Catalan Singer To Perform In Dublin

by :-) Thu Jul 26, 2007 08:53

"castellers" are one of the main Catalan traditions & somesay have distant routes in north Africa. Strong heavy people go at the bottom surrounded by onlookers and on their shoulders go a next level of slightly lighter people and up and up. At last a little child clambers up the backs and if it can stand waving its hands in the air the team win. It really is something to see as teams compete in a town square a bunch of coloured shirts and waist sashes suddenly goes up the height of a building & it causes quite a sensation when the centre of gravity doesn't hold and a whole load of people come crashing down with more vigour than a stage jumping bon jovi. I suppose it was a useful skill for jumping over castle walls in some far distant past when the Catalan lands were being formed & "won back". But last July 23 2006 disaster struck in Mataró just north of Barcelona when the Capgrossos group http://www.capgrossos.com/ saw their little one fall and die. Since then amid discussions and the inevitable hostility by some elements in Spain to this tradition which they termed "dangerous" (prehaps in response for the Catalan hatred of Spain's bloodsports or disdain for dressing up in hoods and carrying heavy crosses about the place pretending to be sorry every Easter). Anyway the little ones now wear helmets and are very safe. The town festival where it all occured last year http://www.vilaweb.cat/www/noticia?p_idcmp=2015546 kicked in last week & there has been a special silence for the little girl & somehow the sight of castellers forming a quatre de nou still gets more "ooos!" and "ahs!" and teaches more about collective action and responsibility than the effin bouncy castle they put up on the ramblas, which someone burst during the "pignoise" (some awful garage mtv bubblegum band) gig the other night. I kid you not.

Don't think you know what Catalan songs are about till you hear them sung!
Go along & welcome the chap to Ireland.