“Since they represent the whole” of Catalonia, Marques says, “they were given names of values it is thought Catalonians have.” A pale blonde giantess dressed in earth tones and holding a stem capped with flowers is a personification of “Culture,” while her black-haired bearded companion, holding a book under his arm, symbolizes “Work.” The other two featured giants, while less overtly regal in their dress and demeanor, command reverence and attention in their own way. “They honor the patron saints of our town,” says Marques. They are one of the two couples of giants that we have in Oliana.” Àngels extends a bouquet of roses with a warm half-smile, while Andreu, her stern-faced partner, proffers a furled scroll suggestive of knowledge and power. “These two are called Andreu and Àngels,” he says, “like Andrew and Angels. They were made by a group of artisans hailing from the small Catalonian municipality of Oliana, and one of the Olianan performers on site, Jesus Bach Marques, regards them with great pride. Two of the giants on display, topped with gold crowns and clad in flowing red and deep green raiment, are region-specific. The interplay of giants ( gegants) and big heads ( capgrossos) is a focus of this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where native Catalonians are showing off a colorful assortment of the stately giant costumes and humorous papier-mâché heads. There, in a tradition that dates back to Christian processions of the late 14th century, and that evolved across generations in response to industrial, political and social pressures, some citizens take to stilts and don majestic giant costumes while others dress more coarsely and wear caricatural “big heads.” Rarely is the inflation of cultural icons as literal or striking as it is in the festivals of Catalonia, a region of northeastern Spain.
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