Hey, what's up? We're the Vagabrothers!
I'm Alex
And I'm Mark, and we're in our home away from home - San Sebastian.
Now every day in San Sebastian is awesome, but today is particularly rad, because
it's Sebastian Day, known locally as the Tamborrada.
In a few hours the streets will be packed with people dressed in bizarre costumes
for the biggest party of the year.
But hey - it hasn't always been a party.
You're right - It actually has its roots in the city's darkest days
when San Sebastian was burnt to the ground during the Napoleonic Wars
So before we start drinking and partying, let's learn a little bit more about the history.
San Sebastian, or "Donosti" in Basque, is the jewel of Spain's northern coast.
Famous for its beauty, beaches and excellent food. But it's so much more
than just a resort town. It's a city with a soul, one that locals
proudly display every January during the Tamborrada.
200 years ago, San Sebastian was a fortified border town.
Great for trade, no so good during a war. So when Napoleon conquered Europe, he took
San Sebastian as well. And as in any war, relations between soldiers and citizens
weren't great.
The French impact on the city can be
seen from gastronomy to architecture to the stories that surround the Tamborrada.
Legend has it that this is where the Tamborrada
was born. 200 years ago, San Sebastian had two fountains.
And every morning, women would come here to fill up their water barrels
while the French soldiers marched by, banging on their drums
and checking out the chicks. Naturally, this pissed off a lot of the locals.
So they decided, we'll mock the French, by playing
our own drums, banging knives, forks and spoons on our water barrels.
Now that history is still alive in the costumes of the Tamborrada.
Girls will wear traditional gear while guys will dress up as either soldiers or cooks
Now, a real, proper solider's outfit will cost you 700 euro
that's like 1000 bucks. So we're going to do the cheap version and go to the 99 cent store
for the basic get-up.
Nobody knows exactly who started the Tamborrada
but we know who has kept it alive - the city's many gastronomical societies
known simply as "sociedades"
Traditionally exclusive, males-only dining clubs, sociedades are where
the guys of the town go to eat well, drink heavily and enjoy good company.
Every year, each sociedad organizes it's own
mini-parade
For over 100 years, sociedades
like this one have been keeping the tradition of the Tamborrada alive.
But the times are changing
and you no longer have to be a man or in a sociedad to play your tambour.
Ah, my god, Mark it's raining, dude.
It's literally raining on the parade.
No worries, bro.
It's the biggest party of the year. They will be there.
So it's almost midnight and we are in the heart of San Sebastian
at the Plaza de la Constitución.
It's raining like crazy but everyone's about to flood the square
and when the clock strikes twelve, they raise the flag and it starts 24 hours of party.
So we popped our heads in under some of the
umbrellas and asked people what the Tamborrada meant to them.
What does the Tamborrada mean to you? Is it just a party?
No, it's much more than a party. The whole city gets together.
to have fun and to remind us of
all the things that unite us, not all which separates us.
For friendship and family.
But it's raining and you're still here?
Of course!
Being from San Sebastian is something to be proud of
In the end, you are where you come from. And here, we have a party that
is our day, the day of San Sebastian.
Therefore, it's not just a feeling
it's part of our identity. San Sebastian
is very special
What does this day mean to you guys?
For someone from Donosti, it's the best in the world.
Rain, cold, whatever - this is the best.
You have to carry it here.
Donostiarra!
Go Real Sociedad!
I am on stage at this fiesta right now, it's pretty nuts
Everybody is filing in here and I think I'm going to be
in the middle of the Tamborrada right now so I'd better get out of the way.
Despite the rain and the cold, it seemed like the entire city was in this plaza
And with Real Sociedad, the city's football team, having just beat Barcelona,
it's couldn't have been a better night to be from San Sebastian.
Ah yes, finally...sleep
Ohhh!
All night and throughout the next day, the sound of the tambour echoed through the city
It was remarkable - 15,000 people playing in 125
different bands and yet no one seemed to tire of hearing the same three songs.
This is so gnarly. It's literally every single kid in the city is here.
Every school is here, everybody has a parade, they're all dressed up in different military uniforms.
If it wasn't so cute it would be scary.
For a culture as old as the Basques'
200 years of tradition is not that much time
But it's easy to see that in passing this tradition along
to the younger generation, it's something that's going to survive many more centuries into the future.
All day we watched soliders march down the 31st of August Street
The only street to survive the final battle, where the British and Portuguese
pushed Napoleon's forces out of the city, but in the process
burned San Sebastian to the ground. Ironically, St. Sebastian
was a Christian martyr, and you can see his statue above the church, his body
riddled with arrows. But Donostiarras didn't dwell
on the wounds in their sides. Instead, they came together
and they rebuilt the city, this time without walls. Not a fortress
but a city open to the world.
As San Sebastian Day drew to a close, the people returned to the Plaza de la Constitucion
to sing their city's song, celebrate their shared history and keep alive a tradition
that turned a tragedy into a triumph of the spirit and showed
that whatever happens, the people of San Sebastian will always march to the beat of their own drum.