Salcedo Carnival

Considered to be among the most ancestral carnivals in Galicia.
Its main figures are the Bear and his cubs.

The most important day of this festival in Salcedo is Carnival Monday, when the Bear sallies forth, accompanied by his cubs, taking neighbours and onlookers alike prisoner, throwing them to the ground and daubing them with a paste of water and ashes.

The Bear is dressed in a sheep's fleece and his face is covered with a leather mask with an enormous protruding muzzle. His cubs dress in more simply: in sackcloth with straw laces. They use large sticks to overcome their victims.

Is not known exactly when this tradition started, but there is no doubt as to how deeply-rooted it is locally.

The Bear is seen as a figure which leaves the forests after hibernation to celebrate the start of spring and symbolise the start of the agricultural cycle.

The ancestors of Salcedo's inhabitants related it with a premonition on the abundance of crops and female fertility.

Since 2008, the mask, which is unique in Galicia, has been part of the International Carnival Museum in Binche (Belgium), declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

This unique Carnival also includes theatre shows and traditional dances.

Date: Carnival Monday