1.0Ara Lleidahttps://aralleida.cat/en/adminhttps://aralleida.cat/en/author/frame_zesv7n2g/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="JhoCLcXdic"><a href="https://aralleida.cat/en/patrimoni-immaterial/el-solsones/">EL SOLSONÈS</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://aralleida.cat/en/patrimoni-immaterial/el-solsones/embed/#?secret=JhoCLcXdic" width="600" height="338" title="“EL SOLSONÈS” — Ara Lleida" data-secret="JhoCLcXdic" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://aralleida.cat/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> [vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#3c3c3b” css=”.vc_custom_1605797650815{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1605797593358{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” bg_type=”image” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_new=”id^112515|url^https://aralleida.cat/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/solsones.jpg|caption^null|alt^null|title^solsones|description^null” bg_image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#ededed”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#ededed” css=”.vc_custom_1630050828556{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] A WORLD OF LONG-LASTING TRADITIONS There are many important historical and natural sites for visitors to explore in this vast comarca (local district). It is home to museums, palaces and buildings of historical merit, as well as having a vertiginous landscape of ravines, gorges and cascading waters; this is a truly exceptional destination. This is a comarca where life does not just centre around the villages and the capital, but is also about the farms that are scattered throughout the territory. Its intangible heritage, and indeed the character of every Solsoní, owes a lot to its geographical location in the heart of the country, halfway to almost everywhere, and on the very edge of the Pyrenees.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1629975809590{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1629975819882{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”6/12″][vc_column_text] The journey Visiting El Solsonès is a journey of discovery to a land where local and regional festivals abound and are synonymous with the comarca itself. Despite changing trends and globalisation, the deep-rooted network of personal and work relationships between the people of El Solsonès has stood the test of time. Little-known villages are just waiting to be explored, and the Solsonins are always quick to invite visitors to choir recitals and performances of traditional dance, such as the Ball Pla, Ball del Roser, and Ball dels Cascavells. These timeless traditions are a symbol of local identity and have remained virtually unchanged for centuries.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”6/12″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1635336292965{margin-bottom: 14px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”] Not to be missed [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1630056450430{margin-top: 6px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”9/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1629982630107{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1635336338866{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 3px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 8px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 8px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #ededed !important;}” el_class=”impresc”]Caramelles de Pasqua (Easter Songs).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1629982622928{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”112524″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=”.vc_custom_1630322029422{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”foto-patr”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”6/12″][vc_column_text]The Carnaval de Solsona (Carnival) deserves a special mention here; if you go there, be prepared to join in with the fun and general revelry. On the run up to Ash Wednesday, people are encouraged to take themselves less seriously and to enjoy a week of satirical fun. On the Saturday night, the streets of the town become a sea of revellers, who look skyward in expectation; an unusual event is about to take place, as a model donkey is hoisted to the top of the bell tower. A reign of mockery and parody, presided over by the gegants bojos (mad giants), continues for several days in which the town hardly resembles its usual solemn and stately self.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”6/12″][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1630056473450{margin-top: 6px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”9/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1629982630107{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1635336408566{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 3px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 8px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 8px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #ededed !important;}” el_class=”impresc”]Carnaval de Solsona (Carnival).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1629982622928{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”112496″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=”.vc_custom_1630321603016{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”foto-patr”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”6/12″][vc_column_text]During the celebration of Corpus Christi, the people of Solsona once more take to the streets. This time, the mood is serious and more formal, with events involving the bishop, giants and dancers transforming the town centre and the Plaça Major (Main Square) into a pageant of flowers, music and joy. The nightly celebrations, which include: the Roda de Foc (Wheel of Fire), Cercavila de Trabucaires (a parade of people carrying blunderbusses), the Processó (Procession), the Catifa de Flors (Carpet of Flowers) and the Tronada (fireworks), transport participants back to a medieval Solsona that seems to have resisted the passing of time. On the feast of La Mare de Déu del Claustre (Our Lady of the Cloister), at the beginning of September, the capital welcomes people from all over the country to celebrate the Festa Major (Mian Festival). This is a celebration with a long history, but one that, with the over time, has steadily become less about religion and more about local folklore, traditions and customs. At these annual festivals the local people bring back to life a world that their ancestors would have known: Gegants (giants), Nans (dwarfs), Cavallets (pantomime-like horses), the Àliga (eagle) and the Drac (dragon) dance and frolic on the same streets and squares that they frequented back in the 15th century. Every festival here has its own soundtrack, which somehow helps to narrate the history of the region, but this cannot be found in any sheet music. The popular music played for the Ballets dels Gegants (Dances of the Giants) at the local festival and at the Carnaval of Solsona was probably written in a similar way to how the dances themselves developed. Later, Joan Roure collected and arranged many of these pieces to create a more harmonious sound. Now, in the 21st century, they have come to represent a musical journey into local history. In Solsona, visitors are also welcome to take part in the neighbourhood festivals and to join the local residents in celebrating each particular feast day. These small community get-togethers are what make neighbours part of the family; they provide a break from the daily routine, as the streets become canopies of colourful decoration. These little festivals are what strengthen smaller communities. A trip through the heart of the capital during the celebrations in Carrer Sant Llorenç, Plaça de Sant Joan, Carrer i Plaça de Sant Roc, Carrer Sant Miquel or the neighbourhood of Sant Ramon is a must for any visitor. Throughout the region, and not just in Solsona itself, visitors will discover festivals and