If you’ve never heard of the Meeting of Ancestral Rituals in Bemposta, in the municipality of Mogadouro, and you like the Caretos traditions, then you don’t know what you’re missing!
I have to say that I found the 2023 poster for the Meeting of Ancestral Rituals by chance, when I was looking for events related to the traditional Entrudo.
Imagine almost 50 groups of caretos from Portugal, Spain and Italy gathered in a small village in Trás-os-Montes.
Add bagpipers and groups of drums, stalls with traditional products and thousands of visitors and you have the recipe for a perfect day in Bemposta.
I hope this article awakens your curiosity to know the different traditional Entrudos and, of course, don’t miss the next edition of the Meeting of Ancestral Rituals in 2024.
Groups participating in the III Meeting of Ancestral Rituals
- Chocalheiro de Bemposta
- Gateiros de Bemposta
- Urthos e Buttudos di Fonni
- Caretos de Arcas
- La Obisparra de Pobladura from Aliste
- Tamborileiros de Fermoselle
- Caretos de Salsas
- Velha e Careto de Valverde
- Chocalheiro de Vale Porco
- Entrudo Tradicional from Aldeias de Xisto de Góis
- La Danza del Paloteo de Tábara
- El Atenazador de San Vicente de la Cabeza
- Grupo de Gaitas “As Portelas” de Lublián
- Chocalhada de Brunhosinho
- O Velho e a Galdrapa de São Pedro da Silva
- Caretos de Torre Dona Chama
- Caretos de Lazarim
- Caretos de Baçal
- Toro de Carnaval de Morales de Valverde
- Cardadores do Vale de Ílhavo
- A Velha de Vila Chã de Braciosa
- Gaiteiras de Vila Chã de Braciosa
- Mascarão e Mascarilhas de Vilarinho dos Galegos
- Cucurrumachos de Navalosa
- Harramachos de Navalacruz
- Velhos de Bruçó
- Gaiteiricas de Bruçó
- Las Toras de El Fresno
- Machurreros de Pedro Bernardo
- Farandulo de Tó
- Gaiteiros de Mogadouro
- Zangarrón de Montamarta
- Antruejos de Villanueva de Valrojo
- Entroido de Samede
- Zaragón de Sanzoles
- Caretos de Grijó
- Jurros y Antruejo de Alija del Infantado
- Las Burras de Tremor de Arriba
- Jarrampas de Piornal
- Los Diabos y Mascarillas de Luzón
- Roleses Gaiteiros de Urrós
- Antruejo de Cimanes de Tejar
- Caretos de Lagoa de Mira
- Zarramaches de Casavieja
- Caretos de Parada
- Zamarrones y Mascaritos de Aguilar de Campoo
- Antruejo de Cimanes del Tejar.
Maschocalheiro Association
Maschocalheiro de Bemposta is an association with the noble mission of studying, respecting and preserving the popular traditions of Bemposta.
Now, the Meeting of Ancestral Rituals serves this purpose perfectly, bringing together in the same place traditional characters who celebrate rituals whose origin is lost in time.
Chocalheiro de Bemposta (The Rattler of Bemposta)
There are two masks of the Chocalheiro from Bemposta: the Chocalheiro Manso and the Chocalheiro Bravo.
According to tradition, the Chocalheiro Manso goes out on the 26th of December, which is Saint Stephen’s Day, while the Chocalheiro Bravo goes out on the 1st of January.
It is very easy to distinguish the two masks as one is smiling and the other has an angry expression.
Curiosity: Did you know that the oldest mask of the Chocalheiro de Bemposta, as well as the suit, is on display at the Museum of Ethnography in Lisbon?
The III Meeting of Ancestral Rituals in Photographs
Below are some photographs of the Meeting of Ancestral Rituals in Bemposta, however, if you prefer the video format, I suggest you take a look at the link to our YouTube channel at the end of this article.
How to get to Bemposta
Taking the city of Porto as a reference, count on a journey of 238 km, that is, about 2h40.
Take the A4 towards Amarante, then the Túnel do Marão towards Vila Real and continue until the IC5 connection (exit 27) towards Alijó. The last part of the route is on the N221 to Bemposta.
Despite the journey being a little long, the truth is that for me the trip is good, not least because there is little traffic on the roads and the landscape is very beautiful.
If you are in Mogadouro, then you can count on a route of about 20 km.
Related articles:
- Entroido Xinzo de Limia Galicia: the longest Carnival in Spain
- Caretos de Podence and Entrudo Chocalheiro in Portugal
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