Las Ánimas Festival

TRIBUTE TO BÉCQUER. 21 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER

Every Night of the Dead (November 1) is celebrated in Soria the Homage to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and his legend "The Mountain of the Souls", considered by many as the best short horror story of Castilian literature. It is an artistic and literary event, original and unique that has become a reference and a tourist attraction at a national level.

The events begin a week earlier with readings of short stories of terror in the ruins of San Nicolás to end with the finishing touch of the night parade to the banks of the Duero. Since 1986, the same ritual has been followed, an indispensable protocol for the activity: Exit Rincón de Bécquer square, nocturnal walk through the historic city to the Douro River accompanied by giant puppets, skeletons and brambles of knight Templar fighting; A parade guided by candles, torches, percussion and live pipes with fire elements. All this contributes to create a gloomy, dismal and mysterious environment that accompanies the crowd throughout the tour.

Arriving on the banks of the river Duero, next to the great bonfire and with the light of the night and the torches of the group of monks is realized the legend of Becquer to which every year a recognized voice actor dubbing the National panorama After the concert of medieval and Renaissance music, the bonfire, as an igneous mantle of embers, is the place where the most "daring and brave" pass as barefoot as a final act of farewell to this magical as well as terrifying night.

From that time on, they say that when the night of the Dead comes, the bell of the chapel is heard to ring, and that the souls of the dead, wrapped in shreds of their shrouds, run like a fantastic hunt among the brambles and brambles. Deer roar in fear, wolves howl, snakes give horrible whistles. And the next day the prints of the emaciated feet of the skeletons have been imprinted in the snow. That's why in Soria we call it the Monte de las Animas, and that's why I wanted to get out of it before the night closes. (Text of the legend becqueriana)

More info: www.festivaldelasanimas.com