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The castells, human towers or pyramids, are perhaps the proudest symbol of Catalonia. In the northern province around Barcelona, this unique activity of 'building' these towers is taken very seriously. The participants (castellers) practice just as hard as professional athletes to be able to create the perfect towers. And the audience that has gathered reacts with similarly intense emotions as during major sporting events.
The construction of the human towers works according to a carefully worked out principle. First, the base, the pinya, is formed. This consists of hundreds of castellers that are pressed closely together. This has two purposes. It is a solid base on which the rest of the pyramid can be built. In addition, in the event that the tower collapses, it acts as a soft cushion to safely catch the climbers. Then the first climbers clamber over the pinya from all sides to the centre to form the first 'floor'. Depending on how high the castellers want to make their tower, this first layer can consist of 3 to about 6 people. And then the new layers follow in the same way. Which does mean that gradually more and more careful climbing is required. The apotheosis is when one of the smallest and lightest castellers announces with a hand gesture that the tower is finished. That is the moment when the crowd releases its emotional discharge in the form of loud cheering.
It is logical that a lot of training precedes the making of the castells. A small misstep or wobble by a casteller can cause the entire tower to collapse completely. In order to be able to make 10 floors over a height of more than 12 meters in some cases, all participants must of course know exactly what is expected of them.
The tradition of the castells goes back to the end of the 18th century. It all started with smaller human towers in the Catalan town of Valls. Initially, nothing indicated the proud and patriotic custom that it would become for the Catalans centuries later. In the beginning, the castells were little more than a circus act. The castellers were mainly unemployed people from the poor south of Spain. They came to the richer north to earn a little money. A paid job for people from the lower social classes. Cheap entertainment for the local public.
With the slowly growing popularity of tower building, the competitive element was also introduced. In most villages and towns, two castell groups would compete for the honour of who was the best. The castellers were financed by political parties that supported either the monarchy or the republic. It was only after Franco's death that it became the most important symbol of Catalan identity. It is therefore not surprising that castells are regularly built during pro-independence demonstrations.
The spectacular castells can be admired almost everywhere in Catalan villages and towns from June to September. Once every two years, there is a big festival in Tarragona. The best construction teams come together to build the highest towers.
In 2010, castells were declared an intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
