So lucky!

Barcelona has many fantastic events, museums, and beaches, but I love living in a smaller town that hosts events that I can walk to and don't have to fight the crowds to enjoy.

This weekend was the 42nd Meeting of the National Bastoners of Catalonia. I tried to capture the variety among the 55 groups,

There was definitely an independence theme among the groups.

Some groups have several musicians, one had an amplified
violin player, but this group had a single musician.

An unusual title for a piece!

The range of ages among the performers was large.

but you can find a lot more amazing pictures of the 1000 bastoners here.

You might also enjoy this video.

Lucky to be able to live here!

Tres Tombs

Traditionally the Tres Tombs (Three Tours, also known as the Feast of St. Anthony) parade is scheduled close to 17 January, but because of weather it was postponed until 12 February in our town.  The weather was overcast and windy, but it was dry.

There was only one tour and it was led by this group. 

Because there is no St. Anthony church here they had his statue.

Each riding school had its horses and students in the parade.

Some students walked and handed out the school's cards, which had calendars on the back.

You can't see it, but I was surprised the see a guy smoking a cigar during the parade.

Next came horses pulling various loads.

Most of them were dressed up for the occasion.

There wasn't as much candy as for the Three Kings parade,
but there was still more than people picked up.

We knew it was the end of the parade when saw the sweeper

and washer.

We did not go to the blessing of the animals, but I was glad to see that it was not just for horses.

They are giants!

I had seen the giant puppets through the window, but last week I saw someone come out the door, which I had no idea was open!  I went in and snapped a picture (with people in the background for scale).

On the way home today I glanced in and saw that the puppets had changed outfits!  I am guessing this is what the giants wore for the performance last week since this is what the bastoners were wearing.

I'll let you know if I see any more changes!  Maybe this is the Catalonian version of the concrete goose in the U.S.

Dancing

A friend sent a snippet from the local AAA magazine, which encouraged visitors to watch the traditional sardana dance outside the cathedral in Barcelona.  Yes, they have a lot of dancers there, but there are also a lot of tourists.  If that had been our only option I would have definitely gone, but lucky for us there was a performance at the cathedral just ten minutes from our place.

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The view of the dancers from the orchestra.

Many people complain that the dance is simple, repetitive, and boring.  The first two are definitely true, but I had no problem enjoying it for about an hour.  On the other hand once was enough.

Most people had regular flat shoes, but some people had shoes
with straw soles, some with ribbons that wrapped around one's ankle.

The traditional orchestra has eleven players and twelve instruments. One person plays a recorder-like instrument (flabiol) and drum (tambori), two play tibles (like an oboe), two play tenores (like bigger tibles), two trumpets, one trombone, two fiscorns (like flugelhorn), and a three-string double bass.

This video is ten years old, but it gives you a sense of the instruments and the dancing.

Closed

Not only are stores closed on Sundays, they also close for several hours in the afternoon.  I assume this is based on the traditional idea of everyone going home for a hot lunch and siesta and in the evening there is only a lighter meal.  The fact that A. has 90 minutes for lunch and everyone has to eat a hot meal supports this idea.

 These signs show that the stores close for lunch and reopen in the afternoon.  Banks generally close at 14:30 but don't reopen!

 When places are closed there are usually some sort of gate that covers the doorway.  Sometimes there is art covering it.  We especially like the one on this newsstand.

 But sometimes there is just plain graffiti.

This is just a sample seen this afternoon when I realized it would make an interesting blog post.  If you visit we can walk around and look for more.

Great to see in person

photo by A.

I know I wrote about human towers here, and I know people have posted more amazing pictures, like on this link from one of my sisters, but there is nothing like seeing it in person.  We watched for two hours as two teams (this one and this one) of castellers built towers in traditional but varying styles, accompanied by traditional music that communicates to the people on the bottom what is happening above them.

 Old and young, men and women, tall and short get ready.

 Musicians warming up.

Going up,

last one is up,

and then each layer slides down.

 Each group has its own set of musicians.

 Some kids are there to watch parents and some participate.

Here's the first stage, with the little kid in the foreground waiting to start,

almost to the top,

and hand in the air to signal the completion.

Here is a video D. took of the whole process (celebrating at the end is cut short). 

Then it is time to unwrap and head home.