The famous human towers arrive in Portugal as part of the celebration of Sant Jordi organized by the Delegation of the Generalitat of Catalonia in Portugal. The Castellers de Vilafranca, champions of the last contest of this essential tradition of Catalan cultural identity, will perform in Lisbon this Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Praça do Município, then they go to Elvas (11:00 a.m., Praça do Município) and Évora (5:00 p.m., Praça do Município) Giraldo) on April 22, before returning to the capital next Sunday.
“It is an emblematic date of Catalan culture and coincides with World Book Day, which is on April 23 and is a deeply rooted tradition in Catalan society,” says Rui Reis, Delegate of the Government of Catalonia in Portugal. In that day, “Couples exchange roses and books, which is why many consider it Valentine’s Day. The streets and squares of the towns of Catalonia are filled with stalls and on that day alone, more than one and a half million books and more than 6 million of roses”. The Castells are a tradition that dates back to the 18th century and has been on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2010.
This year, the human towers will be in the castle of the Catalan patron saint in Lisbon, on the morning of the 23rd. The Padrão dos Descobrimentos will be the setting for the final performance of the afternoon.
These towers with people, as if magically ‘stacked’, can have up to 800 or 1000 people, although this time they come to Portugal”only 150, which is already extraordinary”, Rui Reyes says. “Cultural ties create bridges between peoples and in fact, we want to make them known”, says the head of the Catalan Government delegation in Portugal. Promises will not abandon the strategy: “We continue to create this bridge and whenever the opportunity presents itself, depending on these cultural events or these most emblematic dates of Catalan culture, we will hold this demonstration and show the Portuguese people and Portugal what it represents. Betting on the Castellers de Vilafranca is part of this strategy”.
Source: TSF
