EXHIBITION OF HANDHELD GAIATAS

09/12/2022
Last year, we celebrated the 770th anniversary of the city’s founding, even with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic we were experiencing. The highest municipal authority asked all the festive groups to contribute ideas so that these celebrations would be a general call to resume everything we had to postpone. In the words of the Mayoress: “We resume the events of the Anniversary, and that makes us happy because it is a sign that little by little we are recovering some normality and overcoming a complex situation for which we have had to sacrifice many things and, among them, also our festive calendar.”
The Federació Gestora de Gaiates proposed the celebration of a contest of handheld Gaiates -an element closely related to the legend of the city’s moving-open to all the festive entities of the city. This initiative aimed to create a parade of light within the program to celebrate the anniversary of the city’s founding. Although sanitary conditions prevented the march in that first edition and focused exclusively on an exhibition, it was born to parade in future editions within the program that annually develops the City Council of Castellón.
Sequiol decided to carry out the handheld Gaiata in July and August. And we got down to work. With a design by Javier Rodríguez, with the slogan “Llum d’antany,” a large group of Sequiolas began with the cutting of the different pieces, painting the stained glass windows, and making the arms with modeling paste… Everything began to take shape. With the collaboration of the “Matadero” team, we attached the different pieces to the structure. The lighting design and installation had to make it possible to feed it both statically and “in itinere.” Thus, Sequiol already had its handheld Gaiata in the first days of September for this new edition.
And then the 2022 edition arrived, with the celebration of the 771st anniversary. And there was a surprise. The handheld Gaiatas contest dropped from the program. It was an unpleasant surprise for the gaiatero world, mainly when the program had maintained initiatives of other festive groups. Despite the efforts made by the board of directors of the Gestora de Gaiates with the Board and City Council, the truth is that they ignored the contest. But the most unfortunate part of the situation was that the different sector commissions, unaware of the unilateral municipal decision to withdraw the contest from the program, had made their handheld Gaiatas. A deep uneasiness among the commissions led to an urgent meeting between the highest municipal authority and the presidents of the nineteen commissions to reconcile positions to avoid these “misunderstandings.”
Nevertheless, the Gestora de Gaiates, in a gesture of responsibility and festive conscience, with firmness and agility -the timing was very tight-unilaterally, decided to continue with the contest and organized the exhibition. It had all the support of the Real Casino Antiguo de Castellón, which gave a room on the second floor to display the seventeen handheld Gaiatas (seventeen, not nineteen, since two commissions, Sensal and La Cultural, did not present work).
On Friday, September 9, the Gestora de Gaiates summoned the people of Castellón to inaugurate the II Exhibition of handheld Gaiatas. The Queens of the Festival 2022, Carmen and Gal·la, presided over the event, which was also attended by representatives of the political parties of the City Council, representatives of the different sector commissions, festive entities, and numerous public. The event presentation had the mastery of Estela Bernad, who spoke about the fundamental role of the light of the Gaiata in our founding legend of the city. Meanwhile, the president of the Gestora de Gaiates, Esteban Gual, thanked all who supported this initiative and appealed for future editions to be included in the municipal programming. For his part, Miguel Ángel Mulet, representing the Real Casino Antiguo de Castellón, thanked the opportunity to open, once again, the doors of this institution to the public with a firm and decisive commitment to collaborate with our most deeply rooted traditions. Finally, the Mayor of the City, Amparo Marco, took the floor. She praised the fundamental role played by the Gaiata in the city’s idiosyncrasy, reiterating the municipal support for this festive movement.
After the event, the authorities and the public enjoyed the handheld Gaiatas exposed, with the splendor conferred by the light. A successful organization and participation that, despite all the adversities, achieved the Federació Gestora de Gaiates in a brave and determined attempt to continue promoting the unique element of our festival: the Gaiata, in any of its possible expressions.
Sequiol was very well represented, with its Children’s Madrina, Lucía Benedito, accompanied by the Children’s President, Carlos Benedito, and the President, Elisabeth Breva.
And the result of the contest?

Fotos cortesía COMISION

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