June 13. San Antonio

Formerly they were very important and a livestock fair was held, over the years have been recovering some celebrations such as religious events, dances and performances.

The main celebration consists of the celebration of the Eucharist, then, the saint is taken in procession to the Plaza for several girls to perform a dance of ribbons before the image of the patron saint, a dance of girls dressed in the typical shepherdess costume that consists of braiding a ribbon around a stick to the rhythm of the music.

The ribbons and costumes are very brightly colored, because it is a playful event. The dance consists of a group of girls, pairs and usually sixteen, are placed forming a circumference, and in the center is located a mast where they tie ribbons. They are of certain colors, depending on the occasion.

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Then, each participant grabs a ribbon, and they begin to spin around the circumference to the beat of the music. When advancing, each one must pass under the belt of the other, and immediately afterwards let the one that wants to advance in the opposite direction pass under the belt that is being carried.

Due to this swaying, a kind of yarn is woven into the mast, generally forming a special color variation. It is a traditional dance that has been practiced in different cultures. For the dancers the tree or stick signified the arrival of spring, to vivify the furrows, the fruit trees, the cattle and the women; with its shoots energy renewed life and men wanted to attract its mysterious benefits. That is why they adorned it with colored ribbons (symbols of fruits) and danced around it.

Eugenio Larruga, in his Memorias Políticas y Económicas, Volume XXXIX, published in Madrid in 1796, pages 246 and following, writes: “In the Villa de Deleytosa no fairs are held throughout the year, but it is on June 24 the market that is called Señor San Juan, where some Galician hawkers concur, and such a merchant neighbor of the City of Truxillo, and some albarderos of very little entity: the said market lasts all the said day June 24 only, which is by custom”.

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