Day 2 of 5
Today was a day for the “Baturros.”
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The day started at noon with a mass in honor of San Ramón.
Following the mass, holy bread was given to each person as they left the church. (That’s what they have in the large baskets).Jordi bought a “Baturro” costume and wore it to church, as did a few other people.
Jordi and a lady from the village, Nuria, were chosen to hand out the holy bread.
The choir for the mass was a group of “Jota” singers from Valdealgorfa (a village about 10-15 minutes from our village).
“Jota” is a Spanish dance or a short song.
The song would be about the life of the peasant – sometimes sad, sometimes humorous – but each tells a story.
("Jota" is also the name of the letter “J” – quite a versatile word!!)
These photos were taken of a few people, outside the church, that were dressed in folk costumes of the “Baturros.”
“Baturro” is a male peasant from the
“Baturra” is a female peasant from the
“Baturros” is the plural form of the word.
It could be a group of men or women or mixed.
“Baturrita” is a little girl peasant from the
“Baturrito” would be a little boy peasant
Following the mass, the Jota group (that sang hymns for mass in church) moved to the “Lonja” where they sang some traditional “Jotas.”
The “Lonja” is a porch under the Town Hall. Sometimes it is used as a market place for traveling merchants to sell their goods – fruits, vegetables, fish, clothes, etc.
At 6:pm, a group of Jota singers and dancers from Alcañiz entertained us with song and dance in the “pista” (the school playground behind the school).
They were good, but VERY LOUD.
All of the singers sang very loudly and really didn’t need a microphone. I’m sure the people in
At 9:pm, the band, “Valkiria,” played in the Plaza Mayor for people to dance. We decided to go to the peña and have dinner.
We first had something to drink – beer, wine, liquor and cold drinks, with appetizers of peanuts, potato chips, olives, etc.
The main course was a pork loin cut in slices cooked in a white sauce – it was tender and delicious. This was followed by an assortment of cheese for dessert and more wine, liquor and cold drinks.
The band, “Valkiria,” started playing in the Plaza Mayor at 9:pm. Eventually, they took a break, and returned at 1:am to play for another few hours. I didn’t really care for their style of music – something close to hard rock – so I decided to slip away around 3:30am and call it a night.
Jordi and Hector stayed for awhile longer. I’m not sure what time they came home because I was asleep.
Tomorrow, Sunday – 20 Aug, will be an easier day:
11:00 am – A park for children – things for the children to play on – we will skip that
5:00 pm – a Futbol (soccer) competition – yep, we will skip that also
6:00 pm – an exhibition of crafts by the men and women in the village – now that’s worth seeing!
9:00 pm – The band, “Totem,” will play in the Plaza Mayor– I hope they are better than the “Valkiria.” We will probably eat dinner at this time. I have no idea what it will be tonight.
1:00 am – the band, “Totem,” will play some more. I don’t know what time I will slip away. It will depend on how good the band is.
Well, that wraps up DAY TWO of the Fiesta. Stay tuned for Day Three.
