Comparsa of Giants |
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The first record of giants in San Ferm?n goes back to 1607.They are the protagonists of the Sanfermines.
The current eight Giants were made in 1860 by brilliant painter Tadeo Amorena. First, he created the pair of European kings and pleased the City Council so much that they hired him to make six more. The couple from Africa, America and Asia completed the present cut. Little was known before about the Australian Continent, and maintaining the original idea, another pair has not been built for this continent. Made in cardboard-stone, they measure almost four meters high and they weigh between 59 and 67 kilograms. The Comparsa is completed by five Cabezudos (Bigheaded Ones) - the grandmother, the mayor, the councilman, the Japanese couple, which were made my Felix Flores Logiers in the last decade of XIX century. The kilikis and the six zaldikos or ponies, run after the children. Kilikis have their own identity and their names are owed to their dress or facial aspects: Napole??n, Verrug??n (Wart), Patata (Potatohead), Coleta (Ponytail), Barbudo (Beardly) and the most feared, CaraVinagre (SourFace). They walk around beating up on people with these powder filled sponge balls, that kind of smart if you get hit with a good whack. It makes all the little kids run with a mixture of delight and fear. But a good time is had by all. The Pe??as They are literally the life of the party. They are Pamplona Social Clubs that join to dance, jump, and sing through the streets, dressed in their colors and their coat of arms, while waving their banners, with their marching bands (charangas) for the Fiesta of San Fermin. They each have their own meeting halls, mostly located on Calle Jarauta. And they open their stands and bars for people to come and join them to party and drink and eat the 24hours a day and party the 9 days of the Fiesta. They take turns keeping their bars open, and their charanga band musicians take shifts with the instruments so that they are constantly parading through the streets 24-hours a day, marching by with tubas, drums, trumpets, and whatever else they can get their hands on to make a racket. If you're one of the ones that didn't find a place to sleep, and you're sleeping out in Taconera Park, you can forget about trying to get any decent rest. They'll come and blow a trumpet in your ear. There are 16 Pamplona Pe?ħas in all. And through the years, there are now some Foreign Penas. They originated back in the last century with friends from the same neighborhood who formed a club, and others, a groups of friends who were united in a bar, like the Alegria de Iru?ħa. They are financed by dues and with a small annual aid of from the City Council. And they also help organize other activities in Pamplona throughout the year. The Pe??as at the bullfight Here, the different clubs, each with their distinctive dress and banner gather to boo and hiss at the matador and cheer for the bull. They sit on the sunny side of the bullring, and are loud and raucous. They sing, scream and shout, and totally dominate the atmosphere at the bullring. And they create quite a spectacle just making their way down the street to the bullring with their banners, and their bands, and wineboots, and their coolers filled with beer and wine and food. All the while singing and dancing towards the bullfight. If you're near the Plaza de Toros in the afternoon, don't miss this show. These guys know how to make an entrance. |
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