* School Project: “Festa Major”( Town’s Festival)

*We want to tell you about our School Project; this year it was about Catalan folklore. We focused on these traditions:

* “Drummers and Stick dance” *”Fire procession”.( Correfoc)

(Timbalers i ball de bastons)

*”Human towers” ( Castellers) * “Giants and Big-heads” (Gegants i

Cap-grossos)

The children in these groups made drums and we played them. They sounded really well.

TIMBALERS (DRUMMERS)

We also learnt how to dance “Ball de bastons” (Stick dance)

CORREFOC (FIRE PROCESSION)

Correfocs are run in many Catalan festivals. In the correfoc a group of people dress up as devils and light fireworks. Some members of a correfoc group in Girona came to our school and we could see them in action. It was great fun!

In a correfoc there is often a dragon . In the photo you can see the dragon we made.

CASTELLERS ( HUMAN TOWERS)

Human towers are built in manyfestivals all over Catalonia.At these festivals several “collescastelleres” or teams often builda tower’s structure.

The Castellers team in Figueres came to our school. They told us about the human towers and built one of them. Several parents and six children in our school are members of the team.

The lifting of the human tower is accompanied by the characteristic music of some “gralles”( a typical Catalan wind instrument) and a drum.Some of us could be “Castellers”and participate in the building of the human tower.

GEGANTS I CAP-GROSSOS ( GIANTS AND BIG-HEADS)

Giants and big-heads are brought out in Catalan festivals.Many towns have their own giants. In the photo you can see the giants of Navata. Theyare called Nazari and Selma.

We made some big-heads withbig cardboard boxes. In the pictures you can see some of them.

We hope that you enjoyed learning about our Festival traditions.

From your friends at Joaquim Vallmajó School