Entrodio in Rias Baixas

A sea of costumes, parades and lots of partying

Enjoy the lively comparsas and the original "entierros" of Entroido

Xenerais, Madamas e Galáns, Meco, Ravachol, Sardiñas, Momo... The province is immersed in carnival with hundreds of parties, parades and "entierros". Each Entroido is unique. Pontevedra buries its famous and historic Loro Ravachol, Vigo executes the Meco, Cangas sacrifices the Momo; a long list of town councils (Moaña, Baiona, Caldas, Baiona, Ponteareas, O Grove...) say goodbye to the Sardi Gras.) say goodbye to the Sardiña -in some cases preceded by the farewell to the Xoubiña, for the children-; Salvaterra do Miño buries, of course, the lamprey; Tomiño the Taíña... The list of ceremonies is almost endless, as the carnivals also extend to dozens of parishes that celebrate their own festivities.

 

 

Comparsas, charangas and other groups parade through the streets and corners of As Rías Baixas with their music, dances and humour, suitable for all audiences. And gastronomy also dresses up this season. Cocido (stew) and lacón con grelos (pork shoulder with turnip tops) become the undisputed stars of the table, followed by other delicious sweets typical of these dates, filloas and ears. These are some of the essential carnival festivities in As Rías Baixas.

Entroido of Cobres (Vilaboa)

The traditional Entroido de Cobres, according to writings of the time, dates back to the beginning of the 18th century and has been declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in Galicia. Madamas and galáns, in colourful costumes, and other people dressed in white, perform dances to the sound of a charanga (brass band). The costumes of the madams, who represent women of high social standing, consist of a dungarees full of chains and other metallic ornaments, a white blouse and skirt, both adorned with coloured ribbons and various trimmings, black shoes and a large hat with a floral composition and other elements.

 

 

 

The galáns, who play men of high social standing who look for a partner among the madams, wear white shirts with coloured ribbons, red ties, silk handkerchiefs covering the waist to the knees, white trousers, black shoes and a hat with a floral composition, as in the case of the madams.

On Shrove Tuesday, a public holiday in Vilaboa, the Corrida do Galo takes place, another outstanding activity of the Entroido de Cobres, an event that is steeped in tradition.

[MORE ABOUT THE ENTROIDO OF COBRES HERE].

Os Xenerais da Ulla (Vila de Cruces, A Estrada and Silleda)

Weeks of elaboration and lots of colour distinguish the costumes of the xenerais da Ulla. On horseback, these characters, typical of one of the most traditional carnival events in Galicia, travel through the municipalities of Vila de Cruces, A Estrada and Silleda, bathed by the waters of the river Ulla. This traditional and creative carnival forms part of the Festivities of Tourist Interest in Galicia.

 

 

 

Xenerais and couriers are the protagonists of the festival. The costumes of these characters seem to be inspired by military uniforms. The horsemen ride through the villages on horseback while chanting "vivas" accompanied by an army of troupes and choirs. From a very early age, the Xenerais get involved in these fights, in which nothing and no one seems to be safe: political, love, social or local news stories makethe audience laugh.

[MORE ABOUT THE XENERAIS DO ULLA HERE].

From Rey Urco to Loro Ravachol (Pontevedra)

The Entroido in the capital of the province, Pontevedra, has a long tradition. During one week its varied proposal attracts a large number of visitors. The arrival of King Urco on the streets of the city heralds the beginning of the carnival. Parades that fill the most emblematic streets of A Boa Vila with colour and music, costume and filloas competitions, gastronomic days, parodies in different parts of the city, the pirate disembarkation and the murgas competition are the perfect prelude to the most important event of the Pontevedra carnival: the burial of the parrot Ravachol.

 

 

Ravachol was a parrot that lived in the old Peregrina chemist's shop, where a statue pays homage to the character today. The owner of the pharmacy, Perfecto Feijoo, a cultured man and friend of the gatherings in which everyone from Unamuno to Ortega y Gasset took part, used to get angry with the parrot for his language and impudence. The death of this beloved bird and its curious mass burial have been represented in an original and amusing way since 1985 as the central acts of the carnival in Pontevedra.

In one of the towns on the neighbouring peninsula of O Morrazo, the closing of these celebrations comes on Carnival Sunday with the burial of another bird, in this case a sinister one, the so-called Paxaro de Mal Agoiro from the seaside town of Bueu.

Burial of the Meco (Vigo)

The city of Vigo is covered in praise of the god of carnival, the Meco, with his enthronement and execution a few days later. During the reign of this pagan god, represented by a doll that each year takes the form of a character or element of the current affairs, the streets and the most emblematic squares of the city are filled with a good atmosphere, groups and a lot of fun.

The ill-mannered merdeiros, another of the outstanding characters of this celebration, run, shout and jump in an attempt to frighten passers-by; armed with a stick, they try to hit the people they meet. A little over a decade ago, this traditional figure of Vigo's carnival was recovered, as it had been banned in the 1920s.

 

 

 

In the past, dressing up as a merdeiro was a common custom among the city's sailors. The aim of this character, born out of the rivalry between sailors and farmers, was to annoy people by rubbing his victims with the remains of rotten fish.

In the end, the unfortunate Meco will be burnt and mourned on Shrove Tuesday night at the Porta do Sol. Near Vigo, the municipality of Redondela also venerates the figure of the Meco, who meets the same fate as the one in the city of Vigo. Similar to the latter, O Liborio from A Illa de Arousa is a doll that takes on a different shape each carnival, representing a current character, who ends up burnt at the heat of the bonfire. O Chapante is another of the characters that star in the carnival funerals of As Rías Baixas, in this case, the one in Cuntis.

Burial of the Sardiña

The seafaring tradition of As Rías Baixas has meant that in many places in the province of Pontevedra carnival is marked by the Burro da Sardiña and other variations. Thus, in some localities the Enterro da Xoubiña is included for the youngest members of the family.

Moaña, Baiona, Caldas de Reis, Marín, Cambados, O Grove and Ponteareas are some of the municipalities that will accompany the popular sardiña on its way to the bonfire.

 

 

The Enterro da Sardiña has variations in other parts of the province, which have given their own name to the character that ends up consumed by the flames. Momo in Cangas and Vilanova de Arousa, O Berete in Chapela (Redondela) and Kiko in Nigrán are some of them. In Cangas, during the carnival, there are performances of ladies and gallants who in September perform the Ancestral Dances of Darbo, declared a Festivity of Tourist Interest.

Linked to the river Miño, other places in this destination change the sardine for other freshwater specimens, as is the case of Goián (Tomiño), with the Taíña; or Salvaterra de Miño, with the Enterro da Lamprea.

O Grove, of International Trout Interest

The O Grove carnival has been declared a Festival of International Troulistic Interest. This recreational event in the seafood town begins with a sample of the best local gastronomy at the comadres and compadres dinners, a prelude to warm up the engines before Fareleiro Sunday.

 

 

Fareleiro Sunday is a fight between the titans in which the fareleiros throw flour at the enfariñados, who are chased by the former and end up covered in a white blanket. Finally, the participants from both sides end up covered in flour.

However, the big event of the Mecca carnival is the festival of comparsas, groups that satirise the events of the past year with their music, dance and staging. The parade on Shrove Tuesday runs through the main streets of this town. The Entroido comes to an end with the Burial of Dona Sardiña on the quay of O Corgo.

 

Fact or fiction? A parrot with its own name, riders who leave no one behind in the purest style of the cantigas de escarnio, the Meco who each year adopts a different personality, madams and galáns and the Burro da Sardiña, become the centre of all eyes during the carnival in the province of Pontevedra.

Pontevedra's tongue-twisting parrot Ravachol won the sympathy of the locals, who flocked to his funeral. The massive funeral coincided with the carnival and, since the 1980s, this tradition has been revived every year.

 

 

As if they were the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, every year the Xenerais da Ulla come to the streets of some of the towns along the river Ulla. These characters transmit the local chronicle of current affairs on different topics such as politics, society or love, provoking laughter among the audience.

From laughter to dance in the purest traditional style, galáns and madamas perform ancestral dances and become the protagonists of the Entroido de Cobres.

To round off this festive and fun time, the funerals take place in various localities with the burning of figures such as the Meco or the sardine. The former is characterised as a figure linked to the present day, and the sardine is the fish that is traditionally buried due to the culture of this destination, which is so deeply rooted in the sea.