Castellers: Human Towers

One of the most amazing sights you will ever see in the Valencian Community and Catalan Countries are the castellers. These are very tall towers made of people in various formations:

Statue of Castellers in Tarragona,By Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

Origin of the Castell

There are several kinds of castell, but they are based on a very old Valencian moixaranga (pronounced "moy-sah-rahn-gah") held in a town named Algemesí, where very complex and very tall human towers were made in honor of the Mare de Déu de la Salut (Virgin of Health). The moixaranga has its background in religion, and also incorporates dancing. 

Muixeranga Song

A very old song-- so old its original composer has been forgotten -- is played on traditional instruments, particularly the tabalet (a type of drum) and dolçaina (a type of flute). You can hear the Muixeranga song here. 

How Castells are Built

A castell is "built" with the base of people, then a first layer called the pinya. Next layers are formed very carefully and deliberately -- castellers have practiced often with great importance given to safety and stability of the structure. If there is a second layer, it is called the folre. The third level base, if there is one, is called manilles, or "handles" (but also can mean handcuffs!)  

The person at the top, the enxaneta, raises one hand with four fingers to show that the castell is successful. The gesture they make to signify the castell is complete is known as the aleta.

Because of their light weight and size, the enxaneta is a child, and don't worry, they wear special safety helmets to protect them! 

Who Can Participate?

Castellers were traditionally only men, but now, women can participate as well. In the past, different craftsmen would compete, so all of the people who worked in construction, weavers, shepherds, and so on. But now, they come from many different backgrounds and form many different colles castelleres (casteller teams). Some years ago, there were 99 official teams.

The tallest castell so far was ten levels of people of four people per level. Their motto embodies the traits of what it takes to become a casteller: força, equilibri, valor i seny - strength, balance, bravery and common sense.