Greetings community!
Yesterday I went to see human castles! In this post I explain what they are and where they are so famous.
Castles are the human towers that have been built for more than two centuries in Catalonia. From the 80s of the 20th century, castles gradually spread throughout Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. They are a very powerful symbol of Catalan identity and culture. Since November 16, 2010, the castles have been Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The castellers are organized into gangs. Currently there are almost a hundred, they are made up of several people with the aim of building castles of various complexity. The most common constructions have the basic structures of 1 (pillar), two (tower), three, four and five, although constructions of up to 10 castellers on each floor have already been made. In terms of height, a very small number of gangs have reached ten floors castles. Apart from the physical and technical preparation or the enormous social support of the casteller phenomenon, the element that is considered the most determining factor in this spectacular evolution has been the incorporation of women in a popular and festive event reserved, until three decades ago , exclusively for men.
The Catalan colles castelleres have a coordinator that regulates and manages their activity: the Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya. This organization welcomes and includes the castellers gangs that make castles from six floors. According to the Coordinator's census, in 2019 there were around 12,000 practicing castellers.
See you soon! 😁😁