Castells: strength, balance, courage, common sense

The sound of building a Castell, a human tower, in Tarragona's cathedral square, on 11 September, the National Day of Catalonia, in 2022. Above the hum and chatter of the crowd, gralles (a traditional Catalan wind instrument) and timbals play the “toc de castell”, a responsive tune that accompanies the building and dismantling of the tower. 

This marks the speed, rhythm and phases of construction, and acts as a guide for the castellers, with the changes in tune informing them of the progress of layers above them. In this recording a round of applause marks the point the "enxaneta" reaches the top and completes the castell, further rounds of applause mark the safe dismantling.

UNESCO listing: Human Towers

Recorded by Lara Band.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage