Sant Antoni kicked off yesterday with a procession of gegants i cap-grossos (giants and big-heads; see Wikipedia for background) accompanied by the village drummers. It was rainy and cold so there weren't that many people out, but they made up for it later by practically blowing up the village square. A spectacular firework display began with a flaming rocket zooming down the street suspended from a wire hung between trees and lampposts and concluded with giant fireballs. (Sorry, no photos of this bit, I was cowering in a doorway with my hands over my ears.)
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| Gegants i cap-grossos, and a sort of caterpillar |
Then today was the big celebration of Sant Antoni Abat (Sant Anthony the Abbot), the patron saint of domestic animals and traginers ('beasts of burden' - mules, horses and so on) as well as our village. 'Tres tombs' saw animals of all shapes and sizes - beautifully groomed stallions, manky old mules, cows with ribbons in their horns, bulldogs with choke chains, toy dogs in pink babygros, canaries and mice - parading three times around the village, culminating with them being blessed by the priest.
Here's a selection of animals and their handlers...
And the blessing...
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| The queue for the priest (lots of barking) |
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| Our puppy dodging the holy water |
After mass, vermouth and prawns were served in the village square.
