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El Pilar Festival (Hispanic Heritage Month, Columbus & Indigenous People's Day)


El Pilar festival is in full swing after the pandemic. The streets of Zaragoza are packed with people enjoying the festive atmosphere, and relatives come to Zaragoza from miles away to celebrate October 12th and participate in the popular Offering of the Flowers to the Virgin of El Pilar, who is the patroness saint of Aragón and of the Hispanic countries.  

In America there are parallel celebrations around this date, like National Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15th to October 15th; Columbus Day, held on the second Monday of October (10/10/22), which includes the famous Columbus Day Parade in New York City, broadcast live on ABC-7 New York, or the alternative celebration of  Indigenous People's Day, which conmemorates the history and contributions of Native Americans. If you are interested in reading further about the debate between Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day in the USA, you can check the article What Indigenous Peoples Day is all about, and why it's gaining in popularity over Columbus Day, by Anna Deen in Grid News. If you want a comprehensive compilation of the stories that NPR has broadcast this month about Hispanic culture, you can check Hispanic Heritage Month: Somos NPR. These readings, podcasts and videos without subtitles are recommended for C1 students and above.

In Spain, El Pilar festival can be a good excuse for a conversation about Zaragoza and festivals at large.  Here you can find a lesson plan about El Pilar festival, which includes speaking, writing, reading and vocabulary tasks for B2 students and above. The reading texts in El Pilar Festival, come from Spanish-fiestas.com, from City Life Madrid and from Wikipedia, and there you can come across interesting words like: to lead up to, parade, a patron saint, a trail, a lilly, an orchid, a gladiolus, to wind your way, to spread [Christianity], a marble pillar, a chapel, to be displayed, a pilgrim, to trace back to [1600s], the big heads,  papier mache figures, the carnival, to mingle [with the crowds], bull fighting, a gathering, to be spotted, to be packed with [bars and revellers], impressive [landscapes], picturesque [villages], gorgeous, [people] flock to the streets, endless [activities].

In the conversation class about El Pilar festival, the following words may come up: the opening speech, the flower offering, the trade fair, the crafts fair, the venue [of a concert], food trucks, the river waterfront, the beer festival, the bullfighting ring, a matador, a recortador, to jump bulls, to dodge [a bull], a street brass band, the giant puppets, the bigheaded, the fireworks, the glass rosary procession, the mass of infants.


If you want to find out what a village festival is like in the UK, you can go to Kimpton May Festival, where you will find a listening and a short conversation task for B2 students.

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