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Catalan Castells become an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

CNA / Margalida Armengual / Laura Pous
Barcelona (ACN).- The 'Castells', the Catalan tradition of building human towers, have been distinguished as a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Catalan candidacy was discussed in Nairobi, Kenya and has the support of the Catalan Parliament. Every year, Catalans build up to 16.000 human towers, in one of the most unique and fascinating traditions of Catalonia that has been around for almost 200 years.

The Castells can be up to 10 human floors, and involve the participation of old and young, with children on the top level. In Catalonia, there are more than 60 'colles', the name given to the groups that raise human towers. At cultural and festive events, colles compete with each other to create the most elaborate and beautiful construction. The Catalan squares become crowded with thousands of people who get excited and euphoric as every castell is made.

The distinction of this cultural tradition by Unesco could be the finishing touch of a fantastic year for the castellers, as they have recently achieved one of the most difficult human towers ever made. Besides this, the distinction would also become a worldwide acknowledgment of Catalan culture.

'I think that for Catalonia and for the Castells this will be a landmark in recognition. But at the same time this will represent an international recognition of Catalonia', said the President of the Catalan Parliament, Ernest Benach. 'Catalonia is mainly a culture and as a nation without a state we need this space for recognition', he added.

Up to 7.000 castellers from the 60 different 'colles' of Catalonia are looking forward to the final decision of Unesco. Catalans are very proud of the tradition, and hope that the human towers will be included on Unesco's list.

'This is an activity that we consider to be Catalan', the president of the Castellers de Vilafranca, Miquel Ferret, said. 'It's ours and we feel it as ours because it originated here. But its value can be passed onto other countries and other cultures around the world', he argued. This 'casteller' also praised the visual aspect of the tradition, that 'has a strong impact that attracts everyone's attention, whether you are Catalan or not'.


Thank you :D
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if you brought this subject up, I'd like to ask here if someone can help me with some links regarding solutions which may become laws, solutions for protecting the cultural heritage (in Romania, for instance, but it's good any info)

I'm not an expert but see and listen human tower video and maybe you'll get some basic idea ;)
This achievement is due to united people's persistent work.

If I was there I would be tempted to tickle one of the guys at the base... :P

also flamenco and another thing, from Mallorca ( dont remember the name) had become an ICHH too

Viva españa!

from Slovak republic, there is only one listed item called FUJARA

The fujara [pronounced foo-ya-ra] originated in central Slovakia as a large sophisticated folk shepherd's fipple flute of unique design. It is technically a contrabass instrument in the tabor pipe class.

Ranging from 150 to 170 cm long and tuned in A, G, and F. It has three tone holes located on the lower part of the main body. The sound is produced by a fipple at the upper end of the main body of the fujara. The air is led to the fipple through a smaller parallel pipe, called vzduchovoď in Slovak (meaning "air channel"), mounted on the main body of the instrument. While it is possible to play the fundamental frequency on fujaras,[1] the normal playing technique is based on overblowing the instrument. Because of its aspect ratio (great length versus small internal diameter), the overtones created permit one to play a diatonic scale using only the three tone holes. The fujara is played standing, with the instrument held vertically, usually braced against the right thigh.




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Wonderful sound, so peacefull that transports me to nature. Great instrument. :D

yeah, it´s beautiful sound for listening and it´s coming from the nature (favorite instrument of our shepherds), but unfortunately there are not a lot of active players, nowadays...
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Let's keep these beautiful traditions alive... :)
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Cantu a Tenore

Cantu a tenore is a style of polyphonic folk singing characteristic of the Barbagia region of the island of Sardinia (Italy), even though some other Sardinian sub-regions bear examples of such tradition.

The word tenore, itself, is not to be confused with the word "tenor" as a simple description of vocal register; it refers to the actual style of folk singing and is distinguished from other similar styles called by different names in different places on the island, such as taja in Gallura and concordu in Logudoru (Sassu 1978). In the Barbagia region on the island of Sardinia, there are two different styles of polyphonic singing: cuncordu, usually a form of sacred music, sung with regular voices, and tenore, usually a form of profane music, marked by the use of overtone singing. A tenore is practised by groups of four male singers each of whom has a distinct role; the oche or boche (pronounced /oke/ or /boke/, "voice") is the solo voice, while the mesu oche or mesu boche ("half voice"), contra ("counter") and bassu ("bass") - listed in descending pitch order - form a chorus (another meaning of tenore). The bassu sings the same note sung by the oche, and contra a fifth above the bassu. Oche and mesu oche sing in a regular voice, whereas contra and bassu sing with a technique affecting the larynx. The oche sings a poetic text, which can be of epic, historic, satirical, amorous or even protest genre. The chorus consists of nonsense syllables (for example bim-bam-boo). According to popular tradition, mesu oche imitates the sound of wind, while the contra imitates a sheep bleating and the bassu a cow lowing. The solo voice starts a monodic vocal line and is then joined by the others as he indicates to them to join in. The effect is somewhat that of a round except that the points where the other singers join in vary and, thus, the harmonies vary from version to version. The execution differs in details between each of the villages where a tenore is sung to such an extent that the village can be immediately recognized. Although nowadays cucordu and canto a tenore are performed only by men, memories remain of a time where women groups performed as well, following the matriarchal tradition of Sardinia. According to some anthropologists, canto a tenore was performed back in nuraghe civilisation. In 2005, Unesco classed the canto a tenore among intangible world heritage [1].

Some of the most well known groups who perform a tenore are Tenores di Bitti, Tenores de Orosei, Tenores di Oniferi and Tenores di Neoneli.





Some stuff from Italy,Sardinia :)

beautiful one :) I like it :)

I hope that the recognition as intangible heritage doesn't harm the traditions. Many 'tangible' sites advertise with the fact that they are recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO. I can see that cities try to attract tourists by advertising with this. I hope that it will not mean they will build the human towers all year round instead of only when it is normally done according to the tradition.

yeah :)
the fujara reminds me of the sound of "launeddas",but this instrument is not recognized by UNESCO but it has a long history:he is played here since IX century before christ.