BIZARRE FIESTA IN ACEUCHE-BEAUTIES AND THE BEASTS

On January 20th the feast of San Sebastian is celebrated in the small rural community of Aceuche in the Caceres province. The image of the saint is carried from the church of San Sebastian and taken around the village on a float, he is rather fetchingly bound to a real orange tree loaded with fruit, his usual rather campy pose with long suffering uplifted eyes is well in evidence, strangely this image is not pierced with arrows. So far so usual............but the extraordinary elements of this fiesta are the carantoñas, wild creatures clad in goat skin with hideous masks dripping in masculine fertility symbols; horns, tusks, red hot chili peppers!  They brandish little thorny branches from the wild olive trees, aceuches. They run around chasing the girls but are rather encumbered, it takes 3 people to dress each carantoña. In other words another pagan festival disguised as a Christian saint's day. A festival to drive out the winter and welcome the spring with suitable fertility symbolism, much fun and joy.
 A really unique fiesta in Extremadura and well worth a visit to welcome the spring once again...........the storks are coming back and there is almond blossom budding.