham, what´s up?

I don´t know if you have heard about the marmot Phil, but it´s a rodent, like a squirrel, which forecasts the weather in the United States. ¡It´s unbelievable! The country that has arrived in the planet Mars trusts more the marmot than the Meteorological Office. It seems that if the marmot sees its shade, the winter will follow. That happens every year in the Groundhog Day. American people go to see the marmot on 2th of February.

I want to emphasise the importance of animals for a human beings. The history is full of the symbolism of animals. The scarab from Egypt represented the sunrise and it was the symbol of the resurrection in a Greek mythology. The eagle is in the shields of Mexico, USA and Germany. In Germany the eagle meant the supreme conscience. The bull was the symbol of the Yahve´s power in the Bible. The lion is the symbol of Venice. There are a lot of examples as the Trojan horse in the Odyssey of Homer, the Phoenix, the Nessie in Lock Ness, etc.

Regards.
Graham said…
José!

I think you know that "What's up?" is one of my pet hates.

http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/whats-up.html

I have seen images of the marmot surrounded by men dressed in black. and knew that the animal is supoosed to predict how long the winter will last. But is that all that Groundhog Day is?



I don´t know if you have heard of the marmot Phil,... The country that has arrived on the planet Mars trusts the marmot more than the Meteorological Office. It seems that if the marmot sees its shadow, the winter will follow. This happens every year on Groundhog Day. American people go to see the marmot on 2nd of February.

I want to emphasise the importance of animals for human beings. History is full of symbolism of animals. The scarab from Egypt represented the sunrise and it was the symbol of the resurrection in Greek mythology. ... The bull was the symbol of Yahve´s power in the Bible. There are a lot of examples such as the Trojan horse in the Odyssey of Homer, the Phoenix, Nessie in Lock Ness and so on.


Check out shade v shadow:
http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/search/label/confusing%20words?updated-max=2009-05-02T09:38:00%2B02:00&max-results=20&start=40&by-date=false

and you should always check to see if an article is necessary or not:
http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/search/label/articles


See you in the morning.

José said…
I´m sorry Graham. I won´t use it more. I have read http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/whats-up.html, please, what "gets on my nerves" means?

I can´t find http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/search/label/confusing%20words?updated-max=2009-05-02T09:38:00%2B02:00&max-results=20&start=40&by-date=false

Eventually, I have ohttp://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/search/label/articles

in my night table.

See you
Graham said…
José,

If stg (or sb) gets on your nerves, it annoys / irritates you.

At the end of the article, the difference between shade and shadow is explained:
http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/2009/02/anti-valentine.html

Happy reading!
José said…
Thank you very much great teacher, I can´t find

http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/2009/02/anti-valentine.html

It says this:

Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist.

By this way I´m delaying my learning. LOL
Anonymous said…
Hi graham, I'm Celia Bueno.

I'm going to say something positive about this subject. Or better, I'm going to ask a question to thinking about this?

Is it better to fight at a soccerfield until the other one is almost dead or to drink until you are fall off in the street?

I prefer to do or to see this kind of activities where horses doesn't suffer because they are trained for that, and, in addition, these animals are looked after their owners so much.

It's less difficult to understand something or someone when you know it in depth first.

Sorry, if my comment can be bothered for you.

Celia Bueno
Graham said…
José,

How strange! The link works for me.

Go to archives - February 2009 - Anti-Valentine. After the article, you'll find a note on the difference between shade and shadow.
Graham said…
Hi Celia,

While I believe in freedom of speech, you should be aware that I am a great supporter of animal rights.

I get upset if I see any animal suffering.

In this case, the horses would never go through a fire on their own. It is, to my mind, another cruel tradition.


... Or better, I'm going to ask a question for people to think about.

Is it better to fight on a soccerfield until the other one is almost dead or to drink until you fall over in the street?

... where horses don't suffer because they are trained for that, and, in addition, these animals are really looked after by their owners.

Sorry if my comment bothers you.


José said…
Okay Graham. I got it. Thanks.