Boat Race

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The annual boat race, which takes place in the bay of San Sebastian, is more than an opportunity for the young men of each town in the Basque Region to demonstrate their prowess in front thousands of adoring fans, girlfriends, wives and families. It is also the day when the symbolic confrontation between separatists and police serves to perpetuate the anachronism of freedom fighters struggling to rid themselves of the oppression of...um...er...too much good food? The scene is set the night before when clandestine posters appear, depicting the victims of last year's revelries (aka "political prisoners"), then otherwise quite normal citizens demonstrate peacefully before retiring to the old town for a nice lunch. Then, in a series of ritualised skirmishes, akin to the running of the bulls in Pamplona, the youths, after much taunting and general provocation of the authorities, are chased through the narrow streets of the old town. Whilst it is probably seen by most of the players as quite good sport, woe betide anyone who gets left behind the crowd, for the herd of stampeding riot police will pounce upon him and may, if they are in a good mood, let him go (after a good kicking) or if not, haul him off for "questioning". If and when they get a bit too close for comfort, there is always the opportunity to dive into any of the dozens of bars which remain conveniently open throughout the entire pantomime. After an hour or so, both teams weary and go their separate ways, the police to process the prisoners ready for next year's carnival, the separatists to boast of their infantile exploits in the bars alongside the contestants of the boat race. And so the scene is set for the following years episode in this never ending cycle of stupidity.