Sardanas take center stage on the first Sunday of Tàrrega's May Festival

The 42nd edition of the Aplec de la Sardana Ciutat de Tàrrega featured the debut of a new local group and an original sardana composition.

Image of a sardana group dancing in a square during a local festival.
IA

Image of a sardana group dancing in a square during a local festival.

The city of Tàrrega experienced a festive day yesterday with sardanas as the prominent protagonists of the first Sunday of the May Festival, marking the 42nd edition of the Aplec de la Sardana Ciutat de Tàrrega.

The event, organized by the Agrupació Amics de la Sardana and the city council, featured musical performances by the Cobla Tàrrega and the Cobla Jovenívola d'Agramunt. Morning dances took place in the Pati, while in the afternoon, due to rain, they were moved to the plaça de les Nacions.
One of this year's novelties was the presentation of the city's new sardana group, promoted by the Amics de la Sardana and the Centre Cultural de Tàrrega. This group, composed of about twenty people, regularly meets at the Casal Cívic to practice.
In the afternoon, the unreleased sardana titled Aplec de Tàrrega. Sons de l'Ondara, a work by local composer and musician Òscar Barqué, premiered. The author explained that the piece is inspired by three emblematic places in the city: the bed of the Ondara river, the plaça del Carme, and the parc de Sant Eloi.

"We thank the author for the Aplec de Tàrrega having its own dedicated sardana, a composition that will now accompany us in all the city's major festivals."

the Culture councilor
The program also included the participation of students from schools involved in the Saltem i Ballem course, with two dance sessions. Concurrently, a botifarra championship with eight pairs was held in the plaça de les Nacions in the morning, with the collaboration of the Penya Barça, and the 25th edition of the Marató i 10 km Ciutat de Tàrrega, organized by the 100x100 Fondistes club.
The May Festival continues with the presentation of a book dedicated to the city's giants, titled Els gegants de Tàrrega. Un viatge per les festes de la ciutat i els seus protagonistes, authored by Albert Fitó Pi. The volume highlights the history of figures such as Ramon Berenguer I and Almodis, Eloi and Alba, and Jaume I and Violant d'Hongria, as well as the Hereu and Pubilla. The festivities will extend until Sunday with sixty activities, including popular culture events like the Eixideta, the Processó and Seguici de les Santes Espines, the Bategar de Targa, the Nit del Tararot, the Corretossino, and the Trobada de Gegants i Capgrossos, in addition to the Firacóc at Espai MerCAT.