ALSASUA, Spain — Dozens of devil-like figures dance and convulse at the sound of cowbells, chasing onlookers with pitchforks in Alsasua as part of this northern Spanish town’s Carnival. Alsasua is one of several villages in this remote region in the foothills of Pyrenees Mountains that still honour these colorful local festivities whose origin in unknown. In the nearby village of Lesaka, residents dress up as the traditional Carnival characters “Zaku Zaharrak,” meaning “old sack” in the local Basque language. Meanwhile, the townsfolk of the village of Lantz parade a giant “Miel Otxin”, a legendary bandit and symbol of their Carnival festivities. They were banned during the 1939-1975 dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco in Spain, but have been revived since the early 1990s.

Source: National Post March 11, 2019 14:03 UTC