The traditional festivities of Llanes

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The festivals of La Magdalena on July 22nd, San Roque on August 16th, and La Guía on September 8th are events steeped in devotion and tradition, taking place throughout the warmer months in the town of Llanes, a municipality that celebrates its folklore year-round like few other places. The festivities unfold in every village and corner of this district, especially from the beginning of spring onwards, with celebrations like La Flor de Pría in the parish of the same name.

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The three festivals in the capital of Llanes are declared of tourist interest , the Guía Festival of National Interest, and in all three, in one way or another, the land of origin and the sea are subliminally present, camouflaged by Catholicism. The women gleam with the enduring embellishments on their traditional Llanes dresses, while the men, with more austere bearing and walking sticks in hand, enliven the rhythm of the processions and the displays of revelry that transcend and precede official celebrations. The young women present the floral offering, "el ramu," to their religious images, and the young men carry pyramids of meticulously crafted loaves of bread that will later be auctioned off.

The Pericote, the Jota de la Magdalena, the Danza Peregrina, and the Danza Prima could well be the controlled "folixa" (festival) of an ancestral enthusiasm. The maritime processions , on the other hand, are a faithful example of the harsh—and also gentle—relationship that the people of Llanes have forged with the sea.

Folklore in all corners of the rural world is no less vibrant than that of its capital city. The rivalries are just as intense, with factions upon factions, groups upon groups, a clash of sentiments, passions, and an unusual competitiveness that, paradoxically, helps strengthen the collective spirit and makes its inhabitants more prosperous. In the villages, all sorts of processions and pilgrimages survive, along with auctions of the decorated branch (ramu) and an endless array of ways to pay homage. Each village has taken care to offer a distinct nuance compared to its neighbor, but the custom, felt individually, carries in every case the essence of contagion.

"Ours is for the fire ." This inscription can be read on the t-shirts of the Blanca side in the town of Nueva. It's almost 40 meters long and weighs more than a ton and a half on their shoulders. To raise the log, three ropes are pulled: two guy ropes and a main or guide rope around which the pulse of the town gathers. The "voceru" is in charge of directing the coordination of the maneuver, and the eucalyptus log is straightened by the force of their voices, even if it takes a whole afternoon.

To erect a "hoguera" —also spelled "foguera" or "joguera," to respect all linguistic variations— is to plant a log larger than the one in the neighboring village in one's own town square . The size, the weight, and the accompanying ceremonies speak volumes about who cherishes their festival most and which festival committee was the most effective that year. Sometimes night falls and the afternoon hasn't been long enough to raise it due to a mistake in digging the pit or a lack of coordination. But no village fails, and dawn breaks in the square, the "prau," or the chosen throne, with its unique king for the year.

Some argue that the traditional offering of the "ramu," the bonfires, and the prima dances date back to an ancient culture that is difficult to define precisely. For scholars of the area, there is a clear connection to the region's vegetation. The prima dance, for example, speaks of a rhythm predating Christianity . This collective, circular, and choral dance, usually performed in the churchyard or around the bonfire, is, according to folklore scholars, the way the community periodically needed to bond.

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The festive manifestations, on the other hand, underwent an important change with the civil war. Throughout the postwar period, a certain essence of the celebrations was recovered due to lack of money, the bouquets were less luxurious and the offerings associated with garden produce resurfaced again.

However, the biggest change in the folklore came from the "Indianos" ( Spaniards who emigrated to the Americas and returned wealthy), and the traditional dances that take place today are simply variations of the personalized dances among these emigrants. Those who returned to Llanes after making their fortunes in the Americas wanted their festival to be the best of all and didn't hesitate to contribute financially. Thus, the presence of electric lighting in the festive atmosphere, the abundance of fireworks, the more elaborately decorated bouquets, and the noticeable increase in the use of beads on the traditional Llanes costumes were all patterns introduced by these returning emigrants.

In the village of Celorio , another of the council's countless unique celebrations, hundreds of people gather at the end of August for the witches' sabbath to embody the official and popular repudiation once held for black magic. Tradition tells, and its inheritors maintain, that a strange, female being inhabits the area, capable of speaking with wolves. She was the Witch of Bricia , whose every move was closely and spitefully followed by the Inquisition. The persecuted woman has become a legend. They say she is still alive, that year after year she lends her voice to an eternal incantation, the one that in this village serves every year to usher in the battle between humans and spirits.