Episode 103: Costumbres - Siestas in Spain

When a Spanish mayor signs a yearly proclamation requesting everyone respect the hours of the siesta, his small town suddenly makes headlines around the world.

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Transcript

Martina: It’s 3:30 pm in the small Spanish town of Ador, and the streets are empty. Shutters are closed and blinds are down. The only sounds you can hear through open windows are clinking silverware and a low buzz from televisions. The afternoon sun roasts the village, with temperatures rising to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit on this July day in 2015. Mayor Joan Faus Vitoria has left City Hall, and has just arrived at home.

Joan: La vida en Ador es muy simple. La comunidad respeta a todos y es educada y tolerante. Es una vida muy tranquila, muy agradable. Aquí todos se conocen.

Martina: Joan finishes his lunch and, like the rest of his neighbors, is about to stretch out and partake in a famous Spanish custom: the siesta. But in Ador, keeping quiet during the siesta isn’t just a personal preference. It’s something everyone in the town observes, thanks to a decades-old proclamation.

Joan: Durante esas horas de intenso calor y sol, normalmente la gente está mejor dentro de su casa. Por eso, por la tarde, al igual que todos los habitantes de Ador, yo hago la siesta.

Martina: Bienvenidos and welcome to a special season of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. I’m Martina Castro. This season, we’re exploring customs, or costumbres, from the Spanish-speaking world, to help you improve your Spanish listening, and to learn more about daily life in other cultures. In today’s episode, we travel to Spain to learn about the custom of the siesta.

The storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish and I’ll be chiming in for context in English. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. We also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

And a quick word on the Spanish you’ll hear in this episode. Our storyteller is from Spain so you’ll hear the “z” pronounced like the “th” in the English word “think.” You’ll hear this “z” sound in words like “vez:” vez.

Martina: Joan grew up in Ador, a tiny town in the Spanish region of Valencia. About 1,500 people live here, near a small mountain range, the Sierra of Ador.

Joan: Es un pueblo que está cerca de una montaña muy verde. Desde allí se ve el mar Mediterráneo y las vistas son hermosas.

Martina: Joan’s parents were farmers, or agricultores. Like many others in the village, they harvested orange trees that grow in lush groves surrounding Ador.

Joan: Ador es un pueblo muy tranquilo donde antes había más trabajo en el campo para los agricultores.

Martina: Farmers like Joan’s family had to wake up early to beat the summer heat. They worked until the intensity of the sun made it impossible to keep going. It often reached as hot as 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius. And that’s when they would take a siesta.

Joan: Cuando la temperatura sube a 30 o 35 grados Celsius, es imposible trabajar en el campo bajo el sol. ¡Hace demasiado calor!

Martina: They ate lunch and rested, and then returned to the fields after the heat had subsided. Nowadays many parts of Spain, especially the south, still abide by the custom of the siesta. It’s a time when shops and businesses close, and workers of all kinds take a break and eat lunch with their families. Some take a nap while others might just relax before heading back to work.

Joan: Esto se hace en muchos pueblos de España, no es solo algo de Ador. La siesta no es de alguien en particular, es de muchísima gente.

Martina: In big cities like Madrid and Barcelona, however, the siesta isn’t observed as firmly. And in some places, it’s disappearing altogether. In today’s globalized world, taking a two to three hour break in the middle of the afternoon and working later into the evening just isn’t sustainable for some workers. But in Ador, in the summer, it’s a different story.

Joan: ¡El calor es horrible! El asfalto está caliente y es pesado estar afuera en la calle bajo el sol. Es por eso que toda la gente se queda adentro durante la tarde.

Martina: For Joan, growing up in the 1950s and 60s in Ador, the siesta was a normal part of life in the summer. If kids played on the street during those sacred afternoon hours, it would bother the neighbors trying to rest. Joan remembers when he was young, all the mothers of the town would call their children home in the middle of the day.

Joan: Las madres siempre cerraban las puertas de sus casas y era imposible escaparse. Te tenías que quedar en casa con tu familia.

Martina: As he got older, it became obvious to Joan that it was harder and harder to make a living off of agriculture in Ador. So like many other young people, Joan left in search of more opportunities. He went to nearby Valencia, where he studied to become a teacher, or magisterio.

Joan: Yo estudié magisterio y trabajé como maestro en la escuela primaria durante casi cuarenta años. Me casé y tuve tres hijos, y vivía en Valencia porque trabajaba allí.

Martina: But Joan never completely left Ador. When he finally retired, or se jubiló, Joan decided to return to the place where he was born.

Joan: Yo nunca me olvidé de Ador. Los fines de semana siempre iba ahí con mis hijos y mi esposa porque mis padres vivían allá. Y, por fin, después de un tiempo, construí mi casita en el pueblo. Cuando me jubilé, me fui a Ador a continuar con mi vida.

Martina: Ador was always special to him. And after a long time away, Joan wanted to get more involved in his hometown and promote more progressive policies. So in 2011 he ran for mayor.

Joan: Yo me presenté a las elecciones de Ador, ¡y gané por primera vez! En 2015 lo intenté de nuevo y gané otra vez con la mayoría absoluta.

Martina: As mayor, Joan wanted to keep life in Ador simple. On the street, people stop and chat with their neighbors and everybody knows everyone. It’s a town where customs are respected ​​— like the siesta.

Joan: Aquí en Ador, la siesta es parte de nuestra historia, cultura y agricultura.

Martina: One day in the summer of 2015, Joan was working at City Hall like always. A neighbor reminded him that he had not yet signed the town’s yearly proclamation, or bando, that declares the afternoon siesta “mandatory” during the summer.

Joan: Un vecino me dijo: “Todavía no has hecho el bando este verano”. Y le dije: “No te preocupes, mañana lo hago”. Y al día siguiente lo hice.

Martina: The bando is a formality, basically a way to continue the custom on paper. The document says residents should be quiet between the hours of 2:00 to 5:00 pm from June 15th to September 15th. The reason: to respect their neighbors who are resting.

Joan: ¡Yo no lo inventé! Este bando es muy antiguo. No sé si tiene cien años o más, no estoy seguro, pero yo tengo más de setenta años y siempre ha sido así.

Martina: For as long as Joan can remember, the siesta proclamation has been signed every summer in Ador. But when he signed it that year, his phone started ringing non-stop.

Joan: Alguien mandó el bando a la prensa y un periódico local lo publicó. Luego, El País, un periódico nacional, me hizo una entrevista y publicó la historia con mi foto. Después de eso, la noticia se hizo famosa en todo el mundo.

Martina: The story had made it to the press and journalists were calling from all around Spain, and even the world. Joan was surprised, but suspected that it was probably a slow summer news day, and that people were looking for something interesting to talk about…

Joan: En verano las cosas están tranquilas. La gente está de vacaciones, entonces prefieren noticias frescas, agradables y originales. ¡Y la noticia que nació en mi pueblo era exactamente eso!

Martina: Whatever the reason for the media attention, Joan happily answered questions, eager to share his town’s custom.

News reporter: “El alcalde de Ador ha emitido un bando en el que reclama silencio a sus vecinos…”

Martina: In the July heat, he stood outside City Hall and gave interviews to whatever TV network, or cadena de televisión, that made the trip to Ador.

Joan: Todas las cadenas nacionales de España vinieron a hacerme entrevistas, incluso cadenas internacionales de Bélgica, de Francia… También vinieron cadenas de América del Sur. En fin, ¡un montón de gente!

Martina: But in all the news coverage, Joan realized some outlets from other countries seemed to misunderstand the custom of the siesta. Joan felt like he had to defend Ador.

Joan: Algunas veces me tuve que poner serio porque algunos periodistas, sobre todo los de Europa del Norte, no entendían bien el concepto de la siesta. Yo sabía que tenía que ser muy claro y defender a mi pueblo.

Martina: As the siesta proclamation in Ador made global headlines, Joan felt that some journalists were linking the siesta to Spain’s unemployment rate. Suddenly, the mayor of the small town found himself fighting off misconceptions and trying to set the record straight about the Spanish custom. Joan thought it all came down to a cultural misunderstanding.

Joan: Después de varias entrevistas, algunas cadenas dijeron: “El problema es que en España nadie quiere trabajar”. ¿Cómo que no? ¡Por supuesto que queremos trabajar! Durante esa época en España, había un paro enorme. La gente tenía ganas de trabajar, pero no encontraba trabajo.

Martina: Back in 2015 unemployment, or paro, was above 20%. But people in Spain had been struggling to find work in their chosen professions for years, since the recession in 2008. To Joan, the misconception that Spanish people didn’t want to work was very upsetting. For him, the siesta was a valuable custom that had nothing to do with people’s attitudes towards working!

Joan: Desafortunadamente, el problema en España es que no hay mucho trabajo. Hay muchas personas que todavía están desempleadas y que no tienen posibilidades de trabajar, pero tienen muchas ganas de hacerlo.

Martina: Joan also had to debunk the misconception that the siesta was mandatory. It’s more of a proclamation that can’t be legally enforced like a law. That means it’s not actually prohibited to be on the streets between 2:00 to 5:00 pm in Ador.

Joan: La gente puede estar en las calles, pero nadie lo hace. Todos aceptan y respetan el bando.

Martina: Everyone respects the siesta because they want to, not because they have to. So as mayor, Joan never needed to enforce the proclamation. The truth is, in Joan’s small town, the siesta is accepted and celebrated. Everything closes and everyone gets a break. Even workers at City Hall take the siesta seriously.

Joan: Tenemos una piscina en el pueblo que cierra a las dos y abre otra vez a las cinco. Ese es el horario de la siesta.

Martina: Although as mayor, Joan found that the bando did come in handy in some situations. The children of the town have never understood the proclamation and, just like when Joan was young, they always wanted to be outside playing.

Joan: El bando ayuda a los padres que tienen niños pequeños porque ellos normalmente hacen mucho ruido.

Martina: Now as an adult, Joan sees how the bando serves as a tool for parents. It gives them someone to blame when it’s time for their kids to stop playing and come inside. It reminds him of when he was a kid and had to respect the hour of the siesta.

Joan: Los padres les dicen a sus hijos: “El alcalde ha hecho un bando y no podemos estar en la calle, así que tenemos que quedarnos en casa”. Entonces los chicos se quedan en casa y a veces hacen la siesta, como todo el mundo.

Martina: Joan felt strongly that while the world and even parts of Spain may be changing, it was important for his town to uphold, or defender, its customs.

Joan: Yo no tengo por qué cambiar, ni borrar, ni hacer nada en contra de las costumbres, la cultura y la forma de vida de mi pueblo. ¿Quién soy yo para cambiar todo eso? Yo creo que es algo positivo y hay estudios que defienden la teoría de la siesta.

Martina: In the last few years, several studies have shown that there are benefits to taking a midday nap. It can boost productivity or help you recuperate from a poor night's sleep. In fact, in 2015, after Ador made world headlines, a professor from the University of Wisconsin got in touch with Joan.

Joan: Allí hicieron un estudio sobre ese tema. Incluso un profesor de la universidad se puso en contacto conmigo. El estudio dice que durante el día de trabajo, después de comer, es importante tomar un descanso de media hora. ¿Y cuáles son los beneficios de eso? Después de la siesta, los trabajadores pueden seguir con su día con más intensidad, productividad y de la mejor manera posible.

Martina: The study also identified health benefits from taking a nap. And researchers found that the ideal siesta doesn’t have to be actual sleep. In Joan’s experience, it could just be a midday break to collect yourself before going back to work.

Joan: El consejo es no hacer la siesta en la cama porque puedes dormir mucho y eso no es recomendable. Aconsejan hacer la siesta en algún sillón cómodo de la casa, incluso a veces con la tele encendida y con el volumen bajo. La siesta debería durar entre treinta y cuarenta minutos, más de eso no es recomendable.

Martina: Despite the media’s mixed coverage of the siesta proclamation in Ador, Joan appreciated the opportunity to share the customs of his small town with the world. He hoped people would learn from Ador, and that there’s a simple way to enjoy a healthier and more relaxed life.

Joan: Mi meta es que vean que en mi pueblo hay una forma de vida buena, saludable y agradable. Y si alguien quiere venir a descubrirlo, nuestras puertas están abiertas. No hay ningún problema. Para mí lo importante es tener una vida sana y, a veces, la vida en los pueblos pequeños es más saludable que la vida en las grandes ciudades.

Martina: Since all the news cameras went away, life in Ador has continued like it always has. Yes, the town’s annual siesta proclamation made world news. But more importantly to Joan, it has helped preserve the siesta and his community’s values.

Joan: Esta es nuestra vida y nos hemos adaptado a la vida moderna, pero sin olvidar nuestras culturas y costumbres. No tenemos muchas cosas, pero hemos intentado mantener lo que es importante para nosotros.

Martina: Joan Faus Vitoria is 74 years old and lives in his hometown of Ador, Spain. After serving two years as mayor, he officially retired in 2019.

This story was produced by Gabriela Saldivia, a journalist and teacher based in Sevilla, Spain.

We'd love to know what surprised you about Spanish culture in this episode! You can write us an email at podcast@duolingo.com and call and leave us a voicemail or audio message on WhatsApp, at +1-703-953-93-69. Don’t forget to say your name and where you’re from!

Here’s a message we recently got from Louise in New Mexico:

Louise: I just listened to the story about Russia and I understood more of the Spanish than I’ve understood in all of the podcasts…and the story was so good. It was so interesting. All of your podcasts are interesting. But this one was pretty exceptional and thank you very much! Duolingo is wonderful. Thank you. Bye.

Martina: Thank you so much for listening, Louise!

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The Duolingo Spanish podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media. I’m the executive producer, Martina Castro. ¡Gracias por escuchar!

Credits

This episode was produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media.