Arcadia Spain

If you are staying around the city this weekend, you will have the opportunity to see spectacular castellers’ (human towers) live performances in two of the most well-known squares in Barcelona. Castellers de Barcelona are celebrating their 47^th anniversary on Sunday, and for that reason they will be performing in Barcelona on two different occasions: on Saturday afternoon in Plaça del Rei and on Sunday morning in Plaça Sant Jaume. As usual, castellers from other towns (namely Castellers de Cornellà, Castellers de Sabadell, Xics de Granollers and Minyons de Terrassa) will be joining this celebration to build up multiple human towers at once.

And speaking of Castellers de Barcelona, last week our students had the chance to practice with them. For starters, the students learned how to put on the faixa (sash) which is the key element of the Castellers’ outfit. After that first step, we had a great time learning about how Castellers de Barcelona rehearse, watching them build towers and letting some of them climb up on our shoulders. We also became part of the Castellers’ pinya (at the bottom of the human tower) while kids and teenagers were climbing up to the top, and building impressive towers. It was such a thrilling experience and surely an experience of a lifetime!

“The Castellers experience was really amazing. You watch these people do something that looks so hard and it makes you wonder how they do it. How do they stand 6 people tall, one on top of the other? Well, I got to see a little bit about how that works. I was given the opportunity to practice with the Castellers. I had two girls standing on my shoulders. There is so much control you need to have as well as focus. It was incredible to watch them climb other people and balance on another person's shoulders. There were children as young as four climbing to the top of these towers. People really need to work together to pull off these amazing structures. Everyone was very welcoming and wanted us to participate as much as possible. This is definitely something I am glad I got to be a part of.

– CHRISSY BALL, Arcadia University student, Arcadia in Barcelona.

“The castellers practice was great because we got to experience something so important to the Catalan culture first-hand. The people there were so welcoming and eager to have us join in on the practice. It was amazing to see the strength and patience that goes into creating all the different types of towers and how proud they are when they complete one successfully. I loved it!”

– MADELINE KOROL, Clemson University student, Arcadia in Barcelona.

In short, Castellers de Barcelona are not only extraordinary human towers builders but also excellent teachers. From Arcadia Barcelona we would like to thank them for their warm reception and for letting our students take part in this beautiful tradition.