Spain is one of the countries in the world with the most UNESCO World Heritage sites. Natural parks, cave paintings, modernist works or examples of industrial engineering are among them, but today we want to tell you about a new addition to the list. It's about the Summer Solstice Festivities in the Pyrenees, better known as the Fallas of the Pyrenees. Logically, they have been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is, without a doubt, the highest distinction for intangible cultural practices and expressions of the entire planet.
Taking into account the importance of these festivals, today in Hard Hobbit To Break we wanted to show you thoroughly. If you have not had the opportunity to enjoy them, we recommend that you do it once in your life, such as next year. Would you like to discover all the details about the Pyrenean festivals? Well, do not miss anything we tell you below!
Municipalities of France, Andorra and Spain
Although, in reality, the candidacy of the parties to the list of the Unesco It was presented by Andorra, the truth is that the Fallas de los Pirineos also include municipalities in Spain and France. Specifically, 17 Catalans, 9 Aragonese, 3 Andorrans and 34 French. Therefore, we can enjoy this success as much as the inhabitants of Andorra and the neighboring country.
Fire as the protagonist
Despite its popular name, these festivities have nothing to do with the Fallas that are celebrated in some corners of the Valencian Community and, especially, in its capital. Actually, they do have one element in common: fire. In both cases, he becomes the protagonist, although the purpose is quite different, since in the Fallas de los Pirineos no doll is burned, but torches. Lots of torches.
From childhood to adulthood
The Fallas of the Pyrenees are celebrated during the summer solstice (from June 21 to 22) in different municipalities of Spain, Andorra and France, as we have already mentioned before. It is a tradition ancestral It focuses on the fallaires (also called falleros), which come down from the upper part of the towns with bark torches and lighted branches. With them, they trace figures in the air, representing the passage from childhood and adolescence to maturity. Although the moment when the torches go down the mountain is really magical, the truth is that you will also love the party that takes place after the bonfire, with music and food offered by the young people of the town in question.
Different versions
Logically, each of the towns has its own version of the festivals. For example, in the town of Isli (Lleida), a tree trunk is lit at the stake for young people to begin the descent from the mountain. It is also important to note that, with the demand for recognition by UNESCO, some municipalities have recovered tradition, which had been lost over the years. In addition, it has also allowed the resurgence of many associations. On the other hand, it is important to know that, due to its incipient tourist attraction, the towns have distributed the festivals throughout the summer. In fact, they have created a calendar of failures that allows them to be followed from June to August. And it is that, taking into account the recognition they have just obtained, a great tourist impact is expected, as has already happened with the Vall de Boí or the Patum festivities in Berga.
Falles d’Alins. Solstice festivals in Pyrenees. (Subs CAST ENG) (April 2024)
- Aragon, Catalonia, festivals, Pyrenees
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