Tarragona Living History

Equilibrium between smartness and emotion

The seconds lasted forever, he was at his limit. He couldn’t see anything, surrounded by dozens of tense bodies, worrying and sweating like him. The sound of flageolets and the shouts from the team leader, he knew he had to hold on. Heat, a lot of heat. That corpulent body, with a few winter layers on top, bravely endured. It was his brain that kept him going. Sure. On top of his shoulders the nine floor tower was being built. He didn’t want to even think about the weight on top of him. If it hadn’t been for the two girls acting like crutches under his arms he would have folded like crumpled paper...

The castles —the human tower constructions— originated in Tarragona and in Penedès and their origin comes from Valencian dances. Tarragona has four groups and the city lives and breathes the tower building spirit and ambience like never before. To build towers everyone is needed and in the right place, from the oldest to the youngest. If one is missing, it doesn’t get built, without bravery, neither.