#agost

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Couples from Agost, situated in the South of the Valencian Country, wearing the local traditional clothes and going to dance during the town’s festivities for les Danses del Rei Moro (“the Dances of the Moorish King”). The festivities last from December 26th to January 1st and fill the town with dances and firecrackers.

Photos from Agost

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AGOST

Every month I’ll do a compilation of pictures of things that I liked, of places where I’ve been or anything that I thought was worth of a picture in that period of time. And in the center there will be the lockscreen that I used that month.

All pictures are mine except the ones I credit the owners/creators.

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Diari d'abord. Mural col•lectiu. Hem començat a pintar algun músic.

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Beer and wine “empanadas”, typical from the area around Agost (South of the Valencian Country).

Recipe under the cut!

Ingredients for beer empanadas

For the dough:

2 kg of flour

3 glasses of beer

3 glasses of olive oil

2 envelopes of powder yeast

200 g of butter

A bit of salt

1 egg to paint them

For the stuffed:

2 kg of onion

2 kg of tomato

6 boiled eggs

Canned tuna

Red and green pepper

Ingredients for the wine empanadas

Ingredients for the dough:

1 kg of flour

1 and a half glass of white wine

1 and a half glass of sunflower oil

1 envelope of powdered yeat

50 g of butter

A bit of salt

Preparation (for both)

Put the flour, yeast and a bit of salt in a bowl. Melt the butter in the fire and add the liquid butter to the bowl. Add also the oil, beer/wine, and mix it all.

When the dough is ready, make little balls with it. The size of the balls depends on how big you want the empanadas to be. Spread the dough of every ball on top of a wax paper (this will avoid them getting stuck to the oven tray).

add the stuffed in half of the circle of dough you have spread, and close it with the other half. To avoid the stuffed getting out of the empanada, roll the outside a little bit or pinch it to make both sides mix.

Lastly, pinch with a fork so that air will be able to come out and the empanada won’t explode. Paint the empanadas with egg to make them look more golden.

Oven them at 170ºC for about 25 minutes.

Source: Agost

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UNESCO intangible heritage in the Catalan Countries 1/9: Mystery Play of Elx, Valencian Country

The mystery play of Elx (in Valencian: El Misteri d’Elx) is a sacred musical drama of the death, the passage into heaven (known as the Assumption) and the crowning of the Virgin Mary. Since the mid-15th century it has been performed in the Basilica of Santa Maria and in the streets of the old city of Elx.

It is a living testimony of European religious theatre of the Middle Ages and of the cult of the Virgin. This theatrical performance, which is entirely sung, comprises two acts, performed on 14 and 15 August. These depict the death and crowning of the Virgin in a series of scenes and related paintings: the death of Mary, the night procession that is followed by hundreds of participants carrying candles, the morning procession, the afternoon funeral procession in the streets of Elx, and the enactment of the burial, Assumption and coronation in the Basilica. The texts are in Valencian, the local form of Catalan, with a few sections in Latin.

Ancient aerial machinery is used to enhance the spectacle by means of special effects. More than 300 volunteers take part in the performance each year as actors, singers, stage directors, stagehands, tailors and stewards, as well as in the preparations that last throughout the year.

UNESCO

The Mystery of Elx has been represented in Elx since the 15th century, outliving even the Vatican’s ban on theatre plays inside the church from 1632.

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Locals from Sitges (in Garraf, Catalonia) dancing ball de cintes around the streets on the day of Sitges’s patron saint: Saint Bartholomew (24th August).

This traditional dance consists on braiding the ribbons around the boy’s arm while dancing, and it originated from the old cults to the May Tree which brought fertility to the vineyards. In fact, it is believed that the steps of this dance come from a stylized representation of grape stomping.

Photos from sitgesfestamajor.cat

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In the Catalan Countries, each town has two days every year when it celebrates the Festa Major.

During Festa Major, the neighbours permorm traditional dances in the streets, there’s fireworks, concerts, castellers (human towers), and many other activities.

Watch this short video (only 1 minute!) and see  how the festivity is celebrated in Sitges, province of Barcelona, Catalonia. And if you want to see more dances, check out our #festa major tag.

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Diari d’abord. Mural col·lectiu a l’institut d’Agost.

Els colors comencen a envair la paret.