BEING located in a predominantly Catholic country, Benidorm definitely celebrates Halloween. And not just Halloween but All Saints Day as well. They visit the tombs of their loved ones who have passed away and will hold grand reunions there in an atmosphere of festivity complete with authentic Spanish food. But the more urban areas in Spain have caught on the Halloween trick-or-treat fever that was espoused in the rest of Europe particularly the United Kingdom as well as the United States.

Today, Spanish kids like the ones in Benidorm are now knocking on the doors of houses and businesses for some trick-or-treat things. They are completely dressed in scary costumes such as the Grim Reaper. Uhmm…they are not really scary in the sense that these kids just don masks based from what their little brains have conceptualized on the essence of Halloween. The spirit is all having fun in the first place. Since Benidorm is the only city in Spain with the highest skyscrapers, it’s no surprise that it’s more Westernized here than in any place in Europe.

Here in the nightclubs and bars in Benidorm, one will experience Halloween costumed parties and those with the gayest, the spookiest and the most surprising attire of the night will win elegant gifts which may include novelty items or even a dinner certificate or one-night hotel stay for two. That is splendid enough I believe. Anybody can join in these activities, even foreigners. Heck, foreigners are the ones who comprise most of the crowd in these costumed parties. They are the British expatriates who have come to love the Benidorm life. They are joined in the fun by their wives.

Those who are younger are the gays and they mostly come in droves dressed in scary drag costumes (no sir, that’s not a pun). The nice thing about these parties is you enjoy the wee hours of Halloween night with no one to make you spooky. Everything is fun that’s why. You get to down tequila and other spirit shots exclusively Spanish, you dance to flamenco music interspersed with the latest electronic beat and the most dazzling of them all is you get to meet lots of hot gals around Benidorm. These gals also party till dawn because November 1 is a holiday in Spain and many colleges – especially Catholic ones – don’t have classes.

Right now which is about two days from Halloween; you will surely not catch a flight anymore to Benidorm. Even the train tickets are expected to be full at this point in time. So the only alternative right now is to drive your own car a thousand miles away here in Benidorm. You don’t have to worry about mileage if your aim is really to spend the Halloween here in Spain. If you come from a very urban city such as Lisbon, then Benidorm may just be the right city for you to enjoy Halloween 2007. So go pack up those bags now, grab your eight-year-old kid and head to the highways. Who knows, this may as well be the best gift you can give to your third grader son.