THREE MORE : FESTIVALS IN SPAIN |
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Fiestas de Santa Tecla For 10 days in September , the Catalonian port city of Tarragona honors its patron saint , Santa Tecla , with colorful parades , live music and traditional dishes . But the human towers known as castells are the biggest draw . This UNESCO-protected , competitive sport sees teams of men , women and children build human structures of up to 10 people high . |
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images : alamy |
WHERE IS LA TOMATINA ?
Inhabited for thousands of years , the eastern Spanish town of Buñol — a blend of whitewashed walls and a blue-domed church — offers ancient history , outdoor adventure and traditional Valencian cuisine . Dominating the town center is the 11th-century Castillo de Buñol , one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in the region . It ’ s free to enter and inside there ’ s a fascinating museum displaying remains from the Palaeolithic , Neolithic and the Iron and Bronze Ages through to the time of the Iberians and Romans who settled in the region . If you have time , head to the El Salvador Church , which is home to the town ’ s Archaeological Museum . Surrounding the town are hiking trails
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leading to forested mountains , rivers and waterfalls , including Cueva Turche — a 130-foot cascade that plunges into a turquoise pool — and Charco Mañán , a natural swimming pool surrounded by lush greenery and limestone rock formations .
When it comes to food in Buñol , don ’ t miss paella , a world-famous rice dish that hails from nearby Valencia . Most restaurants will offer seafood and chicken paellas , but traditional Valencian paella is prepared with rabbit , snails and green beans , with extra credit if it ’ s cooked over an open fire . Sugar-dusted pumpkin dough fritters called bunyols , and esgarraet — a salad made with cured cod , red peppers and black olives — are also worth seeking out .
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El Colacho In Castrillo de Murcia — a small village in the northern province of Burgos — June marks the start of El Colacho , otherwise known as Spain ’ s baby jumping festival . On the Sunday after the Feast of Corpus Christi , babies born in the past year are laid on mattresses in the street while men dressed as devils leap over them . The Catholicpagan ritual symbolizes the triumph of good over evil .
Tamborrada de San Sebastián At midnight on January 19 , the Basque city of San Sebastián , on the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay , celebrates its patron saint with a raucous drumming display that lasts 24 hours . Dating back to the Napoleonic Wars , when the French took control of the city , the Tamborrada symbolizes the city ’ s rebellion against its colonizers , depicting the French army marching through the streets with steel drums while local women mock them by banging on barrels with wooden spoons .
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