A Brand New Season: VEROÑO

In Madrid, we have been enjoying unseasonably warm weather this October. Maybe you have, too.

I want to share a fun (and culture-packed) message that made the rounds in Spain this week on the world's favorite mobile messaging app, WhatsApp. Do you remember when Facebook bought it for $19 billion and Americans said, "Whatshuh??" Todo el mundo outside of the U.S. uses WhatsApp. It has more than 450 million monthly users, 70% of whom are active on any given day.

So my point is that this week, all 47 million Spanish citizens received this message from one friend or another on their phones:

DEMOS LA BIENVENIDA A LA NUEVA ESTACIÓN DEL AÑO: ¡EL VEROÑO!

ÉPOCA DONDE PUEDES TOMARTE UN GRANIZADO DE COCIDO, IR A BUSCAR SETAS EN BAÑADOR Y CHANCLAS, COMERTE UNA TAPA DE BERENJENA RELLENA EN  UN CHIRINGUITO DE LA PLAYA , COMERTE UN HELADO DE CASTAÑA , MATAR MOSQUITOS CON UNA BUFANDA Y SI SEGUIMOS ASÍ HASTA BATIDOS DE MAZAPÁN DE AQUÍ A DOS MESES.

¡QUE TENGÁIS UN BUEN VEROÑO!

Molly's Translation:

We welcome in a new season of the year: EL VEROÑO  (verano "summer" + otoño "autumn").

A season where you can drink a garbanzo stew slushie,

Cocido Madrileño, a typical winter stew 

...go scavenge for mushrooms in your swimsuit and flip-flops,

My colleagues at school go mushroom scavenging every fall

...eat a tapa of stuffed eggplant at a beachside cafe,

Berenjena rellena, stuffed eggplant

...enjoy a chestnut-flavored ice cream cone,

Castañas

...kill mosquitos with your scarf,

Españoles are very stylish with their bufandas

...and if we continue like this, we'll be drinking marzipan milkshakes in two months!!

Mazapán de Navidad, Christmas sweets made with almonds

Happy VEROÑO, everyone!