The Santa Tecla Festival ( ca, Festes de Santa Tecla, ) is a festival held in
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...
,
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
Plunging into the festivities of Santa Tecla of Tarragona unavoidably involves becoming impregnated with fragrances that link the present times with history, with heritage legacy. This is precisely the route, maintained through the centuries, that defines the personality of the festivities are
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, drama plays,
music-hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
,
movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s, parties, sport activities and so on. However, the essence of it still is the collection of
dances
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
, the
bestiary
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...
, the ''entremesos'' (interlude or short farce), the "spoken dances" and the "
human castles", all of which shape the "Popular Retinue" of the city, as a genuine corpus, particular of the celebration.
It has been named as a Traditional Festival of national interest (''Festa tradicional d'interès nacional'', in
catalan language
Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spa ...
), by the
Government of Catalonia
The Executive Council of Catalonia ( ca, Consell Executiu) or the Executive Government of Catalonia (Catalan: ) is the Executive (government), executive branch of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is responsible for the political action, regul ...
, and also as a Touristic Festival of national interest by the Spanish Government. It is one of the two unique festivals in Catalonia has both declarations.
History
Although in Tarragona the cult to
Santa Tecla has existed since ancient times, it was not until the period of the
Reconquest that the festivities outline the embryonic structure that will be perpetuated, and that adopt the streets of the city as the essential physical space in which such festivities are to take place.
In 1091, the Pope
Urban II
Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...
restored, if only juridically, the metropolitan seat of Tarragona and declared the festivities of Santa Tecla as a
day of obligation
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (id est, they are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed t ...
and main celebration of the year. However, this was only a phase previous to the effective restoration, which took place several years, later, in 1118, when the count of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Ramon Berenguer the Great offered the city to the bishop
Olegarius
Olegarius Bonestruga (from Germanic ''Oldegar'', la, Ollegarius, Oligarius, ca, Oleguer, es, Olegario; 1060 – 6 March 1137) was the Bishop of Barcelona from 1116 and Archbishop of Tarragona from 1118 until his death. He was an intimate of Ra ...
(Oleguer) of Barcelona. It was from that moment on that we refer to a real repopulation of Tarragona. The pontifical bull of
Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called ''Coniulo''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte C ...
ratified the day of Santa Tecla as the main festivity of the year and, of course, as a day of obligation.
The relevance of the path which had been started was confirmed in year 1239 at the first Provincial Council, presided by the archbishop
Pere d'Albalat Pere may refer to:
*Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county
* Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader
*Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament i ...
, and in year 1277, at the Council, of archbishop,
Bernat d'Olivella
Bernat may refer to:
People Given name
*Bernat Calbó (c. 1180–1243), Catalan jurist, bureaucrat, monk, bishop, and soldier
*Bernat Fenollar (1438–1516), Valencia poet, cleric and chess player
* Bernat Francés y Caballero, Spanish Roman Cat ...
. Until that moment, however, the festivity is confined within the strictly liturgical framework.
The increasing popularity of the celebration leads to a fact that will become extremely important for the evolution of the Festivities. On 17 May 1321, the relic of the arm of the patroness saint arrives in Tarragona, from
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
, located in the Orient. The city carried out an absolutely spectacular and overwhelming welcome reception, in such a way that this would become the point of reference for the subsequent structuration of the festivity. For the first time ever, the population, by means of all of its integrating social classes or strata—political, ecclesiastical, soldiers or military men and working class—fills the streets and takes possession of it. Space is filled with the new dances performed by the local guilds which, in a process of syncretism of pre-christian and Christian rituals, are always made functional the service of the sacred.
The civic significance that this ceremony had, as well as the comparison of the festivity of Santa Tecla to that of
Corpus Christi—which was already the object of an outstanding celebration since 1357, at the request of the archbishop
Sanç López d’Ayerbe—will lead to the establishment of the solemn celebration of the octave of Santa Tecla from 1359 onwards, and to the publication of a document which is essential to understand the Festivities: the Bylaws of Santa Tecla, which on 26 July 1370, archbishop
Pere Clasquerí Pere may refer to:
*Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county
* Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader
*Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament i ...
establishes at the request of the consuls of the city.
The philosophy of the text puts on the same level the festivity of Santa Tecla and that of
Corpus Christi, the essential dates of the local calendar. The structure of the Festivities established for the eve and the day of the patroness saint is maintained until the present times. 22 September is the date set for the singing of
vespers
Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...
at the Cathedral, which is the centre of the festivity, as well as the performance of dances by the guilds throughout the city, that is, the ''Cercavila'' ("the big parade in the streets") of nowadays. On 23 September, the attendance to religious service is to take place, with the dances and the establishment of the Procession of the Holy Arm, under a canopy, through the streets and preceded by the dances.
Besides, according to the bylaws, the streets of the city should be cleaned up and decorated, particularly those through which the procession is to pass by. The
bylaw
A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
s in question also mention the attendance of the clergy to the procession and the carrying of twenty candles bearing the signal of the city, that the consuls of the town council are to pay for, in order to keep the Arm illuminated.
Besides the dances, which are the embryo of the Popular Retinue, there will be a whole collection of elements which will become core complicated and will progressively complete the spectacular dimension of the festivity. From 1381, we find documentary evidence on "the fantastic and popular bestiary"; since year 1385, "biblical characters"; since year 1399, "the lifeless hagiographic characters"; since year 1402, the games or "allegorical performance representations", which already bore a certain dramatic action; from the second quarter of the 15th century, the ''roques'' or castles—moveable platforms in the fashion of the current floats of the
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
—and the ''entremesos''. Often enough, the ludic purposes and the catechistical purposes are mixed up with the struggle to exteriorize the municipal and the archiepiscopal powers, and generate an overwhelming growth of the spectacular nature and complexity of the Festivities.
The onset of the 16th century and the outbreak of spoken dances—some of which are new while others are redefined from ancient entremesos and dances—shaped the last part of one of the structures of the festivity that essentially survived without any outstanding alterations until the onset of the 19th century. In any case, we must point out its increasing significance, which is provincial council that is held in Barcelona in year 1564, under the chairmanship of the patriarch of Antioch, D.
Fernando de Loazes, who ratifies the feast day of Santa Tecla as an obligation day in all of the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona.
The 19th century will be decisive for the analysis of the evolution of the festivities of Santa Tecla. During the first half of the mentioned century, the morphology, of the ''
castell
A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community.
At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...
s'' (human towers) will be defined, as well as the role that these play within the celebration. That relatively new moment, in spite of the fact that the writer
Rafael d’Amat, Baron of Maldà, regretted its absence as early as year 1794, will become essential in the festivities of Santa Tecla. In his novel entitled ''La familia dels Garrigas'',
Josep Pin i Soler makes a magnificent description of the festivity in the middle of the 19th century. At that time, besides the performances and elements that still survived from the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the extremely significant role played by the groups of human towers was undeniable, and the same applies to the activities that nowadays are essential, such as the Matinades (Early Mornings), with the grallers and the drummers, or the
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
display of the celebration day of Santa Tecla, or even activities which remain more unknown such as the general chiming of the
bells or the chanting of the goigs, in the
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
. Also, an emblematic character has been shaped, formed in the festivity: the ''Magí de les Timbales'', the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
drummer.
The second half of the 19th century entailed a new amalgamation of the festivities. On one hand, the Town Hall introduced its own defining elements in the Popular Retinue with a highly impressive artistic level. In this sense, the Moorish
Giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
, the Negritos Giants (Black Giants) and the Old Nanos, all of them chiselled by Bernat Verderol, seem to want to separate from the most simple and popular elements: dances, which will suffer a remarkable recession, particularly due to the upheaval undergone by the institutions that supported them; guilds, during the first half of the century, as well as the constant attacks that they suffered from the wealthier classes or strata. On the other hand, pyrotechnics become more relevant in the festivity. Noise and rustle play a great role as opposed to that of colour, and this is the reason why the firing of storms increase. The ''Ball de Diables'' (
Devils’ Dance) seems to balance the relationship between light and noise, and is performed for the first time during independent exhibitions, out of the retinue, and is undoubtedly a precedent of the current correfoc. In the last instance, the ''sardana'' dance is imported from other Catalan region (Empordà), which will thus be on its way to becoming a national symbol.
The 20th century, until the establishment of the democratic town halls which took place during the seventies and the eighties, will be a somewhat dark period for the collection of the festivities of Santa Tecla. In 1911, Pope
Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
abolishes the festive quality of the saint's day, which becomes a labour day. It was not until 10 July 1917 that pope
Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
restored it, upon request of the
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
presided by the mayor Robert Guasch, and with technicians as outstanding as Emili Morera. On 3 September, the Spanish government of Eduardo Dato consented to the restitution of the festivity.
The
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
of 1936 and the subsequent postwar period cast a dark and gloomy outlook on the main festivity, to the extreme of consigning it to a secondary condition. The authorities of that period distorted and misrepresented the history of the city and promoted the small festivity of
Sant Magí to the condition of main festivity, with the idea in mind of using it for attracting tourists in the summer season and thus, to the detriment of the inhabitants of Tarragona.
The arrival of democratic town halls has entailed the vindication of the festivities of Santa Tecla as the celebration of and for the inhabitants of
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...
. Nowadays, the recovery of the Popular Retinue, which until then had been almost banished, the restoration of the thundering displays, the redemption of the manual tolling of the bells, the diffusion, spreading and improvement of the playing of the ''gralla'' and of the
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
, the manifoldness of the traditional instruments as well as their application, are some of the peculiarities of the festivities of Santa Tecla that will be noticed when listening to the recordings that we hereby present. In short, the recovery of a city heritage which begins with the use of streets as a space for entertainment.
Resources
* DD.AA.: ''Les Festes de Santa Tecla''. Tarragona, Generalitat de Catalunya-Ajuntament de Tarragona, Barcelona, 1993. (English translation)
External links
Official website of Santa Tecla Festival
{{Traditional festivals in Spain
Catalan folklore
Festivals in Catalonia
Patronal festivals in Spain