Botellón

Ok, We had enough of mental deviations of a mad mind, It's time for some social message.

Botellón. This is a spanish word that means literally "Huge Bottle". It represents the custom of the spanish youth people to meet in open spaces to drink alcohol. It's a form of social interaction where all the social constraints are left behind and where they can be wild and free. Of course, this is the perception of the people who participate in the "Botellón".
Bad side of this: Too much alcohol means health problems, fightings, civil disorder.

Since the government of the Popular Party in Spain, the Botellón is forbidden in some regions of the Country. In others is allowed and in other is in this lovely limbus of the "alegal". Why the "Botellón" was forbidden? The right wing policies implies a paternalistic point of view. Please, note the word PATERnalistic. It means that the young people don't know what to do with their lives and, therefore, they have to abide to old people rules. The PP believed that the Botellón was a harmful thing for the youth, so, instead of looking for solutions (another characteristic of the right wing policies) just forbade it. This social interaction mechanism, that was accepted by the spanish society, in its particular way of accepting things, was declared ilegal. All the youth who used to drink in the streets started to hide in houses, small alleys, they started to rent venues to drink, to have this moment of freedom, alone, in clandestinity and with fewer people than before.

Before going on, some acclarations. In Spain, comparing to other european countries, alcohol is relatively cheap. Wine is ridiculously cheap (Bad wine) and mixed with Coke, you'll have the most famous Basque cocktail (Kalimotxo or Calimocho), now is drunk all over Spain. The factors are: youth people (16-25 years old), low income and a great need of interaction with other youth people. More than an opportunity to get drunk, the Botellón is an great moment to try to impress this girl, or try to know some friends, or try to impress this boy..... Is much less violent to a youth get involved in this social manners in the Botellón than in a Bar or a Pub. And, finally, Bars and Pubs in Spain are mostly noisy and small places where the opportunities to talk and to interact are hampered, comparing to the Botellón. But, more important than this, in a Bar or a Pub the youth are not the owners of the situation. The mood depends of the Dj's music, and everything is finished when the bar is closed. The Botellón is a property of the youth. They decide when to start, when to finish, and How much to drink. It's their moment.

These days something strange is happening in Spain. Lots of youth people are meeting together to do Macro-Botellón. The right wing politicians started to say that this is an exercise of irresponsability. The government answered in different ways, depending of the place. In Madrid and Barcelona the police tried to stop it. In Granada, the council prepared a place to let the people meet. I think the Granada case is an example to follow. I see the Botellón as an exercise of rebellion. They need their moment, they need their place. And they will decide when and where. Of course, the Botellón has lots of bad things, like I exposed before, but they need it. They feel free. They are not asking for permission, they are creating and making a space to feel youth. They are, after all, opening spaces. All will finish with a big headache the next morning, or with a bunch of new friends, or with a new girlfriend or boyfriend. And, yes, maybe they will wake up in a hospital with too much alcohol in blood. But life goes on, years come and pass, and they will change they behaviour and they'll look for other spaces and other forms of creativity. Like we did before. This is a clear example of civil struggle, of civil society in direct conflict with the state to transform a system they feel unjust. Organized youth people in a ways never imagined before, looking for a change.

So, if you're in Spain and you feel youth, go to the Botellón. Maybe is not comparable to the cultural movements of the 60's, but is their movement. And that's why it needs all the support.

Botellón libre ya!!!