Gigantes y cabezudos

In Spanish festivals, it is common to find a procession of "gigantes y cabezudos" ("giants and big-heads") The word cabezudo is also used to describe a stubborn person as hard-headed. In the case of these festivals, however, "gigantes" refers to the towering figures, and "cabezudos" refers to people wearing only big headmasks.

In Catalonia each town or city have their own "gegants i capgrossos" (the catalan name of "gigantes y cabezudos" in spanish) and in every local festivities you can see a "cercavila" with "gegants", "capgrossos" and local dances.

Gigantes

The giants are hollow figures several-meters tall depicting the upper part of a person and having a skirt on the lower part.The skirt covers a strong man who carries a harness linked to the internal structure.The porter turns and shakes the giant to the tune of a marching band.Giants usually parade in couples of "gigante" and "giganta" ("giantess").Rich towns may have more than one couple.The figures usually depict archetypes of the town, such as the bourgeois and the peasant woman, or historical figures of local relevance, such as the founder king and queen, or pairs of Moorish and Christian nobles.

The usual materials are wood or aluminium for the frame, cloth for the shell and mix of paper-mache and plaster of paris called carton-pierre for the head and hands.Arms are usually loose cloth tubes with carton-pierre hands, designed to sweep into the air at every turn.

Cabezudos

The "Cabezudos" are headmasks of a big hollow head covering the head and shoulders of the portor.An open mouth enables seeing.The portor (usually a young man) is usually in costume, and holds the mask with a hand.The other hand has a stick with a whip or pig bladder.With it he chases after children or young women.Sometimes he will pause to calm a weeping frightened child.The cabezudos also represent local types.

Other fiesta figures

Paliqueiro (a kind of Galician "cabezudo"), Mari-Jaia (gigante of modern fiestas of Bilbao), Celedón, Gargantua, Judas and Judesa, peropalo, toro de fuego, Olentzero, zaldiko, zanpantzar.

Zarzuela

"Gigantes y cabezudos" is also the title of a zarzuela, placed in the El Pilar (12 October) festival of Zaragoza, picturing Aragonese types. The title plays with the alleged character of the Aragonese, strong and stubborn.

ee also

* Bobblehead