Botellón in Madrid - Spain's drinking culture

Anyone who took Spanish in school is almost undoubtedly aware of botellón. Calling it a tradition may be somewhat far fetched but if you could see what I witnessed then you'd most likely agree! My first experience of botellón was when I revisited my GCSE exchange partner in sixth form.

A small group of us gathered in one flat and excitedly made a toxic-looking fluorescent pink substance which, upon tasting, I realized was mostly made up of pure sugar. We half filled a five-liter water bottle with this horrendous monstrosity and made our way out into the night.

We settled in what looked like some kind of derelict bar or restaurant. The walls were grey with dust and there were benches, abandoned some time ago by whoever had owned it previously. We were among a few other groups huddles round in circles with their own alcoholic concoctions. We sat in our own circle and began chatting and drinking, playing a few games. This continued for a few hours before we decided to leave our leftover toxic waste in search of something more refreshing inside a bar.

I have to admit I didn't really see what all the fuss was about! The building was cold and quite frankly scary. I longed to be in England where people pre drink around a table in somebody’s cosy house! It reminded me of when I was about 14 and had been waiting outside Sainsbury’s in the cold for hours searching for someone to buy me an alcohol only to have the police, or worse, a community support officer confiscate it when they found you lurking around the park. So I have to admit when I was invited by one of my new Erasmus course mates to join the Botellón here in Madrid I wasn't particularly excited but I decided I'd go along anyway.

I met up with Megan, one of my new flatmates, and we proceeded towards Plaza de España to join a vast crowd of people. We weren't entirely sure if this was the group we were meant to be with but we went along with it anyway. We sat down next to the fountain with our cheap wine and a few beers and I couldn't help feeling again like an underage teen with no place to go! However, we persisted with it and decided to follow the large group who were now moving towards another grassy area. Whilst some settled at the bottom of the hill, we carried on up to the top, sitting ourselves in a circle on the grass.

We continued drinking and chatting, until someone pulled out a guitar. Soon, random groups of people were united in an acoustic karaoke version of Wonderwall by Oasis, a pretty universal song it seems!

Men and women were walking round with plastic bags full of beers selling them for a euro to anyone who was buying. While this confused me at first it did at least explain why a lady had said hello to me as I was walking through the park the previous night!

After a good night socializing I made my way back to my apartment for my nightly Skype and to my surprise (bearing in mind this was 2 o'clock) found hundreds of people only just arriving. Whilst I had previously associated botellón with much younger teens, I now witnessed men in their twenties joying the crowds. The atmosphere was completely buzzing.

Whilst reminiscent of drinking in the park in England there was a noticeable difference in that no one ever got outrageously drunk. There were no fights or disturbances, and for this reason the police seems to leave the young crowds alone.

Overall, I think botellón is an unmissable experience for any Erasmus student. It is a really unique trait of Spanish culture, never matched in any other country I have visited before. I love sitting outside on summer evenings in England and this is much more socially acceptable (and pleasant! ) in Spain! Whilst some choose to head onto a bar afterwards, I can imagine that during the summer months I would be perfectly happy sitting there for the whole evening!