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Dance exhibition: Paloteado (dance of sticks and ribbons) in Novillas, a town from Zaragoza. Photo: E. X. Dueñas
It can be considered that any act that serves as entertainment, or in which other components come together —diverting, emotional, etc.— and that is performed in/with an audience is a spectacle. Moreover, clarifying that it is a folkloric one, we must make room for a wide list of celebrations that serve as a stimulus to those gathered.
The global, however, leads us to the specific. Therefore, it is essential to categorize by typology, trying to correctly manage the personal vision —albeit subjective to the signer—, and the collective, as well as the active and passive participation, existing in the event.
Source: Juanra Melchisidor
In Biscay we have many hermitages, and in almost all of them celebrations are held on the day or time of their saint. In addition to religious rites, various activities are currently organized an enjoyed during the festival as community celebrations, such as popular meals, dances or games. Among these activities, competitions are very common, usually related to sport or gastronomy. But there some uncommon championships as well, an example of this is the txosna contest that is organized in the Berbikez field, in Gordexola, during the festivities of the hermitage of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. It must be said that, despite the fact that the dedication of this hermitage of Gordexola is San Juan Bautista, its festivity is celebrated on September 26, the day of the martyrs of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, and that is why many also know it by that name.
Bowling alley in Eskolunbe. Kuartango (Araba). Author: Bea Gallego.
They say boredom is good, that our brain appreciates it, because it allows us to reflect, organize our ideas, or reconnect with our real needs.
It may be true, then, that boredom is good. However, from a cultural point of view, what is truly interesting is the other side of the coin, which is the entertainment we use to mock boredom. Probably, because of the boredom caused by long hours of rain, winter darkness, or the sight of slow herds, to name but a few examples, by all the materials (textiles, wood, metal, leather, stone, vegetable fiber, etc.) that have contributed from generation to generation to the professional and domestic sphere, the most beautiful exhibits of traditional craftsmanship. Not forgetting, of course, other examples of creativity related to orality, music, or dance, in which tangible elements did not necessarily have to intervene.
Photo: Fernando Hualde
Last week of May, first half of June… it all depends on the state of the pastures, and how spring goes; but in any case, it is time to leave the Bardenas Reales and head to the ancient Cañada Real de los Roncaleses (old drovers´ roads) with the flocks of sheep, searching for the high mountain pastures of the Roncal Valley. Just as it was done last year, five years ago, a hundred ago, and more than a thousand years ago. It is an ancient tradition and a well-earned right, based on bravery in combat, by the Roncalese, as they were shepherds in times of peace, and soldiers in times of war. That warrior spirit is what made them, in the year 882, the first congozantes (referring to the entities that enjoy the rights of use and usufruct of a facero territory [act between several communities for the use of pastures on land located next to the boundaries of their own territories. In some cases, some of the communities that use these pastures are not adjacent to the farm, or the uses are not only of pastures, but also of firewood and wood], it applies mainly to entities that enjoy these rights in Bardenas Reales, but is also used in other areas), also co-owners, of the Bardenas Reales by order of King Sancho García of Castile (also called Sancho of the Good Laws).
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