Beasts of Barcelona - The Lion - El Lleo de la Ciutat

 

What better to resume Barcelona Photoblog's posting than showing one of the leading figures in our festivities and an important member of the bestiari, a Catalan term to refer to a group of real and imaginary animals of Medieval origins mainly associated to Corpus processions. The lion represented Mark the Evangelist and the Eagle, Saint John. Both 'beasts' are also part of El Seguici de la Ciutat. 

Together with the Eagle, the Lion (Lleó) is always presiding over the parades, especially during Corpus, La Mercè or Santa Eulalia. Our particular king of the jungle, or at least, the first impersonations made by men wearing costumes, date back to the fifteenth century and it is not till 1600s that it appears as it is today. He was completely gone during most part of the last century until his stellar reappearance back in the 90s. Franco's regime was not very fond of rescuing Catalan traditions. 

Of course parading the animal is adorned by its own dance and music, The Dance of the Lion. There used to be roaring, many years ago, but Charles III forbid such ignominious noisy doings to the disillusionment of our citizens. We have to thank local groups like Associació d'Amics dels Gegants del Pi for the initiative of bringing back the Lion in 1993. 

Maybe some other day I write more about other fantastic beasts that run wild in our imagination thanks to the magic of our cultural heritage, the Catalan folklore. I leave you with the manes of a ferocious and yet gentle beast that I want to dedicate to all those born a Leo, like this humble blogger. 

PS: Do not forget to visit La Casa dels Entremesos to see replicas of the bestiari.

Becoming a Pubilla, An Ancestral Tradition in Catalonia

Every year pubilles and hereus from all over Catalonia participate in a contest summoned by organizations that promote traditions of the past in the region. As was described in a previous post in Barcelona Photoblog, a pubilla is the heiress in a family where there is no son. She is the eldest daughter, must be between 16 and 21 years old and inherits the home and the estate. The hereu, is the heir, in those cases when there is a son. Families with pubilles were supposed to receive a contribution from the family of the groom, that unlike dowries, were voluntary. This contribution was called aixovar, from Arabic, assovár.

Being elected as the pubilla or the hereu of their municipality or in a final national contest, the representatives of all Catalonia, is a privilege for these youngsters who feel proud of defending the traditions of their ancestors. They will be honor guests in all minor festivities concerning these matters around Catalonia and will be received by the president of the Catalan parliament. A visit to Montserrat Monastery will be a must in their schedule.

Check also this post about Pubilles and Hereus or this one featuring a dancer in traditional dress.

Stick Dancers or Bastoners: Anklet with Bells Detail

Catalan folklore feeds on ancient traditions lost in the common past of Mediterranean countries. Stick dance (Cat. Ball de Bastons) was documented for the first time in Catalonia in XII a.d. and then more frequently after XVIII but it has always been part of this region's history besides the fact that it came either from the Greeks, some parts of Asia or even other regions in Europe. The exact origin is uncertain. In the Basque country this dance is very extended as well for example and each region has their own peculiarities when it comes to dresses, sticks or ways of dancing. I am not going to enter into that. Maybe talking about Bastoners or stick dancers as they are today, organized in groups or colles as they have been for the last three centuries according to historical records is easier. To begin with, let me say that there are more than 100 colles all over Catalonia perhaps and about fifty are grouped under the direction of Coordinadora de Ball de Bastons de Catalunya. They all have their own history that is normally linked to the town or neighborhood in which they live. The feet you see in the image, adorned with bells (Cat. picarols) sewn into this piece of cloth called camal or turmellera belong to a stick dancer from a group called Bastoners de Gràcia. I have more pictures of this colla to be posted here. I just want to add for the moment that these colles may be made up of 8,10,12 or 16 dancers. One of them carries a flag with their symbols and the name of the group and usually they also have that name or badge embroidered in their clothes. They carry handkerchiefs around their necks and a colorful waistband over white pants and shirts. Besides they wear espadrilles (Cat. espardenyes). More to know soon.

Update 2025:

As the original post was short, I think some enhancement on the topic is necessary:

Living tradition

Catalan folklore carries echoes of shared Mediterranean customs, and the stick dance—Ball de Bastons—stands out as one of its most recognizable communal performances with local variants found across the region and beyond. As a collective ritualized “mock combat,” it blends rhythm, choreography, and symbolism to dramatize an encounter between two sides, while celebrating the skill and coordination of a tightly rehearsed group of dancers, or colla.

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Origins and debates

The origins of Ball de Bastons are debated, with hypotheses that point to ancient Greek roots, prehistoric agrarian rites, or evolutions from medieval sword dances rather than a single traceable source. A frequently cited milestone places a stick dance at the 1150 wedding banquet of Berenguer IV and Peronella of Aragon, often portrayed as the earliest documented mention of the tradition in Catalonia, though the link between that event and the modern form remains uncertain. More critical scholarship highlights a firmer documentary reference from 1558 in Tortosa and cautions that mid‑20th‑century retellings overstated the 1150 claim, reminding readers that “first mentions” can be tricky in oral, popular arts.

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Across Europe and Iberia

Ball de Bastons belongs to a wider family of European stick and weapon dances, with relatives such as the cossiers in Majorca, pauliteiros in Portugal, palotiau in Aragón, ezpatadantza in the Basque Country, and Spanish paloteo or troqueado, illustrating a shared vocabulary of percussive movement using short wooden sticks. This kinship helps explain why stylistic elements feel familiar across borders, even as Catalan colles maintain distinctive music, dress, and figures tied to local communities. The Barcelona scene is especially rich, with numerous active groups and a dense calendar of popular festivals that give the dance public visibility throughout the year.

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What a colla looks like

Today’s Bastoners are organized in colles with their own badges, flags, and histories linking them to a town, neighborhood, or cultural center, and they typically perform in a coordinated set throughout a festa program or dedicated bastoner gathering. The Coordinadora de Ball de Bastons de Catalunya connects dozens of groups across the country and supports diffusion, preservation, and events that keep the tradition vibrant. As a national‑scope association, the Coordinadora has played a key role since the 1980s, and Catalan reference sources note around 90 registered colles alongside many intermittent or occasional groups.

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Group sizes and formations

A classic set often fields 8 to 16 dancers arranged in two ranks, though other configurations—squares, circles, or extended lines—appear depending on local choreography and the figures selected for the performance. Variants in some exhibitions can scale further to 20 or 24, especially at ceremonial parades where multiple lines perform in coordinated blocks. Many colles carry a small standard or banner, and one dancer may raise it to mark a climax or the end of a piece, reinforcing the group’s identity in the public square.

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Music and rhythm

Ball de Bastons is powered by crisp, driving melodies often built on straightforward duple meters, typically felt in 2/4, which support the precise accents of stick‑on‑stick clashes and the dancers’ steps. The instrumental nucleus varies by area, but traditional timbres such as the gralla (shawm), flabiol (tabor pipe), and tamborí are common in Catalonia, creating a bright sonic profile that carries outdoors. The interplay between percussive sticks and melodic lines gives the dance its distinctive energy: the eye follows the figures while the ear tracks the cross‑rhythms of wood and wind.

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Costume and symbols

Aesthetics matter in Ball de Bastons, where color coding often distinguishes the two “sides” of the encounter through scarves, sashes, and short overskirts that signal role and lineage. White shirts and trousers, a colored waistband, and espardenyes are typical, with a handkerchief at the neck and, crucially, bells sewn onto anklets—the camalls or turmelleres—so the footwork itself adds sparkle to the soundscape. The bells, known as picarols, transform leg movement into audible punctuation, which is beautifully captured in the close‑up of the dancer’s ankles from the Gràcia group that inspired this piece.​

• White base garments, with colored sash and neckerchief tied to the colla’s palette.​
• Camalls or turmelleres with picarols, turning steps into rhythmic accents.​
• Espardenyes suited to street performance and quick, grounded footwork.​
• A small flag or banderí borne by one dancer to emblemize the group.

Bastoners de Gràcia

The feet in the original image belong to a member of the Bastoners de Gràcia, a colla rooted in the Vila de Gràcia with deep ties to the neighborhood’s cultural centers and festive calendar. Founded in the early 1980s, with a first public performance in May 1982, the group has built a repertoire that draws on Catalan tradition as well as some Basque melodies and figures, showcasing the cross‑regional dialogue common in stick‑dance families. Their outfit features a red headscarf, a red faldellí with double black trim, a crossed checkered scarf, black or red sash, camalls with twelve bells, and circular alzina (holm oak) sticks, giving them a vivid and well‑documented visual signature on the streets of Gràcia.

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Where to see them

In Barcelona, the Bastoners are highly visible, with 11 active colles in the city’s region and a signature Matí Bastoner every 24 September during La Mercè, the city’s major festival. Gràcia’s Festa Major is another natural home for stick dance processions, where the Bastoners de Gràcia perform alongside giants, devils, and the neighborhood dragon in a parade of popular arts that fills the streets and squares with music and color. Appearances by the Gràcia group have also reached beyond the barrio, including selected years at La Mercè and even the opening of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, a testament to how bastoner choreography adapts to large stages while keeping community roots.

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Choreography and “mock combat”

A Ball de Bastons set reads like stylized conflict: two ranks face each other and advance, retreat, and cross in patterns that create anticipation before the sticks meet in crisp, rehearsed sequences. The “fight” is symbolic, with color‑coded sides and fixed figures that translate into public storytelling rather than improvisation, ensuring safety and clarity in crowded plazas. Within that framework, local steps, turns, and stick‑clash cadences differentiate one colla’s style from another, making neighborhood performances both recognizable and personal.

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Craft and materials

Sticks are traditionally made of hard local woods like alzina (holm oak), which stand up to repeated impact and provide a satisfying, resonant crack when struck. Typical lengths hover in the 40–50 cm range with a comfortable thickness for secure grip and audible contact, though dimensions vary with local practice and specific figures. The tactile feel of well‑seasoned sticks, combined with the bounce and ring of bells from the camalls, is part of the dance’s multisensory appeal in close quarters on neighborhood streets.

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Women in bastoner culture

Once restricted to men, Ball de Bastons has opened over the decades, and since the 1960s women have become steadily more visible, reshaping colla composition and the broader public image of the dance. This shift reflects both the vitality of popular culture and the organizational efforts of coordinators and colles to sustain the tradition by welcoming all who want to learn and perform. Today, audiences will encounter mixed groups throughout Catalonia, including in Barcelona’s most emblematic festival spaces.

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Organization and continuity

The Coordinadora de Ball de Bastons de Catalunya brings together over 50 colles and facilitates meetings, training, and dissemination, creating a shared infrastructure for what is arguably the most widespread dance across Catalonia today. Catalan reference works estimate around 90 registered groups in recent tallies, while also noting many occasional colles that mobilize for specific events or anniversaries in their towns. This dual reality—stable year‑round teams alongside ad hoc formations—helps explain why Ball de Bastons remains omnipresent in local festa programs from the Pyrenees to the coast.

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Learning and workshops

Beyond performances, training matters: workshops and formations organized within the bastoner community transmit technique, repertoire, and safe practice to new generations and curious neighbors. Such sessions cover core figures, stick handling, footwork, and the etiquette of ensemble movement, ensuring that the choreography remains legible in public spaces where dancers must adapt to uneven surfaces and dense crowds. The result is a living school spread across cultural centers, community halls, and plazas, rather than a single formal academy.

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Gràcia’s bells, up close

Returning to the original photograph, the picarols sewn to the camalls are not mere decoration but an integral acoustic layer that tracks the dancer’s footwork beat by beat. The image from the Bastoners de Gràcia captures how the bells frame each step, translating ankle action into an audible shimmer that rides above the gralla and flabiol and ties the choreography together through sound as well as sight.

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A tradition in motion

Ball de Bastons is both resolutely local and broadly Mediterranean, balancing the recognizable codes of a shared European stick‑dance family with the strong identities of Catalan colles and their neighborhood ties. Whether at La Mercè’s Matí Bastoner, Festa Major de Gràcia, or a small‑town meeting far from Barcelona, the clack of holm‑oak sticks, the bright call of the gralla, and the jingle of picarols announce a tradition that thrives by making the street its stage. In that soundscape, those anklets from Gràcia do more than shine—they ring out the living pulse of a dance that continues to gather people in step, in time, and in community.

L'Ou Com Balla or The Dancing Egg, Barcelona Cathedral

L'Ou Com Balla tradition at Barcelona Cathedral, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

In the cloister of the Cathedral of Barcelona there is a beautiful fountain decorated with flowers that reminds you of idyllic gardens, of some paradise lost on earth.

It is the Sant Jordi fountain. Surfing over the soft cushion of its water jet once a year you can see a fragile eggshell that seldom falls which is called the L'Ou Com Balla, which translated literally from Catalan means how the egg dances or how dances the egg.

This is not the only place in Barcelona where you can find a dancing egg (there's one a la Casa de l'Arcadia or at Museum Frederic Mares' courtyard for example) but I think this is the one with more tradition, a tradition that goes back to the XIVth century and has to do with Corpus Christi celebrations, the eggshell itself representing the body of Christ.

The exact date to see L'Ou com Balla changes but it takes place at the end of May or in June depending on Corpus Christi Feast.

Catalan Pubilla and Dancing Partner

There was a very similar image in Barcelona Photoblog of a young maiden or pubilla dancing in Monistrol, a town at the foot of Montserrat mountain. In that old post I explained what a pubilla or an hereu are and I also talked about the dance and garments. As the previous picture had a vintage effect (kind of daguerreotype), in this one I preserved colors for you to compare.

Jota Players: Old Mates

This image I rescued from my archives. Two jota players dressed in traditional costumes from the Spanish region of Aragon. I liked the expression on their faces and really enjoyed their professional performance in Barcelona. I covered this show here in the past: Spanish Traditional Dance: The Jota (three more links in that post)

Catalan Traditional Dress and Pubillas

A Catalan woman wearing the traditional dress. You should know that there are some differences between the traditional garment and a pubilla's dress. But what is a pubilla? 

Long ago, Catalan families with no male descendants considered the first daughter as the heiress in the family. In case there were more sisters, she kept three fourths of the family's patrimony. So an heiress is called pubilla and the male counterpart is called hereu. Pubillas helped preserved the family's last name in case of not having a male descendant. 

At present the pubilla tradition is kept in Catalan towns just for cultural purposes. Some towns elect their pubilla among young ladies (pubilla derives from puberty) who are to act as representatives of Catalonia's culture. Pubillas can only be elected once and during one single year to yield the position to other ladies. Both pubillas and hereus are accompanied by maids of honor and fadrins (brothers that are not heirs) respectively. 

I am not an expert on this matter but I would say this is just a traditional dress, age factors aside. A pubillas's dress is made of a more expensive fabric and shawls are made of a more elaborate lace. They wear shoes and not espadrilles although both the traditional and the pubilla's way of dressing include the elbow length fishnet gloves and the hair net.

I find it fascinating to learn about these old traditions from Catalonia that if it weren't for the perseverance of its people would be lost long time ago.

Three Jota Singers From Aragon, Spain

Following in the steps of yesterday's post about Festa Major de Vilapicina i La Torre Llobeta in Barcelona, today I show you three jota singers in traditional dresses from Aragon, Spain. Notice the colorful shawls and the hair-cages with "false" braids. If you are fond of Spanish traditions and you are interested in knowing how a jota sounds please watch the video.

Jota Dancer from Aragon at Festa Major of Vilapicina and Torre Llobeta, Barcelona

I have been taking pictures at the Festa Major de Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, a sort of popular celebration. Each municipality in Barcelona has its own party on a given time of the year and this one was very near to my place. The lady wearing a traditional dress and shawl is a jota dancer from the region of Aragon. She is a member of the dance group Abenjot representing such region of Spain. It is not by chance that I choose October 12th to post this, as it was the day of Virgin of Pilar, the patroness of Zaragoza, capital of Aragon.

Colorful Bolivian Tinted Feather Hat, Moll de la Fusta, Barcelona, Spain

At Moll de la Fusta (Barcelona Port, Spain), there are these occasional parties organized by interracial non-profit agencies that we city dwellers tend to visit out of pure curiousity at first and enthusiastically once you get addicted to. There's the usual inexpensive exotic food offer which in many cases is the luring part of it believe me, at least for many people, let's not be hypocritical, and then there's the leisure side, particularly for parents who can't find a better place to take their kids that really satisfies them both and finally there's the integration side which originally was supposed to be the first one. At least this is the way I see it although "committed" citizens might openly disagree. Wouldn't it be better to give immigrants other kinds of opportunities rather than selling feather hats they don't wear anymore, I mean this is like selling tomahawks and rabbit paws. You have to say that the hat is beautiful and that unfortunately many people in the world have to sell traditions as if they were souvenirs for a living. I don't mean to be radical, of course, there are many color shades as in the hat.

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Ecuadorian Dancers Wearing Traditional Costumes

These dancers wearing traditional costumes of Ecuador were part of an event organized in Nou Barris quarter some months ago. The picture I recovered from my archives since I forgot to show you in this previous post called Bolivian dancers.

Bolivian Dancers, NouBarris Quarter, Barcelona

This is a group of Bolivian dancers with their colorful traditional costumes, in Nou Barris quarter, Barcelona. As part of an initiative by a local guild of shops and other small businesses, an integration party was organized in an attempt to show all time neighbors what newcomers' traditions are like thus strengthening the ties among the old and new Catalans. Immigration numbers have been skyrocketing in recent years in Barcelona and the process has been so fast that it takes some time for locals to assimilate different aspects such as behavior, language, cultural activities, food. This process, which is part of globalization and is inevitable, as it is inevitable that humans travel, interact, blend, trade and make a living where they see fit, is an old issue in the rest of Europe, in countries like France, Germany or the United Kingdom and now it is Spain's turn to face it. Young people, specially students have no difficulties with ethnic or social traits but our parents and grandparents are sometimes old fashioned and narrow minded.

Absent Minded Giant at Port Vell, Barcelona

Oh Janet, no, not again! Hmm, bad joke! Hey, this is what happens when an absent minded giant or gegant is too busy holding the basket and the bearer is concentrated on the road along the sea in Port Vell, Barcelona, which by the way, doesn't have any handrails! Well, in fact, the gegant is already dressed that way and this is another sample of traditions and folk humor...do you think this picture will be banned like J.Timberlake & J.Jackson - Superbowl 2004. Oops!

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Giants in Catalonia: The Eagle

This is a detail of an eagle, the eagle that represents the city. Yes, it is not a closeup on a small adornment but a figure taller than me (anyone of course!) which can be admired among other giants in the Palau de la Virreina building at La Rambla, 99. This is the original figure from 1999 by Xavier Jansana. You can also see its replica at the popular site known as La Casa dels Entremesos. 

Long ago in medieval times when theater and religion used to go hand in hand in the form of mystery plays staged in the streets, giants began to play an important role in Catalan towns. One of them was the figure of L'Aliga (eagle). In spite of not being as tall as the rest of the figures, the animal was a symbol of the corresponding city and its municipal authorities, thus the crown, and was mainly used to receive important personalities that came into town. The eagle is often holding a white pigeon in the menacing beak. There was a time when the pigeon was alive and was to be eaten by participants later on. 

L'Aliga is the only giant that is allowed to dance before the altar in church and there are specific procedures to observe when walking her in processions.

Singers Rehearsing at Colonia Guell, Barcelona

The day we visited Colonia Guell in the outskirts of Barcelona it was a complete surprise to come across these singers rehearsing in front of the entrance to the crypt (the small church built by Gaudi). They were singing traditional Catalan songs and were supposed to walk towards the center of the small town to enter by surprise in bars to entertain clients.

Places I stumbled upon today: Running the Numbers