LAS SARDANAS:

All countries have a series of topics that give us an exterior image, ours is “bullfights and flamenco dancing”. Spain is quite a large country, large enough to hold important differences in cultures. In our region, Catalonia, we do not dance flamenco but the Sardana. We neither do bullfighting, but this is another matter....

The Sardana is a popular Catalan dance and is the traditional dance of Catalonia. It’s danced in a circle fitting rhythm and dynamics to the music of a “cobla” (a “cobla” is a popular Catalonian instrumental group of between ten and thirteen people that basically play wind instruments, but also percussion and string.) The first written references of the “Sardana” remount to 1552 although it’s origin is imprecise.

An undetermined amount of dancers hold hands forming a circle, facing the centre, dancing in circles to the right and to the left. The components should preferably be couples of men and women, however just two people holding hands is enough to consider a “rotlanna”, circle, formed. The “Sardana” is not an excluding dance so any individual or couple can join the circle at any stage of the dance.

The music of the Sardana is played by a “cobla”, which generally consists of eleven musicians playing twelve instruments.

The “Sardana” was temporarily banned during Franco’s dictatorship as a national symbol.

Normally “Sardana’s are danced in the Church, village, or Town Hall Square’s of the Catalan Villages and towns, usually on the mornings of holidays or any normal Sunday.
Torroella de Montgrí, neighbouring village to l’Estartit, is traditionally a reference point to the Sardana, throughout Catalonia, having been the hometown of many renown compositors.

SANT JORDI / SAINT GEORGES

Catalan festivity celebrated on the 23rd of April, of great importance to the Catalan people yet not an official holiday in Catalonia.

In ancient times aristocrats would celebrate jousting tournaments, the lower class population was excluded, at these events ladies were presented with flowers and roses.

Centuries later, the custom of presenting ones loved one with a rose has become a typical festivity celebrated throughout Catalonia.

The same date coincides with the day of “the book”, in commemoration of Miguel de Cervantes. From then women present men with a book in token of their love.

So this festivity as well as being a day for sweethearts to exchange gifts, it’s also motive for celebration, “Sardana” Catalan dancing, “Castells” human towers and book presentations. The streets fill with stalls selling books and roses.

Who was the Knight Sant Jordi?

The legend says that a terrible and ferocious monster was in the surrounding area of “Montblanc”, that ate the animals and people that crossed its path. The locals of the region decided to offer the monster one person per day to stop more destruction.

One day luck decided that the kings daughter was to be sacrificed to the monster. Some citizens offered to substitute her, but the king himself said that the life of his daughter was as worthy as that of any other citizen. The maiden left the city alone and frightened, and walked towards the monsters lair.

When she had been walking for some time a young knight appeared riding a white horse; the knight told the princess not to be frightened, that no harm would come to her, that he had come to fight the monster, kill it and to liberate the princess of her sacrifice and the city of Montblanc.

Whilst they where talking the beast appeared and the knight badly injured it with a single blow. He tied up the beast by it’s neck and handed it to the princess so that she herself could take it to the town where it was killed off by the citizens.

In reward, the king offered the knight his daughter’s hand in marriage, he declined claiming that he was not worthy of her, and then he disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared.

Easter

Easter, Sacred week, is the annual commemoration in which the Christian calendar relives the Passion, the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And therefore an intense period within the various Christian beliefs.

During Easter week numerous popular religious displays take place throughout the world, outstanding are the processions and the representations of the Passion. These traditions are usual in the south of Spain, the population strolls in procession through the village taking with them the figures representing the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and other Saints.

Easter dates vary in function of the ecclesiastic full moon; therefore can be as early as the 22nd of March or as late as the 25th of April.

In our area, a very special procession is held in the village of Verges, about 15 Kms. from l’Estartit; Legend tells us that in the middle ages a plague devastated many villages in Catalonia. The inhabitants of “Verges” told “death” that if it bypassed and did not enter their village, they would include it in their procession. Death listened to them and passed them by, from then onwards, Verges, dances the dance of death on the night of Mourn Day Thursday and Good Friday.

The dance of death starts at the foot of the medieval wall (*rampart) of the village and then goes to fetch Jesus Christ to travel across the village.

How’s Carnival like in Catalonia:

Carnival is a pagan native party which started in contrast with the privations and abstinences made in the Quaresma days. The catalan name for Carnival is: “Carnestoltes”. In the beginning Carnestoltes was only for one day, on Carnestoltes Tuesday, but now it refers to the whole period.

Important characters and celebrations:

The masks: essential to hide the face.

The costume: it makes the anonymity easier, in groups of friends it’s common that they all dress up with the same costume or theme, also, costume competitions are usual during dance parties.

His Majesty Carnestoltes: character born in the Middle Age, in the beginning it was only a straw dummy which was hanged up and burned in the end of the parties. As time went by he became the king of the party with a lot of ceremonies: arrival, speech, activities and his will and death,

Carnival march: party which goes through various streets animated with music. In Carnestoltes everybody wears a costume. The classical day for the Carnival march is normally Sunday.

Calendar:

“Fatty” Thursday: is the starting of the parties. There used to be big banquets to compensate for the future abstinence during Quaresma.

Carnestoltes Friday: his Magesty Carnestoltes arrives, he reads an ironic speech about the town or country problems, it also laughs about authorities. Everybody puts on a costume and there are several marchs.

From Saturday to Tuesday: parties, mask balls and marchs. In the last years “the women ball” has became very popular. It’s made normally in sports centres o big pavilions. Men are all suited up and women wear costumes, the woman asks the man she wants for a dance and the man doesn’t know about the woman’s identity.

Ashy Wednesday: the party ends. His Majesty Carnestoltes reads his will and invites everybody to end with the parties. That’s how the Quaresma can be started. There’s the tradition to bury a sardine, a lot of years ago people used to go to the countryside to have lunch the last day and end ith the parties, nowadays it has become another party.

L’Estartit is a little village and that’s why the party is also “little” but in the next video you can see how it is: