Catalan Traditions - Pubilla's

I thought I’d research a little more into Catalan fashion, but from a more traditional view. But then I found a picture of a woman wearing a headdress and the word ‘Pubilla’ written underneath. I thought the headdress was called ‘Pubilla’, but it actually means ‘heiress’ and it has a lot of history behind it. Many years ago, a woman was branded the name ‘Pubilla’ if there were no males in a Catalan family in order to preserve the family name.

Now, in present Catalunia, Pubilla’s are kept purely just for tradition and cultural reasons. Each town elects their own ‘Pubilla’ once a year and this is accompanied by a big ceremony and a festa.

Each Pubilla wears expensive and elaborate dresses, usually made of very intricate lace. They also wear fishnet gloves and a hairnet.

I couldn’t find much on Pubilla’s which was a shame, but if you type it into google and look at the images, you can get an idea of the type of clothes they wore. Their amazing clothes show the importance of the event when a Pubilla gets elected, and how significant it is to the people of Catalunia that they still carry on their tradition.

Below are pictures of the first ever Pubilla and also a picture of a current Pubilla.

Chiara