Pinya

Right, first sorry to Emma for re-visiting her topic on ‘Els Pets.’ I hadn’t seen it had already been done :s

I suppose you’ve all seen the bank/building society advert where the employees tower on top of each other?! And then the customers and a dog walk along. I think it might be for Halifax? Well...in Cataluña it’s a tradition! Well, sort of...it’s called...the ‘Pinya.’ Cool? I know.

From 100-300 people are needed to build a human castle. In a rugby scrum style technique, people interlock arms and climb on top of each other. In order to complete the fantastic spectacle, two children, generally under the age of 5, climb on top. This creates the Pom de Dalt (the apple on top).

There are human castle performances, celebrations and even teams! In total there are 65 teams in Cataluña, including in the Balearic Islands. As in most major sports, there is a specific time of year when it is ‘played.’ It runs from April to November, and during this period there are tournaments for all teams. As with other sports, there is training, which is usually two nights a week and lasting for two hours. Pretty strenuous stuff!

Historically, it’s thought that this phenomenon originated from an 18th century Valencian folk dance. The typical traits of the pinya represent strength, cohesion, passion and team building which could be a good way to describe Catalonian national identity.

Fancy joining a ‘colle’? (Team) In Cataluña it’s a real way to network and meet new people. So if you have your year out in Barcelona, you know what to do!

Cheers, Jared