#murcian things

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a little cutesy fun fact about carlos is that he loves lemons. it's said that murcians add lemon to everything, and when asked about it in a spanish talk show, he confirmed he fulfills the stereotype hahaha. it’s common in murcia to add a squeeze of lemon to lots of things — meats, fish, fries, rice, soups, etc or to drinks like coke and snacks like chips !

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carlos with the murcian flag 🥹❤️

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carlos signed the camera with "happy bando de la huerta, murcianicos/as :)", because today it's the "bando de la huerta", the biggest regional festivity in murcia. and he said "murcianicos/as" instead of the standard "murcianos/as" because he's using the diminutive suffix -ico/-ica, which is a linguistic feature very characteristic of this region :)))) <333 he really said let me be EXTRA murcian right now

for those who are interested in knowing more about it:

"It’s Murcia’s quintessential festival, when the city hums with life and brings out all the depth of its cultural roots and festive character. It is always held on the first Tuesday after Semana Santa (Holy Week) —Easter Tuesday— and marks the opening of the Spring Festivities. It’s a day devoted to celebrating the huertano (farmer) traditions, so closely bound to the history of the city itself.

On this day, the city transforms into a unique Huerta (produce farm), where tens of thousands of people of all ages take to the streets dressed in traditional regional attire. The men wear zaragüelles, vests, and monteras (Huerta-style hats), while the women wear beautiful refajos (skirts), aprons, and shawls. What most characterizes and distinguishes Huertano attire is the richness of its embroidery and the abundance of adornments that complete the look. The day begins early with a floral offering to the Virgin of Fuensanta, the city’s patron saint, in front of the Baroque façade of the Cathedral. In the afternoon, the parade sets off (...) and winds through the city center, treating everyone to the traditional products that fill the floats. The origins of this festival date back to 1851.

In the main squares and gardens, in the days leading up to the parade, the local clubs set up the famous “barracas,” which are inaugurated after the final procession on Easter Sunday and remain open until the following Sunday. These huts offer traditional Murcian cuisine, host folk performances, and recreate the dwellings and ancient customs of the Huerta region. They are open to the public all week long. (x)

and some pics :))

and these two videos for example can give you a good sense of the vibe of the day too ! 🍋🤍

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carlos' prayer cards: catholicism, tradition, murcian saints, and italian mystics

"my grandmother gave it to me — [she said] you have you keep it, you have to keep it"

that's what carlos said in a video where he was showing what he keeps in his tennis bag. the moment I saw those little rectangular images I immediately thought: oh, those are estampas — holy cards or prayer cards, in english

for those who aren't familiar with them: they're very common in catholicism. the images depict different biblical figures (jesus, mary, etc) as well as saints (catholics love saints). on the back, they usually have a prayer specific to that figure. in the case of saints, people ask for their intercession through prayer — so it's like asking them to pray to god for you. some people carry the same one or two cards with them everywhere, keeping them in their wallet for example. like just the presence of the card is enough

so naturally, I stop the video and try to see who's depicted in the images.... which is impossible since they're quite blurry and there are thousands of saints— hold on is that my girl la virgen de la fuensanta ??

patron saint of murcia. super loved here. she's usually asked for health, protection for homes, good harvests for farmers, guidance in important decisions, unity and prosperity

his home in el palmar is actually close to the sanctuary on top of the hill where her statue is kept. and every year in her romería (iberian and latin american catholic thing — a small pilgrimage in honor of a saint, a festivity with food and music and good vibes) she's carried from the hill down to the cathedral of murcia city. when the festivities end she's carried back to her sanctuary

okay so very #murciancore of him to carry an estampa of la fuensanta. a very classic murcian grandma thing. but what about the other card? I was completely lost. she looked like a woman — dark clothes, and no nun's habit or veil...? I literally looked up "saint card woman no veil" on google and I somehow got the answer right away lmao

gemma galgani. an italian saint. yes, italian. a young woman, a mystic who got canonized as a saint by the catholic church after her death

such an unexpected choice of holy card to carry around. I hadn't heard of her before either. her intercessions are related to those who struggle with "illnesses and temptations, those who want to offer everything for god and for the salvation of souls". the prayers I saw online written in the back of her holy cards are usually asking for blessings and grace. and I also saw this and I had to add it. for the themes of it all

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the fact that this old forgotten video only got uploaded in 480p is my roman empire

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ouuuyy why is murcia always forgotten omg 😭😭 is it not a big municipality/province/area 🥺❓

Hi!! Well, it's a complex situation. It's not that Murcia is remarkably small, it's that the rest of the country.... simply enjoys mocking Murcia lmao

A bit of background context: Murcia has historically been mainly a countryside, working-class region. Lots of farmland and farmers. For a long time, the region was stereotypically seen as "being behind" other areas of Spain. Less modern, less cosmopolitan, less cultured, less refined.

And it was marked by a sort of "cultural vacuum" — nothing seemed to come out of Murcia, nothing seemed to happen in Murcia. So the joke "Murcia doesn't exist" started to take hold. And others: the heat is unbearable, there's nothing to do, it's all ugly and empty, the accent is unintelligible. A land of bumpkins.

I'll copy-paste here some fragments of articles about this, because I think they put it into words very well:

"“Murcia does not exist,” the voices repeat. And by denying it so much, they have invented it. The Region lives in the folds—always blurred—between meme and mockery, to the point that Murcian identity has become—almost—a unit of measurement for foolishness, for bluntness, or for crudeness, and a geographical pivot of national humor."

"It also reveals a dual function of humor: on one hand, it acts as a tool of exclusion by reproducing deeply classist clichés, and on the other, it offers the possibility of re-signifying cultural identity"

"Practically no one remembers images produced in Murcia over the past twenty years that aren’t images of the class-based spectacle of poverty."

"And the same happens to Murcia as to so many other places: it only appears on TV when a macabre event occurs or when something foolish happens"

"If we use Murcia so much, it’s because the readers from there have a great sense of humor."

"The impact that groups like Viva Suecia or Arde Bogotá have had in recent years, Carlos Alcaraz… now people know a lot more about Murcia, and it’s trendy. Our character also plays a role—we take the jokes about us very well, and on top of that, people tend to like us"

"When people come to Murcia, they’re usually quite amazed because they find a pleasant, lively city when they were expecting something more like a group of people throwing stones in 50-degree heat."

And a Carlos-related example: the other day I saw a stand-up comedian say something like, "God shows us he's fair. Look at Carlos Alcaraz — he gave him incredible talent for tennis. But then… he made him from Murcia"

So yeah! that's the sociocultural background of the joke "Murcia doesn't exist" lol. And this made me realize — for some of you this may put into perspective why Carlos states how proud he is of being Murcian, why he says "viva Murcia" sometimes, instead of Spain. It's a sort of reclamation, being proud of where he's from. There's a kind of underdog pride in taking something others see as an embarrassment and being like "well, I love it"

All of this may also help you understand why he masks his accent when talking in Spanish, something I talked a bit about here. It may seem paradoxical, to say that you're proud of being from a place while hiding the accent of that place. But I guess that just shows the shame runs deep, something thoroughly ingrained

And by the way, Murcia is a beautiful region, with so much history, culture, gastronomy.... and there are lots of things to do ! and we're very welcoming and friendly ! :))))

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“I feel very proud to be Spanish, but above all to be Murcian. Every time I heard ‘Long live Murcia!’ at matches, it gave me goosebumps.”

June 9 — Happy Murcia Region Day ! 🍋

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carlos' accent 🍋

when I first talked about carlos' murcian accent I hadn't seen these two articles that discuss it, in relation to his netflix documentary, and I think they add really interesting and relevant info. I'll leave here an english translation of the most important parts, plus a video clip and an audio file at the end with some phonological explanations!⭐

(in this post I talked about the complicated perception and stereotyping of murcia in spain, which is closely connected to all of this)

Title: This is the best-kept secret of Carlos Alcaraz that has surprised everyone who’s seen it in his Netflix documentary.

An intimate habit of the Murcian tennis player has astonished fans as he shows for the first time on camera his most personal side.

For years, one of the great enigmas surrounding Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t related to his game, his meteoric career, or even his charismatic personality. It was something more subtle, almost invisible, yet not unnoticed by the most observant: his accent.

Born and raised in El Palmar, a district of Murcia where the regional accent is as distinctive as it is endearing, many were surprised to hear a young Alcaraz speak in interviews with a neutral tone, almost devoid of any Murcian inflection.

But the release of My Way, the new Netflix docuseries that follows the tennis player throughout the 2024 season, has revealed a detail that has both puzzled —and delighted— his fans: when Carlos is with his closest circle, he speaks with a much stronger Murcian accent.

That discovery has been one of the most talked-about aspects on social media since the series premiered. “Alcaraz’s accent in the Netflix documentary… how cute! I don’t know why you don’t hear it as much in other interviews,” wrote one user on Twitter.

Another commenter celebrated the moment with admiration: “Alcaraz opened up so much for his Netflix documentary that he didn’t even tone down his Murcian accent. Cool!”

Away from the spotlight, a Carlos Alcaraz who laughs, jokes, and spends time with his friends and family without filters is revealed. It’s precisely in those moments that the young man shows his true way of speaking, natural and genuine, as if the public persona faded away entirely.

For many, this revelation only brings him even closer to his audience, confirming that behind the sports idol is a down-to-earth young man who still keeps his roots intact.

this one is an interview with jorge laplace (the director of the documentary)

Once filming and editing were finished, Laplace and other members of his team visited Alcaraz and his family in Murcia to watch the final result. And it couldn’t have gone better. “What I’m most proud of is that, regardless of how successful the documentary is, Carlos loved it,” he explains. “He didn’t change a thing. Not a single comma. He finished watching it and said, thank you, thank you, and thank you. He felt completely represented. He felt that what he saw was truly him. No tricks, no filters.”

So much so that, in several moments of the documentary, the young man from El Palmar can be heard speaking with the Murcian accent he usually tones down in his public appearances, something that Laplace, a native of Cádiz, embraces naturally. “In fact, when people see the birthday scene, where he’s celebrating with all his friends, they’ll notice it,” he points out. “Even he himself, when we watched it together, said, ‘Damn, man, what an accent I have!’”

this is the scene he's referencing here: carlos at his 21st birthday party, with his family.

sidenote: he actually says "quería daros las gracias, hostia" which could be translated as "I wanted to say thank you, damn". idk they didn't include that in the translation lol

and I was thinking, what could help people perceive his accent a bit, if they don't speak spanish or aren't familiar with spanish accents? so here are the lines he says in the video, spoken in a "neutral" castilian spanish accent:

Visit Original Link

audio made in narakeet

notice all the /s/ sounds at the end of syllables and words that aren't present in carlos' speech — they're either aspirated or dropped. like [daro' la' gracia'] instead of [daros las gracias]

he also "cuts" the endings of some words, like [to'] instead of [todos]. and softens or drops other consonants, like for example the /r/ in [junta'] or [place'] instead of [juntar] and [placer]

and all of these modifications affect how the vowel preceding the dropped consonant sounds. for instance, to people familiar with the accent, it's clear when a word ends in /s/ without pronouncing that final /s/ at all, thanks to the slight difference in pronunciation of the final vowel. for example, the word [niñas] turns into [niñæ]. in a sense, the murcian accent has more vowel sounds than the standard castilian accent

PD: none of these are mistakes or "wrong" spanish, which is what most people think when they encounter accents that deviate from the so-called "neutral standard". from a linguistic point of view, we all have accents, and all accents are correct and equal!