Castellers de la Vila de Gracia
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia are a Colla castellera ('Castellers Community') that were founded in 1996 in Gràcia , a district of Barcelona . The aim of these traditional Catalan groups is to build so-called castells ('human towers'). The individual Castellers groups differ in the color of their shirt - the color of the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia is navy blue.
The first Castell 4 de 8 (ie 4 people per floor and 8 floors high) was successfully completed or descarregat , which means it, on August 17, 2003 for the famous city festival Festa Major de Gràcia on the square of Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia was completely assembled and dismantled without collapsing.
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia's best performance so far included the following castells: 4 de 8 , 3 de 8 and 2 de 7 .
The group has already participated five times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) in the Concurs de Castells , a competition that takes place every two years in Tarragona .
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia are also known as Colla dels blaus , based on their shirt color, or Colla dels estudiants , due to the large number of young members.
history
The first indications of a Colla castellera in Gràcia come from the end of the 19th century when in connection with the great phylloxera plague, which destroyed large parts of the Catalan vineyards at that time, numerous refugees from the Camp de Tarragona region came to the then around 1890 Location of Vila de Gracia . Here they founded u. a. a Castellers group that has been proven to have performed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of these performances have taken place during the Festa Major de Gràcia during these years.
Beginning
The history of the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia began in 1990 when a group of young people, linked by neighborhood and social memberships in Gracia, considered the creation of a new colla castellera as lovers of castells . This notion took shape when it was decided by the boys to hold the first meeting in October 1996 and the news soon spread. The first training session was held on November 23, 1996 in Plaça del Sol, where about 30 people met.
The first public (but not official) appearance of the new group of Gracia took place in February 1997 on the occasion of the Santa Eulàlia Barcelona city festival on Plaça Sant Jaume . There, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia built the structure Two columns of 4 (one column: only one man per floor, i.e. a column of 4 consists of 4 people, one standing on the shoulders of the other, the simplest structure in the repertoire ). The first official appearance took place on the Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia , this place was then designated as the “group's own place” for the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia on March 4, 1997. About 60 castellers took part in this performance and built simple constructions.
First superstructures / towers / castells
The team had their official and public introduction to the world of Castellers on May 4, 1997. With the Castellers de Sants and the Castellers de Sant Andreu de la Barca as godparents, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia built the first 6-level- Construction on. This first season had good and bad times in terms of construction successes, but the continuous work was soon followed by the reward, a 7-level construction, the 4 de 7 , was successful on November 23, 1997 at the Castells performance - Holiday (Diada) built up.
The passage from a 7-level structure to the construction of 8 levels
After 1997, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia continued to develop and stabilized as colla de 7 . You were ready for the next step. On October 6, 2002 at the 19th Concurs de Castells de Tarragona they tried their hand at building their first 4 de 8 . But this tower collapsed, just like her first 2 de 7 shortly before in the previous round . Since October 2002 the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have made the 4 de 8 every year, and to this day they have established themselves as colla de 8 as one of the top 20 groups, colles , in the Castells community.
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have been accompanied by their own group of shawm players since they were founded, which also trains all people who are interested in this instrument (the shawm ) and who are interested in playing in the various activities of the colla .
In 1999 the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia received the Medalla d'Honor de Barcelona as an award . The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia are also members of the Colles de Cultura Popular de Gràcia .
Training / exercise / practice
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have trained in different halls in Gràcia, including the Josep Maria Jujol school , the Artesà de Gràcia center and the old school Escola OSI . Since 2002 and currently, the training has taken place in the hall of the Escola Reina Violant school (C / Trilla 18, Gràcia). The training times are Tuesdays from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Other activities
Since 1998, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have had a radio broadcast on the Ràdio Gràcia channel , called Terços Amunt , about the Castells world. This program has been broadcast regularly to this day and in 2010 was awarded the Vila de Gràcia prize for the best communicative initiative.
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia used to have their own quarterly magazine, L'Espadat , the magazine was last published in late 2004.
The most important side activity of the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia is the traditional decorating of the Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia (Gracia Market Square), a main attraction on the occasion of the city festival of Gracia Festa Major de Gracia . The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have been responsible for decorating their square since 2001.
Participation in the Concurs de Tarragona
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia took part in 5 events of the Concurs de Tarragona . Below is a list of the competition in which the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia took part, which structures were successfully set up and dismantled, and finally, in brackets, the final position in this year's ranking:
- 19th Concurs de castells de Tarragona (2002): 2 de 7, 4 de 8c, 5 de 7 (13)
- 20th Concurs de castells de Tarragona (2004): 4 de 8i, 4 d 8c, 5 de 7, 4 de 7a (14)
- 21st Concurs de castells de Tarragona (2006): 2 de 7c, 4 de 8c (16)
- 22nd Concurs de castells de Tarragona (2008): 5 de 7, 4 de 8c, 4 de 7a (15)
- 23rd Concurs de castells de Tarragona (2010): 4 de 8, 2 de 7, 5 de 7 (11)
The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia in the world
Performances outside of Catalonia:
- Marseille (2001)
- Carcassonne (2002)
- Seville (2005)
Performances in Catalonia:
- País Valencià
- Northern Catalonia
-
Balearic Islands
- Sant Francesc , Formentera (2010)
- Ibiza town , Eivissa
The Caps de Colla
The Cap de Colla is technically responsible for the colla castellera .
| Surname | since |
|---|---|
| Joaquim Besaran i Alberich | November 1996 - June 1997 |
| Guillem Ortega i Tous | 1997 (from June) |
| Jordi Ràfols i Brasó | 1998- 2000 -2001 |
| Carles Capellades i Sesé | 1999- 2004 - 2005 |
| Joan Font i Basté | 2002- 2003 |
| Oriol Constantí i González | 2006- 2007 |
| Carles Gallardo i Prades | 2008 - 2009 |
| Aleix Vila i Fuertes | 2010 |
The presidents
| Surname | since |
|---|---|
| Ramon Josep Serra i Ruiz "RJ" | November 1996 - June 1997 |
| David Palau i Garcia | 1997 (from June) |
| Josep Maria Porta i Palau | 1998 |
| Roger Gispert i Masó | 1999-2000-2001-2004-2005 |
| Miquel Moret i Parera | 2002-2003 |
| Martí Urgell i Vidal | 2006-2007 |
| Miquel Sendra i Pons | 2008-2009 |
| Arnau Dòria i Cerezo | 2010 |
First completed structure
| Name of the castell | date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 4 of 6 | May 4, 1997 | public appearance |
| 3 de 6 | May 4, 1997 | public appearance |
| 4 de 6 with needle | May 4, 1997 | public appearance |
| 5 de 6 | December 21, 1997 | La Mercè |
| 3 de 6 per sota (built from below) | August 16, 1998 | Festa Major de Gracia |
| 5-pillar carregat (only up to construction, then collapsed) | August 16, 1998 | Festa Major de Gracia |
| 5 column | October 18, 1998 | Festival of the colles of 1997 |
| 5 column per sota (built from below) | November 24, 2002 | Festival of the Castellers de Badalona |
| 2 de 6 carregat (only until construction, then collapsed) | November 9, 1997 | Festival of the Castellers de Sant Andreu de la Barca |
| 2 de 6 | March 29, 1998 | Solidarity children from Brazil |
| 6 de 6 | August 19, 2000 | Night watch of the Festa Major de Gràcia |
| 4 of 7 | November 23, 1997 | 1. Festival of the Castellers de la Vila de Gracia |
| 3 de 7 carregat (only until construction, then collapsed) | November 29, 1998 | Festival of the Castellers de Badalona |
| 3 de 7 | September 26, 1999 | La Mercè |
| 4 de 7 with needle carregat (only until construction, then collapsed) | November 22, 1998 | 2. Festival of the Castellers de la Vila de Gracia |
| 4 de 7 with needle | May 16, 1999 | 2nd birthday of the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia |
| 3 de 7 with needle | April 25, 1999 | Feast of St. George, Sitges |
| 5 de 7 | September 25, 2000 | La Mercè |
| 3 de 7 per sota (built from below) | August 19, 2001 | Festa Major de Gracia |
| 2 de 7 carregat (only until construction, then collapsed) | September 24, 2002 | La Mercè |
| 2 de 7 | October 6, 2002 | 19th Concurs de castells de Tarragona |
| 4 de 8 carregat (only until construction, then collapsed) | October 6, 2002 | 19 Concurs de castells de Tarragona |
| 4 of 8 | August 17, 2003 | Festa Major de Gracia |
| 3 de 8 carregar (only until construction, then collapsed) | September 24, 2010 | La Mercè |
Subject-specific literature
- Albert Musons, Quim Perelló, Jordi Ràfols and Miquel Sendra: Xiquets ahir, castellers per semper: Vila de Gràcia (1876–2002) . Collection La Font de l'Atzavara edited by Taller d'Història de Gràcia, 111 pages, Barcelona.
- Carles Gallardo: Blue, fraternitat i castells: Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia (1997-2001) . 126 pages, published by Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia.