The gathering of the mad
While at the same time the International Day of Peace was being celebrated by various organisations, the participants for the FIMI costumed parade where gathering at the Praça do Comércio. Most of the people know each other. Many of them have been doing this for years and to them it is much more than an opportunity to dress up and get crazy.
It is a way of life. Travelling the Iberian Peninsula, sharing - the love for - their art and their folklore. Keeping age-old traditions alive. And meeting groups from outside Iberia. Like this year, a group from Venice was part of the festivities, showing their beautiful costumes and masks.
It is striking to see the overlap in both costumes as well as the celebrated traditions all over the world. Sometimes, the only way to know whether costumes are from Iberia or the Balkan, is to read the signs people carry with them.
Dressing up and getting ready
Running the streets
Round and ‘round, back to where we started
Participating groups and celebrated traditions:
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Mazcaritos d’Uviéu (Asturias)
First mentioned in the 17th century, they gradually disappeared during the 20th century and were even banned during the Francoist dictatorship. This celebration was revived in 2017, after 80 years of absence from the streets of Oviedo.
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Los Sidros y la Comedia de Valdesoto (Asturias)
Skilled jumpers who, with the help of a pole, spin in the air and make their rattles sound, the Sidros are distinguished by the “cucuruchos” on their heads, complementing their attire with a fox tail used to greet the young women.
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Pauliteiros de Miranda do Douro (Miranda do Douro)
The warrior spirit is intrinsic to the “paulito,” the man who specializes in the Dance of the Sticks, a local warrior tradition. Made up of 8 members, all male, the group dances and plays the typical folklore of the Mirandese region, to the sound of instruments such as bagpipes, bass drum, and the shepherd’s flute.
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Festa dos Moços (Constantim, Miranda do Douro)
A tradition with ancestral roots that is part of the centuries-old celebrations of the winter solstice, extending for days in the village of Constantim. In this festival in honor of Saint John the Evangelist, the main figures are Carocho and the Old Woman. Carocho wears a suit of coarse, loose cloth, his head is covered with a leather mask, and he carries a large wooden fork (used to steal sausages and cured meats from house to house). The Old Woman, or “Tiê Biêlha,” wears a skirt, a printed chintz blouse, a Chinese scarf on her head, a shawl over her shoulder, a rosary of roasted chestnuts around her neck, and a sack or bag on her left shoulder. In her right hand, she carries a stake with which she collects alms of sausage and other items given to her in the houses.
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Festa do Menino (Vila Chã da Braciosa, Miranda do Douro)
A ritual celebration whose origins date back to the time of the full moon (a remnant of pagan character), taking place in honor of the Baby Jesus. The ritual figures are the Old Woman (a Velha), the Dancer (o Dançador), and the Female Dancer (a Bailadeira), who go around begging for alms, accompanied by bagpipe, snare drum, and bass drum players, as well as stewards.
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Festa do Velho e da Galdrapa (S. Pedro da Silva, Mirando do Douro)
One of the few religious festivities still observed in northern Europe, featuring an old man with glasses and a cork crucifix. The Galdrapa, dressed in women’s clothing, steals sausages from house to house and hits people on the head with a pig’s bladder.
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Los Carnavales de Villanueva de Valrojo (Zamora)
The rituals of this Carnival come from ancient times, faithful to the original concept of purification and fertility. During the Carnival period, “devils and rattles” appear, alluding to the celebration of the Winter Solstice.
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During Carnival, the “Madamas” and the “Galáns” roam from house to house, adorned with ribbons, beads, and clocks. The sumptuous hats of the Madamas are decorated with royal jewels, and those of the Galáns are adorned with flowers.
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Máscaros de Vila Boa (Vinhais)
The appearance of these Masked Ones on the village streets now takes place during Carnival. Wearing masks forged with a penknife from chestnut wood (painted red and black) or tinplate, they don woolen or linen trousers and jackets and brandish rattles to ward off evil.
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Entrudo das Aldeias de Xisto (Góis)
At this party, women disguise themselves as men (and vice versa), and everyone resorts to whatever they find most readily available. The important thing is that no one risks being recognized, so they can play pranks with impunity.
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Cardadores de Vale de Ílhavo (Ílhavo)
Their name originates from carding wool, with the difference that these “card” people, mainly girls, instead of sheep. Women’s underwear serves as clothing for this group of men, who, in addition to masks, also use a mysterious perfume.
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The resemblance to the Norse people who settled in the Gândara region from the 9th century onwards is striking. The masked figures use masks to acquire supernatural powers and combat negative forces that threaten the fertility, prosperity, and well-being of the community.
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Las Carantoñas de San Sebastián (Acehúche, Cáceres)
The beasts represent the martyrdom that Saint Sebastian faced when the pagan Romans discovered his Christian faith, the same Romans who, ironically, would later come to worship him. This ritual is celebrated in January, where the streets of Acehúche are filled with Carantoñas dressed in animal skins, mostly goat and sheep, with pieces of fox or donkey skin hanging from their waists and heads.
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Jarramplas (Piornal, Cáceres)
The Jarramplas festival replaces the tomato-throwing tradition, famous in other parts of the country, with turnip-throwing and has been elevated to the status of a National Interest Festival in Spain. The target is a masked figure representing a cattle thief at the mercy of the population’s justice.
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One of the highlights of this celebration is the “Muiñeira Cruzada” dance, which features “Masks” adorned with ribbons, colorful bows, and hats decorated with feathers, and which must involve at least 10 couples.
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The “merdeiro” is a character from the traditional Carnival of Vigo. It was created by sailors as a symbol of mockery towards the peasants. An unloved figure, it is an irreverent being who, from time to time, strikes passersby with his stick.
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From Saturday to Tuesday, the Entrudo tradition takes to the streets led by its protagonists, the Caretos, in a performance full of symbolism. From the Caretos themselves, through their performance in the ethnographic procession, and culminating in the reading of their famous satirical testaments. Weeks before the event, the villagers begin preparations for Entrudo. In their workshops, artisans carve zoomorphic features into alder wood, hoping their mask will be the most original.
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Inspired by the uniforms brought from the Philippine War by the local population and those from the surrounding areas, the “abutardas” and “foleiros”, the “tisnados” and the “bonitas” are distinguished by their elegant feather headdresses and faces covered by a net mask with painted eyes, nose and mouth. In their hands they carry a small stick, with which they maintain order during the Galician Carnival celebration.
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Volakas, Greece
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Los Toros y los Guirrios de Velilla de la Reina (León)
The “guirrio” guides the “toro” in this carnival celebration, with the two figures taking center stage, frightening the single girls of the village. Entrudo is a festival for everyone, to come together for a mix of veneration of the animal and agricultural parody.
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Los Boteiros y Folión de Viana do Bolo (Galicia)
Every Sunday during Carnival, the Folions parade takes place, a group of masked figures representing each parish, accompanied by thunderous percussion drums. Among the various masks, the exotic Boteiros stand out, crowned with a kind of long floral horn, evidencing ancient rituals.
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Caretos de Podence (Macedo de Cavaleiros)
They go out into the streets covered in tricolor wool fringes (yellow, green and red) and wearing rudimentary red tin masks to “rattle” the women with the bells they carry at their waists and celebrate the “marriage contracts”.
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