FWIW, although we were taking part on the Saturday we also bought tickets, because the participants aren’t expected to take seats in the stands (understandable, there are a lot of them) so we paid the extra just to have somewhere to sit during the break between structures. I would love to come to the 2020 event.

Thanks for the info. Most shows take place in city squares, usually around midday, but you can occasionally find late afternoon or, exceptionally, evening performances.

“When you're coming out of a dictatorship, you have nothing,” says Pablo Giori, a historian based in Barcelona. Observers say the practice is symbolic of togetherness, the elimination of class differences, and Catalonia’s welcoming atmosphere, Xicola says.

So what is the secret underpinning these swaying spectacles? There were even a few castellers from Edinburgh, Montreal and Sydney who were able to build small structures with help from the bigger groups. All rights reserved.

Prices have been remarkably reasonable and I don’t expect that to change.


As the function of the pinya is to sustain the weight of the tower (and to act as a ‘safety net’ in the event of upper tiers collapsing), this is usually composed of a huddle of heavyset men. There is an alternative, though.

If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. My partner and I might do that and then stay for the two ‘main’ concurs days in Tarragona on the 6th and 7th October if finances and holidays allow. and the event in Plaça Comas, Barcelona on the 6th because. Don’t forget to respect the people participating in the human towers by keeping silent until the child at the top raises their hand. They will all be excellent and more accessible than the concurs, so visitors will be able to walk around at will close to the towers which is not possible at the main concurs. “So little people know about [Castells] outside of Catalonia,” says Pedro de la Fuente, co-filmmaker of Castells.

Perhaps Chris can point the way for 2019 info or when tickets will become available. - The participants are all in the top echelon and this is late in the season so they will all be at the top of their game. I’m encouraging some of my friends to come over and catch the last few days of the gorgeous Santa Tecla festival in Tarragona (perhaps 20th to 24th September) and then remain in the region for the 30th. You don't know how many people she's going to climb,” he adds. I believe Valls and Tarragona’s teams dominated last year.

Maybe something will turn up in late July from this vendor.

But then that doesn’t comport with the apparent claim above that there is an actual “Concurs.”. Thanks for all of that information Chris. Tickets for the 3rd day (the second Sunday) when the biggest and most difficult castells are built sell out very quickly (within hours of release). The concurs takes place every two years. We also used these tickets so that some Castellers of London (my group) members who hadn’t been before could go up to higher levels to see the spectacle from above. There’s a small group not too far from you in Edinburgh called Colla Castellera d’Edinburgh.

Select “Agenda i Resultats” and you will find a calendar of all this announced events, showing their location and the participating teams. The Catalan tradition of building human towers or castells (the Catalan word for ‘castle’) originated in Valls, near the city of Tarragona in Catalonia, an autonomous community of Spain with its own distinct language and culture. Franco banned many inherently Catalonian and Spanish practices during his rule from 1939 to 1975, such as speaking the Catalun language, waving the Catalonian flag, and observing Catalonia’s national holiday, Diada. When he talks about nationalism, Giori is not referencing a specific political party, not all members of castells uphold the same political affiliations, but an intimate connection within Catalonia’s civil society.

Do a little research from the previous concursos so you know which groups can pull off the most impressive towers, and make plans to go there. The Castellers still perform on odd-numbered years, however, this may occur at different festivals and venues.”, I would naturally interpret that to mean the Castellers will just be doing their thing as per usual in non-Concurs years. When they do this, it's almost like they become one.”, These death-defying human towers build on Catalan tradition, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/07/these-death-defying-human-towers-build-on-catalan-tradition.html, banned many inherently Catalonian and Spanish practices, Women and children were not included in colles until 1980s.

Reply. Despite Spain’s economic turndown, the castell tradition stronger than ever before. You’ve already had great information. To be honest, other than stumbling on the tail end of an event in (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? Since the 1980s the phenomenon has become increasingly popular and widespread, and colles (or ‘clubs’) have now been established throughout Catalonia and even in the Balearic Islands. In the middle of a Barcelona plaça, a trembling tower of red clad bodies rises tier by tier, the broad-backed men at the base sweating and shaking under its weight, until the tiny girl shimmies to the summit and raises her arm in victory.

The most ambitious castells stretch ten levels high, each level the height of a person. 7 level castells likely.

Do you know roughly when tickets go on sale, how much they are, and which is the best website to buy them from?

But perhaps the most dramatic display of Catalonian culture comes from the people themselves, who literally and figuratively band together to build human-towers (castells). ... 2019. Many people in different coloured shirts and all in white trousers assembled and formed gigantic pyrimids with very young children complete with mouth guards and helmets climbing up five to six levels .

4 very strong groups. They will probably signal in advance when tickets will be available.

In 2018, 42 teams competed at Tarragona. - Quite easy to get to (details of time and place should be easy to establish from the websites or social media accounts of the groups involved, but if you decide to go and struggle to find details, I’ll find out for you). The website that you found is incorrect. It’s an amazing spectacle and I’ve been lucky enough to participate in the last three. The clubs’ websites often provide a helpful schedule of upcoming rehearsals and performances, such as the Castellers de Barcelona, though these are often in Catalan.

There were few empty seats in the arena and they had added some extra capacity including, I think, some standing spaces. The strongest men make up the bottom of the tronk, followed by stronger but lighter women.

I would select the event in Castelldefels on the 5th because, - 5 groups taking part so there will be a great party atmosphere with lots of help between the teams and of course it will be very colourful, - We have friends in at least two of the groups. Maybe it's not a competition but some event? Historical hardships, like economic crises, motivate the people to support each other, he says. =), I think will visit normal castellers events held on 5th and 6th October instead. (Check videos/rankings from 2018, 2016).

ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-101036862', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Barcelona is the closest airport to Tarragona, which is in fact Reus. Pandachris2 is your man on this forum for info on the Castellers. Thanks. “We felt so lucky to be not only witnessing it but filming it. Tickets for the Concurs – easier said than done. The most important thing was this idea of community, this idea of a nation.”. This brings together groups from around the world, and not just castellers. Purely by chance I asked the tourist office in Tarragona what was on as part of the fiesta and was told about the human tower climbing down on the waterfront.

Diada Torredembarra, 12 midday, Plaça Verdura, Torredembarra, 4 mixed groups, 8 level castells possible, Diada de la tardor de Castelldefels, time and location not yet shown, Castelldefels, Diada Blava, 18:00, Passeig Moll de Costa, Tarragona.

One teenage participant told Worsley that she started castelling when she was only 4-years-old. Related: What are the most popular tours in Tarragona? I hope this helps everyone who really wants to see castellers building their human towers in Barcelona. It's equivalent to going to Egypt to see the pyramids or going to Peru to see Machu Picchu.”. Tarragona Jungle-Trek Park Entrance. The enxaneta is usually a girl between 7 and 10-years-old.

Various formations are possible depending on the number and distribution of people, but the one unchanging feature is the enxaneta, the child who scrambles to the summit and raises one hand with four fingers extended – a salute which is said to represent the four stripes of the Catalan flag – to indicate that construction is complete. Castells are constructed by Catalans of all ages, who stack themselves on top of each other by climbing up backs and shoulders. I greatly appreciate it.

Worth thinking about. The Saturday has availability for a little longer and the first Sunday, the ConcurSet referenced by slatkin above is free and has a very different atmosphere. See all. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-101037428', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Barcelona or Tarragona), timing, quality of the structures likely to be built and spectacle, the following look to be the pick …, Diada a les Corts, 12 midday, Plaça Comas, Barcelona.

At the competition, biannually held in Tarragona, 100 km away from Barcelona, you'll be able to see such stunning examples of human towers, that are totally worth the trip. PM Chris on this forum. The tronk is the vertical structure in the center of the castell that holds the most weight.

If you have already in mind to travel to Tarragona for this time, and your trip is not strictly about the Concurs, then it wouldn’t hurt to just look at which groups may perform in their regular diada in Tarragona near tour travel dates.

It’s a terrifying spectacle, but one of which its fearless participants, or, Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Xicola grew up in the Vallès Oriental region of Catalonia and always admired castells Her brother temporarily competed though she never participated herself. The people of Catalonia uphold their culture, literally, by building human towers. I have heard that there are talks happening that could result in a larger Govinda presence. There are currently between 60 and 70 castell teams (colles) in Catalonia, some of which appear at large, bi-annual competitions in Tarragona, Spain. Some of their members came to the 2018 concurs and they brought a full compliment to the 3rd International Human Towers event in Copenhagen in June this year. I wonder if more groups will be added. What can I see at the Archaeological Museum? Related: What are the most popular tours in Tarragona? Two very nice smaller groups. “At some point, you can’t make it bigger and bigger every year,” Giori says.
Declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, castells are recognized as having a “rich cultural diversity” and significance within Catalonia. Also, they incorrectly say (ta && ta.queueForLoad ?


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