Botellón

Botellón is a custom that takes place mainly in the Spanish nightlife in which young people congregate at a plaza, park, street or any spacious public place to have alcoholic drinks and talk before entering nightclubs, pubs or discos, although it also attracts people who don't drink.

The word 'botellón' is an augmentative of 'botella' (bottle) so the literal translation would be "big bottle".

'Botellón' is also used to refer to the drinking pack generally consisting of an alcoholic drink bottle, some soda and ice. So the phrase 'let's go buy the botellón' is also used.

It's also known as botelleo or botellona.

Origins

The origin of the botellón is unknown. Drinking on the street has always been permitted in Spain but botellón is a phenomenon that has appeared in the 90s and has been growing gradually.

One article listed on external links says ^*:

"Binge drinking — once dismissed by Spaniards as an affliction of the British, German and other northern European hordes who descend on their country every summer — is gaining ground among their own youth."

One of the reasons people make botellón is because buying alcohol in a supermarket or other alimentary shop is several times cheaper than buying it inside a club or a pub.

Characteristics

It usually lasts between two to four hours and is the first thing that people do when going out every weekend. After it people head to the nightclubs and discos of the area.

In some cities it attracts over 3,000 persons every Saturday night and is a central part of the nightlife.

In some special dates, like the start of the spring or in traditional Spanish fiestas, a specially big botellon can be made that takes place in daylight instead of at night, bringing young people from several cities. This can be accomplished by spreading the word by any medium, including chain e-mail and sms. Some of them, like the one in Seville in 2004 ^*, went so far as to concentrate 70.000.

Amount of alcohol consumed

The drinks consumed depends on the taste of each person.

Maybe the most typical botellon consist of 1 bottle of alcohol, 0.75 litre, (whisky, rum, vodka, etc) for 3 or 4 persons, mixed with any soda drink, and ice.

Many people also take beer, sangria, or any other drink they want, from wine to cheap forged cocktails.

Some people don't drink and just hang out with friends, since botellón is also a social meeting.

Controversy

Since prohibition of drinking on the street depends on the autonomous community, in some places it's not possible. In other places it's not forbidden but in winter it is too cold for botellón to take place. It is most widespread in the south where it is relatively warm even in winter, although the southernmost community of Andalucia is planning to forbid it too due to the causes explained below.

The main problems that botellón generates are:

Noise: since people in the botellón are always talking, depending on the amount of people it can be really noisy and disturb the neigbors's sleeping. Large car audio systems and motorbikes also contribute to the amount of noise which is why botellons usually take place in the less populated areas of the cities, but this is not always possible.
Dirty: botellón leaves a lot of litter all over the place, and worst, a lot of urine in the areas around it. Some municipal authorities have special cleaning plans to make the place look clean the morning after, thus costing money to the contributors. Also, these cleaning plans cannot help with the private properties in the area affected, and the owners have to clean them by themselves.
Moral issues: some people find the botellón morally unacceptable. Drinking on the street is generally accepted by adults when there are traditional fiestas, the moral issue here is to let young people think that entertainment is all about alcohol. Although this issue is probably universal even in the places and countries where botellón doesn't exist, botellón gives a clear picture of that reality. It's also known that since botellón takes place in public places, it's unavoidable that many minors will be there. Also note that buying alcohol in Spain is legal from 18 years of age, and that it's illegal for a minor to buy it but not to drink it.
Traffic accidents: many people drive every weekend to and from the place where the botellón is. The results is that a considerable percentage of the driving accidents that occur in Spain are because of people driving back home from the nightlife.
Security: botellón is usually safe and in places where it congregates many people local authorities deploy security measures. But in some cases fights may arise between some people, leading to injuries in some cases. Fortunately these fights don't involve many people, affecting only those involved.
Economy: in some places the presence of many people near an hotel and other business can cause them economic losses. In the other side alcohol sellers and night clubs are positively affected.
Health: it's well known that excessive drinking causes long term health problems. It can also cause immediate effects like alcoholic coma and death, cases like these are not rare in Spain.

Measures against it (in Spain)

Since botellón usually takes place at night, in most places it has been forbidden to sell alcohol in the public after determinate hours. So you can only buy it inside a club, pub, disco, etc. in which case alcohol cannot be taken out of the place where you bought it. This measure is currently easily avoided by buying the drinks before the selling limit hour, and keeping it at someone's house or at the car. Since the enforcement of this measure is usually strong in the botellón area, some shops far from the area sell alcohol illegally after the limit hour, risking themselves to pay big fines.

In some cities the botellón has been taken to unpopulated areas by force, generally with no resistance by the people displaced. This is made by the local police cordoning the area and advising people to go some other place. Sometimes modifications has been made to public parks so they can be closed by nigh, not allowing the entrance of any person.

Since most of these measures, include the prohibition of drinking in the street, have rendered unable to avoid it, recently some authorities are opening special places where young people can make botellón without causing problems, usually in distant industrial parks.

Macro-Botellóns events on March 2006

In March 2006 a botellon of around 5000 people took place in Seville to celebrate the end of the exams period. It was not a specially big botellón compared to others that take place along the year, but some media aired it on TV like a sensationalistic story.

That promted youngs from many others cities to convocate others macro-botellóns (really big botellón) in order to surpass the one at Seville, even in those cities where it is forbidden.

This was echoed broadly in the media and brought to headlines the debate about botellón.

In those cities, like Madrid, where botellón is forbidden authorities deployed measures in advance to avoid the celebration, with some cases of confrontation between youngs and police. In other ones, like Granada, where botellón is permitted the authorities deployed special security measures to avoid problems in the celebration, concentrating up to 20.000 people,

External links

Images of Botellons

Spanish culture | Drinking culture

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