If you have never been to Spain, you might have heard that we have this thing called “siesta” which is kind of a sacred ritual: when it is siesta time, the country becomes a desert. Well, what’s the real deal with this thing called siesta? How is siesta in Barcelona? Is it such a big deal? Get comfy on the couch (or the bus, the subway or wherever you might be at the moment reading this), you are about to find out how is actually the ritual of siesta in Barcelona…
Where does “siesta” come from?
And here is a plot twist: not from Spain. Believe it or not, this “siesta” ritual was not born in Spain, it was actually a ritual that Romans adopted first. The word “siesta” comes from the Latin sexta: it was at the sixth hour of the day when Romans stopped what they were doing to eat and rest. And if we take into account that Romans divided periods of light into 12 hours, the sixth hour was the period between 1pm and 3pm. Yep, close to siesta time.
The cliché of clichés: Is siesta an old stereotype?
As we pointed out in the beginning of the article, there is a stereotype created around Spain and siesta. But is it actually true? According to a recent study of the IOP, almost 60% of Spanish people never have a siesta, and only 18% will sometimes have one. So it might have been more common in the past, but it is not that common these days. Specially if we focus on cities, the daily routines and work schedules make it pretty difficult to stop in the middle of the day to take a nap.
Siesta in Barcelona: not that common as you might think
So you land in siesta land, but you end up finding out that none of the native people you meet in Barcelona take a break for a daily nap. But maybe you visit other places in Catalonia or Spain, where they carry out “siesta” as the sacred ritual you had heard of. So, what does siesta depend on?
It depends on the lifestyle
So guess what? Siesta is not something that almost everyone does (or is lucky to do so) in Barcelona either. The work schedule and the frenzied city lifestyle make this ritual pretty incompatible for most people in the city. But we are talking about big cities such as Barcelona. What happens in towns? Is siesta a more popular thing to do? That leads us to the next point…
It depends on the region: from big cities to little towns
Siesta also depends on the place. It is not the same having a strict work schedule and spending many hours at the office, than, for instance, working in the countryside where the notion of time is more relaxed. And, probably, with a better quality of life (that surely includes “siesta” more often in their routines ;-)).
Also, it depends on the weather
There are areas in Spain which reach unbearable temperatures, specially between 1pm to 4pm during Summer season. Traditionally that forced all activity to stop and be retaken later. But also, siesta might be a seasonal ritual: when you are on vacation, having a “siesta” feels like enjoying those little pleasures. No rush, no work waiting to be done, just enjoying what Italians call “il dolce far niente”.