Popular Culture

Festa major

 

Celebrated on the first Sunday after Sant Pere, and lasts from Friday to Wednesday, although Sunday is the main day. In honor of the patterns of the city: Sant Pere, Sant Cristòfol i Sant Valentí.
 

Through the festival there are concerts, street performances, a children's festival, a strong presence of traditional culture and Terrassa’s and other different regions of Spain, sporting events, shows and much more.

Sardanes

The sardana is a popular dance which is considered a national dance. Men and women, holding by hands forming a circle, tap with their feet the music rhythm.

Sardana’s origin is unknown. It’s form, the way to dance it, the fact of holding by the hands, denotes, according to some experts, that it corresponds to a length which can be before the Roman’s age.

Agrupació Folklòrica  AMUNT I CRITS

It was born on May the 2^nd, 1948.

Agrupació Sardanista Asert

Trabucaires

They’re groups of people who are armed with guns (in concrete the ones which are called trabucs in catalan) and they shoot to represent the happiness of the celebrations.

Colla dels Federins Trabucaires de Terrassa

 Ball de Serrallonga

It is a dance which recreates Joan de Serrallonga’s gang, a bandit of the XVII century. In the Serrallonga’s dance the guns are shoot in rhythm with the crows (traditionally called gralles in catalan, which are a type of wind musical instrument) and in order with the choreography.

Ball de Serrallonga de Terrassa

Ball de bastons

These are the dances which use sticks as the principal element of dance, one or two sticks for person, which are made to follow the rhythm by hitting them. It’s believed that it’s origin is the swords dances.

Bastoners de Terrassa

The crew came first St. Jordi’s day of 1981.

Bestiari i diables

The most common bestiary’s figure is the dragon, although we can find different beasts as eagles, bulls, etc. The tradition of making a dragon dance in the celebrations comes from the XIII century, during the Corpus celebrations, and later it passed to the bigger celebrations (as the Festa Major).

In Terrassa there is an history which tells that in the Sant Llorenç del Munt mountain there existed a dragon which eaten people and animals: It lived in a cave which is known as “Cova del Drac”. At the beginnings of the XX century the processions were opened by a dragon which origins were unknown, and it was hold by five “devils”. The devils are those people who bring the forks and move between the public under the sparks of the firecrackers.

Both the beasts like the devils move to the rhythm of the tabals (drums) and, occasionally, also the crowds sound.

Balrogs

It’s a group of devils and tabalers of the Egara neighborhood. It was founded in 1993.

Bitxo del Torrent Mitger

It’s a crew of tabalers , grallers and fire bringuers (from the “Bitxo”) since 1985.The legend says that a long time ago, in the Torrent Mitger sewers, it was born a monster which drew fire by the mouth, the hands and the tail. It is said that it went out the carnival night (called Carnestoltes in Catalunya).

Diables de SantLlorrenç

Devils and tabalers group of the Sant Llorenç neighborhood which assure a parade, fire juggling and fire-runs. It was created in 1984.
 

Colla Jove Diables de SantLlorenç

It is born this year from an split of the Diables de Sant Llorenç.

Diables de Terrassa

Devils and tabalers crew of the city made in 1981. They do correfocs and, although, they have featured characters: Lucifer and the Diablessa.

Papallona de Sant Pere

Instead of doing fire spectacles, l’Associació Cultural de La Papallona de Sant Pere, does spectacles where the Papallona (butterfly) and the other crew members (called “Borinots”), throw water and confetti.

Pàjara de Terrassa

 
The Pàjara was made the 2nd of July, 1983, meanwhile the Raval Infernal celebration. It was born from an egg that was located at the city hall. From the egg it borned a strange creature because of a wild night with the Llúcifer dels Diables of Terrassa. Accompanying the shout “Habemus Pàjara” people starts to party. Since that, “Pàjara” takes part of all celebrations around Terrassa.

Drac Baluk Astharot i Diables de Ca n’Aurell

Refounded in 2010, it is the heritor crew of Diables Ca n’Aurell, created in 1993.

Baluk’s name was put by the neighbor who creates that, and Astharot makes reference to a mythological devil which rode a dragon.

The crew has also have devils, with two featured characters: the Piscuners, that  draw fire by the mouth and the Astharot, who wears different clothes and brings a fork much more bigger than the normal ones.

All this is accompanied by a group of drummers who make rhythms. Coming soon they crew will add gralles to the rhythms.

Drac de Terrassa

The dragon is representative of Terrassa. It was created in 1981 and it is similar to the old one. The history is about a dragon which lived in the Cova del Drac and ate people and animals.

Every years, while the Festa Major of Terrassa, is made the “baixada del drac", where the dragon starts a route from the Sant Llorenç mountaint to the Raval de Montserrat (in front of Terrassa’s town hall), where will start the Raval Infernal, with many crews acting.

Geganters

Are the people who bring amd make the Gegants (light giant sculptures) dance. The gegants appeared to celebrate the Corpus while the middle ages.

Geganters de Terrassa

The tradition of giants in Terrassa dates back at least to 1850, when the  Gegants Vells, Robesa and Pepona  (4.25 m) were built. In 1950, to celebrate 100 years, the Gegants Nous, Ramonet and Estefania (3.7 m) were built. In 2007 the Gegants modernistes  werw built, Magí and Roseta (3'1 m). The group  has two more Gegants but they are smaller : Carmeta (2'5m) and Tranqui (1'7m). They also have Capgrossos (The Patufet, the Witch, The  King and The Queen).

Castellers
 

The castells (castles) are the human towers which are built arround the Catalan Countries (in catalan called Països catalans). Since 16th november, 2010, the castells are Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Minyons de Terrassa

It was bornt in 1979. Is one of the most important ‘’colla’’ and  it has been able to dismantle (descarregar) the ‘’3de10 amb folre i manilles’’; the biggest human tower done ever. This castle just only done it Castellers de Vilafranca.

They also done other big castles like the ‘’5de9 amb folre’’ or the ‘’2de9 amb folre i manilles’’.

They wear a mauve shirt.

Castellers de Terrassa

This colla was founded in 1980 from an split of Minyons de Terrassa leaded by the remembered casteller Emili Miró.

In 1981, they were able to done castles like the ‘’pd5 sense mans del segon al terç’’. Anyone built this castle since 1933.

In 1993, Castellers de Terrassa, became the first colla that dismantle the ‘’3de8’’ at the first attempt. In 1995 they built (carregar) the ‘’3de9 amb folre’’. That became Terrassa the second city with two colles with ‘’castells de nou’’ (the first city was Valls).

Actually is a colla very respected. The last year they built the ‘’2de8 amb folre’’  and they dismantle  the first ‘’pde6’’ of the colla at the first attepmt. Soon they want to try the ‘’4de8’’.

The shirt that distinguishes the colla is turquoise