Monday, October 26, 2015

Red Waistcoat Festival - Portugal

Last week Leninha sent me a postcard to let me know of her change of addressfrom Rio Maior to Vila Franca de Xira. She says that in Vila Franca she can only find cards of bulls and bullfighting! No wonder, despite the accidents that happen every year, bulls and bullfights are part of the city's tradition.
Today I'm posting her card and another one that Sonia sent me a few years ago, also related to the Red Waistcoat Festival.

Edição da Câmara Municipal de Vila Franca de Xira
This festival is considered the greatest festival in the Ribatejo region.
Every year, during the first week of July, the festival  attracts thousands of fans and tourists to Vila Franca de Xira, who are fond of bullfights, folk music performances, concerts and religious celebrations.

© @nher
This young boy is wearing the campino tradional costume. Campino, the central figure of the Red Waistcoat  Festival in Vila Franca de Xira, is a cattle herder. Campinos work on horse-back, using a long pole to manage and direct the herd.
Campinos are also known for their distinctive attire, which consists of a green and red stocking cap with a tassel, white shirt with full sleeves, red vest, short dark trousers and white stockings.
The boy is not a campino yet but someone in his family probably is, maybe his dad or grandpa, and he's celebrating this tradition in an ethnografic parade.

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