Over the weekend I had the chance to partake in a confetti war called El Coso Blanco in Salou just to the south of Tarragona in Spain. It is a festival of light, sound and above all else confetti. It takes the form of a street party with a parade of floats and dancers that go around and around the streets in Salou while everyone throws confetti at each other. Those in the parade throw confetti at those in the crowd, those in the crowd throw confetti back at those in the parade and those in the crowd throw it at the others in the crowd. Just in case the crowd didn’t bring there own confetti there are large towers that continuously pump out a steady stream of confetti into the air.
30,000 people join the party, dancing to 175,000 watts of music (not sure how they get this measurement) and throwing the confetti, 2,500 participants in fancy dress join in the parade, 25 floats with such random displays as Spongebob, vampires and bananas and 20 confetti canons pumping out over a staggering 25 tonnes of confetti into the air all go to making it a hugely enjoyable experience. The street ends up with confetti easily above your ankles in depth. Confetti gets everywhere, down the shirt, in your pockets, in the ears and in the mouth. It pays not to gawp too much as it is a sure way to end up with a mouthful. All in all a great laugh but I would certainly not like to be the man who sweeps the street the next morning. The party takes place on the first Saturday in February starting from around 7.00 in the evening. I definitely recommend marking it in your calendar from next year if you are planning to be somewhere in the area.
