Valls is a city and municipality in the Camp de Tarragona region in Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital of the comarca of Alt Camp. In 2014, it had a population of 24,570.
A castell is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in a part of Catalonia (Spain), now also found in the rest of Catalonia, in the Balearic islands and in the Valencian Community.
Sant Cugat del Vallès is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as Castrum Octavianum in antiquity and as Pins del Vallès during the Second Spanish Republic, it is named after Saint Cucuphas, who is said to have been martyred on the spot now occupied by its medieval monastery. The final part of its toponym, del Vallès, is a reference to the historical county where the town is situated, Vallès.
A human pyramid is an acrobatic formation of three or more people in which two or more people support a tier of higher people, who in turn may support other, higher tiers of people. People above the bottom tier may kneel or stand on the shoulders, backs or thighs of the people below them. Typically, the number of people in each tier is one greater than the tier immediately above it, resulting in a triangular structure reminiscent of the formation's namesake.
La Mercè is the annual festival of the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It has been an official city holiday since 1871, when the local government first organized a program of special activities to observe the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, La Mare de Déu de la Mercè in Catalan. Although the actual feast day is September 24, the festivities begin a few days beforehand.
The Castellers de Vilafranca is a cultural and sporting association whose main objective is to build castells. It has the status of a public-interest association. The group was founded in 1948 in response to the increased interest in human tower building in Vilafranca del Penedès, a Catalan tradition that has evolved since the 18th century Ball de Valencians, a dance from Valencia.
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia, created in 1996, are a colla castellera, based in Vila de Gràcia that makes human castles. They made their first public presentation in 1997 supported by the groups Castellers de Terrassa, the Castellers de Sants and the Castellers de Sant Andreu de la Barca. The colour of their shirts is navy blue.
The gralla, also known as grall de pastor, xaramita or xirimita, is a traditional Catalan double reed instrument in the shawm family classified in the group 422.112 in the Hornbostel-Sachs system. Like the dolçaina from Valencia – a very similar instrument that many experts consider a variety of the gralla –. The gralla comes from the ancient xeremia a medieval instrument largely used until the Baroque. Probably, the name of the instrument comes from its strident sound similar to the sound of a Jackdaw native to Catalonia and northern Spain and also called 'Gralla' in Catalan.
Marrecs de Salt is a group of castellers from Salt, Girona (Catalonia), founded in 1995. They are also to be considered as the local group in Girona, together with their university counterpart: Xoriguers de la UdG. They are one of the seven active groups in the province of Girona, and since the dissolution of Castellers de l'Albera, also the oldest. Their best human tower is the 5 in 8 and their best performance was on 27 October 2013 for the performance of Sant Narcís in the city of Girona, were they completed the 4 in 8, the 2 in 8 with double base, the 3 in 8 and the pillar of 6. Their shirt is blue standing for the river Ter, which flows through both Salt and Girona, as well as other regions of the province.
Castellers de Barcelona is a team of castellers from Barcelona founded in 1969.
The Castellers de Sarrià was a human towers team from Sarrià district in Barcelona that was created in 1998 and made their official debut in 2000. The human towers structures they built were the pillar of 4, the pillar of 5, the 2 by 6, the 3 by 6, the 3 by 6 lifted from below, the 3 by 6 plus pillar, the 4 by 6, the 4 by 6 plus pillar and the 5 by 6.
A 2 in 8 with double base is a castellers human tower with 8 levels and 2 people per level in the trunk. It is strengthened by a second base in the second level, which helps the third level. The top crown consists of the pair, a bending child and the crowner. The last two members of the tower are the only ones that climb down through the opposite row they have used to climb up.
4 in 8, which in Catalan is called 4 de 8, is a castellers human tower with 8 levels and 4 people per level in the trunk, except for the last three levels called the top crown, which, like in most other castells, consists of the pair, a bending child and the crowner. It is usually the first structure with 8 levels that groups of castellers complete. It is often referred as carro gros.
The pillar of 6 is a castellers human tower with six levels and one person per level. Its difficulty is comparable to the 3 in 8 and the 4 in 8 and most rankings give it a punctuation similar to them. This tower was seen in the 19th century, and the last one completed before the decay of the castellers before its blooming in the 20th century was in Vilanova i la Geltrú in 1890.
The Performance of Sant Narcís is an annual performance of human towers made by castellers in Plaça del Vi, Girona. It is part of the acts of the main festivities of the city of Girona, dedicated to Saint Narcissus, patron of the city. Sant Narcís has seen som milestones by Minyons de Terrassa which in 1998 completed the first 4 in 9 with single base of the 20th century and their first pillar of 7 with double base, in 2008 their first pillar of 8 with triple base and in 2014 the 3 in 10 with triple base.
Castellers of London (CoL) is a group of people with an interest in building human towers (castells), a Catalan tradition that dates back more than 200 years, who live in London, England. Many of the people involved in CoL are from Catalonia, but the group also includes people of many nationalities. The goal of CoL is to promote the tradition of castells in the London area by holding open rehearsals and organising special events, such as exhibitions.
Xiquets de Hangzhou is a Chinese castellers group in Deqing, about 40 km to the northwest of Hangzhou in East China.
The Castellers de Berga are a colla castellera, or human tower team, based in Berga with members from throughout El Berguedà and beyond. They were founded in 2012. Their shirt is navy blue. To date, the Castellers de Berga have achieved high-range seven-level constructions and on October 1, 2016, they achieved their first eight-level castell.
Xiquets Copenhagen is an international colla castellera in Copenhagen, Denmark with an interest in building and promoting human towers, a tradition originating in Catalonia and recognised as a UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The team is managed since its foundation by Natàlia Quero Prats, who is helped by a management committee and a technical team.
Món Casteller. The Human Tower Museum of Catalonia is a museum project that is being built in the city of Valls, capital of the Alt Camp and considered as the birthplace and zero point for human towers. MCC is a project promoted by of the Catalan Government's Department of Culture, the Tarragona County Council, Valls City Hall and the Coordinator of Catalan Human Tower Groups. The Catalan Government will preside the consortium and Valls City Hall will execute the museum and secretariat works.
