Blind Dates for Valentine's Day
- 13/02/2024
- PRESS
Blind Dates for Valentine's Day
Citas a ciegas por San Valentín | El Diario Vasco
Month of lovers. A Guipuzcoan company organizes anonymous encounters for single people to meet and, if there's a spark, find love.
Jon Munarriz
February is the month of love, joy, and friendship. Parks, cafes, stores, and even social media are filled with displays of love from couples who share their happiness with the world. But not everyone experiences these days with the same enthusiasm. For those whom Cupid has recently eluded, an "unusual" and "curious" event has arrived in Donostia, inviting singles to feel that spark and find that special someone. A method known but rarely used: blind dates.
One of the suitors who decided to participate in the first of the three meetings scheduled for this month was Iñaki. He formed a group of 12 people, six guys and six girls, all in search of love. "It's curious, fun. I've been single for a while, and although I've had my little things, I wanted to give this new way of meeting people a chance," he says. The dating plan was presented to him via mobile phone. "They added me to a WhatsApp group, mentioned the event, and I wanted to try my luck. The format is simple," he says. "Each couple has 10 minutes to get to know each other, and at the end of that time, we get up and move on to another single." It doesn't seem like much time, but according to the organizer, it's "more than enough to take that first step."
"Real people"
A strong connection can make time fly by faster than desired. That's what happened to Javier and Cristina. Tired of having no luck through dating apps, they wanted to "break the screens." "This is something different. Those of us here are all looking for the same thing: meeting new people. Love or a good friendship may arise, but we're more at ease because we know we're dealing with real people. Meeting someone through a screen is colder, and you never know who's really on the other side," they point out.
They matched but had to wait until the next day to make sure they both wanted to keep getting to know each other.
At the end of each date, each participant must hand in a sheet, on which they write down the names of the other people and answer a question: "Would I like to see them again?" The answer determines the future of that potential relationship.
Behind the meetings is the Guipuzcoan company Lonoti, and they are responsible for informing the participants if any suitor is interested in getting to know them better. "The goal of coming here is not to come back," Javier emphasizes. For now, the company has two more dates planned for this month of February, for which registration is required through their website.
Jon Munarriz
Photo credit - Gorka Estrada
