Spain tradition and festivities is one of the most recognised internationally, although there is so much more beyond Sevillanas and being chased by bulls down the streets. Today we bring you some of the most shocking and unique festivities thar you can find in the Aragonese Pyrenees region. Tribute, imagination, mystery and the desire to have a great time have resulted in the most varied celebrations in which there is never a lack of fun, do you sign up?
Bielsa Carnival
The Bielsa Carnival has been celebrated since ancestral times, and it continues to preserve the essence of the festival, a festival attended by a huge number of visitors every year, attracted by its unique characters. The carnival dates back to pre-Christian times and is based on the myth back to life through the arrival of spring.
During the three days that lasts, curious characters full of symbolism flood the streets and turn the town into a hive of music, color and fun, but above all root and tradition. The “Trangas”, beings with a diabolical appearance and threatening countenance, who scare young and old by hitting the ground with their large sticks or “Trangas” and making the ribbons that hang from their waist click. The skins, horns, and black soot on the face do the rest.
Pyrenean Fallas
The Fallas of the Pyrenees constitute a festival declared Intangible Heritage of Humaniad by UNESCO; statement that took place in 2015. They are held in the central sector of the Pyrenees, both in France and Andorra and, of course, in Spain. The Fallas take place in the days close to the Summer solstice and have their origin in the pagan cults and rites that celebrated this magical and significant date with fire.
In each town in the Pyrenees, the fallas are celebrated in different ways, but they all have a common denominator. A Falla is a wooden torch or torch that is carried by one person. Usually, these failures end up thrown into a great bonfire creating a hypnotizing fiery spectacle; From this concept come the famous Fallas de Valencia.
La Morisma
In Aínsa, one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, one of the most significant and representative popular theatrical works in the history of Sobrarbe and, therefore, of Aragon, is held.
The festival of La Morisma is celebrated every two years on the day of the Exaltation of La Santa Cruz, on September 14.
The play, represented by the residents of Aínsa themselves dressed in medieval clothing, recounts one of the most deeply-rooted legends in Aragon. So much so, that it appears on the official shield of the community and has been part of its heraldry since, practically, the founding of the Kingdom of Aragon.
Navatas de Hecho
This celebration pays tribute to the ancient craftsmanship of “navateros” who built this type of boat to transport wooden logs from the mountain to the plain from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
Along the way, part of their wood in the different towns they found until they reached the river mouth, where they traded the rest directly in the Mediterranean. Currently, the tradition has been recovered as an exhibition and as in other valleys of the Pyrenees, the event attracts hundreds of visitors.
The descent of the river takes place, if conditions permit, in the first weeks of May. But Navatas are traditionally prepared months before the appointed day.