Regional Dancing...
I've arrived in Spain! The weather hasn't been as nice as it was in Paris -a bit cloudy and a few showers here and there, but the sun has come out from time to time.
I was in Plaza Mayor, one of the big squares in Madrid, and there was some sort of regional association festival. So for the better part of the afternoon groups from different regions of Spain played their traditional music, and performed dances in traditional costumes. It was actually quite interesting because the regions are quite varied and have a relative degree of independence in Spain (i.e. in the Basque region, the Basque language can be used with the local government). Unlike France, Spain hasn't had as tight central control over the various regions for a long time.

A short video of a regional dance, performed to the music of a type of Spanish bagpipe (smaller and higher pitched than the Scottish Highland pipes) and drums. Check out the pipers' pointy, black hats!

This is another short video of a regional Spanish dance, and in this one the music is performed by guitars and castanets.