The new figure, owned by the municipality, replaces the previous piece from 1991 and was constructed at the Taller Santuari following a historical study by the Comissió del Seguici Cerimonial de Valls. The goal was to recover the image of the baroque figure that was destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
The reproduction was made using period materials: a wooden skeleton covered with stuccoed linen cloth and polychromed in oil. The head, wings, and tail are carved from cedar wood. The official debut took place on Monday, February 2, the day of the patron saint, the Mare de Déu de la Candela, starting from the Valls City Hall and being blessed at the Sant Joan church.
“"The baroque Eagle was destroyed during the Civil War because it represented a very specific sector of the city. It was a mythical eagle, iconographically very powerful throughout Catalonia."
This premiere coincides with the 325th anniversary of the first documented reference of an eagle in the city of Valls, dated in 1700. The change in image compared to the previous Eagle, by the artist Anton Gurí, has generated some public unrest, leading to the organization of exhibitions and talks to contextualize the piece.
“"This concern shows that the festival is alive and in an implacable state of health. What would cause sadness is if announcing the change of the eagle generated indifference and people showed no interest whatsoever."
The previous figures, including the silver-plated Eagle from 1991 and the restored one from 1971, will become part of the heritage collection of the Museu de Valls.
