The Mayos Festival in Alhambra (Ciudad Real): A Disappeared Tradition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30823/recm.02024198Keywords:
Mayos, Campo de Montiel, Alhambra, Traditional musicAbstract
As in other towns in Campo de Montiel, the festival of the mayos has a deep-rooted tradition in Alhambra. The celebration takes place over two days, on 30 April and 2 May, and shows two different aspects of the festival. During the night of 30 April, known as the night of the mayos, young unmarried men write little rhymes on the façades of young women’s houses, which are kept as long as they are not offensive. On the 2nd of May, the day of the crosses was celebrated, where the ornate crosses inside the family houses were visited.
This festivity experienced a major decline after the mass migrations of the 1950s and 1960s, which caused the departure of more than half of the population. From 3447 inhabitants in 1950, the number dropped to 1864 in 1970. Despite several unsuccessful attempts at recovery during the 1980s and 1990s, the traditional 2 May festival has not been restored and the associated songs have been lost. Likewise, the last musical vestiges are preserved in the Traditional Music Fund of the Milà i Fontanals Institution (CSIC), which makes it possible to establish similarities with other musical manifestations of localities in Campo de Montiel.
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References
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