{"id":1623,"date":"2016-12-15T12:26:28","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T12:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bonplan_en.anakena.info\/?p=1623"},"modified":"2023-08-22T16:17:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:17:36","slug":"tradition-castells-human-towers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/tradition-castells-human-towers\/","title":{"rendered":"Castells and Castellers in Barcelona: All You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Since the 18th Century, <strong>one of the strongest traditions in Catalonia<\/strong> is the <strong>formation of <em>castells<\/em><\/strong> (castles in English), <strong>human towers several storeys high<\/strong>. Public performances regularly take place, particularly during public demonstrations in Barcelona and all over Catalonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-history-of-the-castells\">History of the <em>castells<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>origin of the <em>castells<\/em> is uncertain<\/strong>, but it is thought that they came from old Valencian dances that ended with little human towers. Over time, these towers acquired importance and became an entire discipline in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Catalan symbols such as the national anthem, the sardana, the flag and of course the language were forbidden under Franco, <strong>the <em>castells<\/em> were never prohibited<\/strong>. However they were more or less abandoned before coming back into fashion in the 1980s during the democratic transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Since <strong>2006<\/strong> the <em>castells<\/em> have been <strong>registered on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity list<\/strong>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-castells-a-user-s-guide\">The <em>castells<\/em>: a user&#8217;s guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"564\" src=\"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castells-training-gracia.jpg\" alt=\"castells training gracia\" class=\"wp-image-20380\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Come funzionano i castell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>castells<\/em> are <strong>static human towers of 6 to 10 storeys<\/strong>. In principle, it&#8217;s always <strong>a child wearing a helmet who climbs to the top<\/strong>. The <em>castell<\/em> is <strong>finished when the child raises their arms in the air<\/strong>, but it&#8217;s <strong>not valid until all the participants are back on the ground<\/strong>, so there&#8217;s no risk of falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>C<\/em><i>astells<\/i> are <strong>made to the beat of music called &#8220;toc de castells&#8221;<\/strong>: the <em>castellers<\/em> follow the melody to coordinate their movements. Before each <em>castell<\/em>, there&#8217;s the &#8220;toc d&#8217;entrada a la pla\u00e7a&#8221;. The <em>castells<\/em> are then generally followed by a meal to which the audience is invited, and the song &#8220;toc de vermut&#8221; is sung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, everything is <strong>meticulously orchestrated<\/strong>! The creation of a castell requires months and months of preparation with regular and consistent training. Each participant has an important role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>values of sharing, trust, perseverance, and solidarity<\/strong> are advocated<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-composition-of-the-castells\">Composition of the <em>castells<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p> The <em>castells<\/em> are divided into <strong>three parts<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The <em>pinya<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em>(bulk): bottom of the tower. Their role is to break any falls that might happen and they bear all of the weight of the <em>castell<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The <em>tronc<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em>(trunk): vertical structure linking the base and the top of the tower.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The <em>pom de dalt<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em>(top palm): is made by children as their light weight and their agility allow them to climb the <em>castell<\/em> more easily and hoist themselves up to the top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>most robust <em>castellers<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(participants in the <em>castell<\/em>) go <strong>at the bottom of the castle<\/strong>. The higher you go, the lighter and more agile the <em>castellers<\/em> are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-castellers-costumes\">Castellers costumes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-evolution-of-the-costumes-over-time\">The evolution of the costumes over time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As the <em>castell<\/em> probably originates from Valencian dance, the first <em>castellers<\/em> were dressed in the same costume as the\u00a0dancers: light coloured trousers and shirts, a sort of little skirt worn over trousers, a scarf, a handkerchief on the head, bells on their ankles and castanets in their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this attire often proved uncomfortable and unsuitable for making a good <em>castell<\/em>. Today, <strong>the traditional costume<\/strong> is made up of <strong>white trousers, a flannel belt called a <em>faixa<\/em>, a shirt and a bandana<\/strong>. Only the <em>castellers<\/em> at the <em>pinya<\/em> wear shoes, the rest are barefoot. <strong>Children also wear helmets<\/strong> for safety reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-costumes-and-colles-teams\">Costumes and <em>colles<\/em> (teams)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>castellers<\/em> are <strong>organised into teams<\/strong> (<em>colles<\/em>) and compete against each other in various competitions. <strong>The aim is to make the most impressive <em>castell.<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em>To be recognisable, all the member of the team wear the same colour shirt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-and-when-can-you-see-castells\">Where and when can you see castells?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Castells generally happen on Sundays at noon on the town hall square between June and October. They are always part of the <a title=\"Festes Majors de Barcelone: le calendrier des f\u00eates de quartier \u00e0 ne pas manquer\" href=\"\/festes-majors-calendar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Festes Majors<\/a> of the different areas of Barcelona and during the popular Catalan festivals, such as Catalonia day (11th September),\u00a0<a href=\"\/merce-holiday\/\">the Merc\u00e8\u00a0holiday<\/a> (24th of September), etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having had the opportunity to attend a rehearsal organized by the Castellers of the Gr\u00e0cia district, I can assure you that you will only appreciate this impressive spectacle and this moment of collective sharing, moving and authentic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do not miss them, it&#8217;s a great authentic collective moment!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the 18th Century, one of the strongest traditions in Catalonia is the formation of castells (castles in English), human towers several storeys high. Public performances regularly take place, particularly&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":20381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,57],"tags":[1005,238],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":61,"label":"Traditions"},{"value":57,"label":"Culture"}],"post_tag":[{"value":1005,"label":"culture"},{"value":238,"label":"tradition"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Pauline","author_link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/author\/paulinelerolland\/"},"comment_info":9,"category_info":[{"term_id":61,"name":"Traditions","slug":"traditions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":57,"count":12,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":61,"category_count":12,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Traditions","category_nicename":"traditions","category_parent":57},{"term_id":57,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":57,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Barcelona has a lot to offer, discover the local culture, art and architecture, traditions, typical dishes and much more!<\/span><\/p>","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":57,"category_count":36,"category_description":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Barcelona has a lot to offer, discover the local culture, art and architecture, traditions, typical dishes and much more!<\/span><\/p>","cat_name":"Culture","category_nicename":"culture","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":1005,"name":"culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1005,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":34,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":238,"name":"tradition","slug":"tradition","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":238,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"}],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"large":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/castellers-barcelona.jpg",940,564,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Pauline","author_link":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/author\/paulinelerolland\/"},"uagb_comment_info":9,"uagb_excerpt":"Since the 18th Century, one of the strongest traditions in Catalonia is the formation of castells (castles in English), human towers several storeys high. Public performances regularly take place, particularly...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20384,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions\/20384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barcelona-top-travel-tips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}