Menu
» A festival dedicated to the maintenance, promotion and care of the traditions of Cantabria «
On the second Sunday of August every year for more than fifty editions, a festival called Cantabria Day, formerly Mountain Day, has been celebrated in Cabezón de la Sal, which has been promoted over time.
Born with the idea of dedicating a day to the exaltation of folklore, customs, traditions and ethnographic values of the Cantabrian people, it has become one of the most important festive events in the region.
Throughout the day thousands of people fill the streets of the town around the main activities, which revolve around folklore, rural sports, crafts, the market of typical products, parade of floats and carts or La Pasá of cattle tudanco. All this enlivened with typical music and dances of Cantabria through uninterrupted demonstrations throughout the day, of groups of dancers, picayos, tambourine players, soloists, rabelist, piteros, bagpipers, troubadours etc., dressed in the typical costumes of each valley, completing a scene with huge variety.
The party awakens by the playing of the whistle and drum, bagpipes, bands and brass bands that travel through the different streets and squares of the town, giving the first note of color from the early hours of the morning.
Folklore demonstrations take place throughout the day. More than five hundred participants, including dance groups, troubadours, rabelists, tambourine players, piteros, soloists, bagpipers, couples, crews and brass bands perform dressed in typical costumes, throughout the morning and afternoon on the stages installed in the most central squares of the town.
One of the most notable moments of the festivity is the official event in which the president of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, accompanied by the authorities, delivers the speech affirming the Cantabrian identity.
The tribute to the Spanish and autonomous flags that follows is an event full of solemnity and color, in which men and women dressed in the typical costumes of the region raise the flags of all the autonomous communities of Spain, together with the Spanish flag, raised by the Government Delegate, and the flag of Cantabria, by the Autonomous President.
In this festivity the exaltation of the folklore and traditions of Cantabria is key. The presence of rural sports that since immemorial time occupied the leisure time of the people living the towns and valleys of Cantabria in which the skill is shown, cannot be missed. The strength and skill of the Cantabrians and their animals are on test.
Perhaps the game of bowling is one of the most deep-rooted sports, which is why Cantabria Day honors it through an important contest in which First and Second category players participate in it.
This exhibition of a pair of oxen arouses great expectation and is witnessed by the massive audience that fills the stands of the Santiago Galas Arce Social Center. Thousands of spectators come interested in the opportunity that this day offers to contemplate these extraordinary specimens.
Pairs of oxen were traditionally used for heavy work in the fields. Due to their spectacular strength, they were highly valued by their owners. They were proud to demonstrate the worth of their animals and it became a sport whose trophy was highly contested.
Currently, the contest has been transformed into an exhibition that continues to be a huge attraction for those attending Cantabria Day.
The exhibition of rural sports serves to keep in memory the tradition and heritage of all, which with the introduction of machinery for heavy work, are falling into oblivion. Thus, pot races, pasiego jumping, walking with a stick, ax cutting, club shooting, cutting with a chopper, grating with a stick or mowing with a scythe are some of the rural sports that, thanks to this day of Cantabria Day, you can enjoy.
Another aspect of interest within the festivity that captures the attention of the visiting public is the spectacular Cantabrian crafts and ceramics fair and the market for typical products of the region. There are many people who come attracted by the exhibition, preparation, tasting and sale of typical products such as "sobaos", "quesadas", grape liqueur called "orujo", cheeses, anchovies... available to the thousands of tourists who visit us, while they contemplate the exhibition of elaborate Cantabrian crafts. by ceramists, carpenters, spinners and cabinetmakers who, year after year, are deployed in the center of the town throughout the day.
The party closes with the spectacular night parade of the typical floats and carts contest, made by residents and participants, with the tradition as main theme.
They are accompanied by dance groups, "picayos", piteros, pipers, rabelists, brass bands and bands, all of them dressed in the typical costumes of Cantabria. The “La Pasá” parade closes with flocks of Tudanca cows (native bovine breed) from the mountains, goats, sheeps, shepherd dogs with bells and the battle of the grass.
