SPANISH CITIZENS TRANSFORMED THE POWER OUTAGE INTO A STREET PARTY
The Iberian Peninsula experienced a ten-hour blackout on April 28. Spain and Portugal had a blackout that disrupted almost all electrically dependent services, including travel and telecommunications. The power outage presented a unique chance for people to be creative, disconnect from their phones, and just relax as much as possible while they awaited the situation to end, despite the confusion and difficulties it produced.
After the lights were restored, pictures taken during these difficult times started to circulate on social media. Videos and images demonstrated the Spanish people's tenacity by showing them traversing stores in the dark and using paper maps to find their way around. However, the most attractive ones displayed more than just tenacity; they displayed some carefree enjoyment. Many of them were unable to work, study, or even just go to their destinations, so they ended up lounging and socialising with individuals around the nation.
Dancing appeared to be a common way to kill time, from conga lines to limbo contests. Because of the power outage, they were also able to interact and form friendships with people they might not have otherwise met. One video depicts a man with his friends playing the guitar, while another shows ping pong tables and chess boards being taken out onto the streets.
As darkness descended, an even stranger scene emerged. Because there was less light pollution, many people were able to observe the stars, which prompted astrophotographers to take out their cameras.
”I opened the Photopills app,” Marmol explains, “and the conditions were perfect for some impromptu street astrophotography with the Milky Way as it passed over Montilla, something impossible until now due to light pollution.”
Cheering and clapping from the streets and balconies, residents in the great cities gathered together for one last time when the power was restored. Even though the celebration was gone, they were happy that things were getting back to normal. What they did on the day of the large, historic apagón is, if nothing else, a fantastic story to tell. More than anything, though, they take pride in the idea that even if the power goes out, their inner light will always remain bright.