Salamanca Province is one of the popular holiday locations in Spain with its strategic southwestern location of Castile and Len
. Salamanca is surrounded with pasture lands on a beautiful north side Spanish plateau.With more than 180 000 inhabitants, Salamanca has plenty of fiestas and traditions to offer visitors. Its villages hold steadfast to the many fiestas and folklore that are reverently celebrated here.
Traditions
The quaint villages of Salamanca are always set to celebrate the manifold traditions and fiestas that have been passed down from generation to generation. One of the more popular fiestas that are celebrated in Salamanca is the Ciudad Rodrigo Carnival. It is a bull-run festival that is similar to the Pamplona Sanfermines festival where thousands of participants throng the streets of the village to run ahead of the hundreds of bulls let loose. The bulls are directed to run to the towns bullring where experienced toreros or bull fighters would challenge the bulls in the ring. This can be quite a dangerous feat for the amateur toreros or run participants where there have been some serious casualties in the past.
Visitors are welcomed to join the locals in this event as a run participant or be an observer at a safe distance. Hemingway, the famous writer, was astounded with this festival to mention it explicitly in his writings.The natural landscapes of Salamanca are beautiful and beckoning. Hence, in February, the exciting Fiesta del Almendro takes place in the town of Fregeneda. This is a festival held to celebrate the almond trees blossoming their beautiful flowers and fruit. This is an indication of good fortune on the region. During the festival, many locals do not hesitate to cross between Portugal and Spain by boat to join in the celebrations; most Spanish love a great festival any time.
Religious Celebrations
Easter is widely celebrated in Spain; Salamanca is no exception. The Semana Santa fiesta is held over Good Friday through Easter Sunday from sobriety to festivity. In Salamanca, the Lunes de Aguas is festively celebrated on Easter Monday with people crossing rivers in flowery decorated boats.
Another religious fiesta is the Corpus Christi fiesta in June where traditional processions throng the streets with participants donning picturesque masks. A l'ou com balla festival celebration comes on around the cathedral. August is another holy month where the Ofertorio fiesta takes place at La Alberca in honor of the Virgin.Most of the fiestas in Salamanca stems from traditions and folklores which have been passed from various epochs influences.