#pilarsinfolk

[unofficial-aragon]

#PilarSinFolk, or how the right wing wants to destroy Zaragoza's culture

Next week Zaragoza's biggest celebration, the Fiestas del Pilar, will take place, lasting from October 8th to the 16th. In these celebrations, there is music, food, flowers, and more music. The fiestas (or Pilares) have always been a way for people from Zaragoza to express our culture and celebrate it. This was supressed during Spain's fascist dictatorship, but in the 70s the celebration of Aragonese culture was back in full swing.

One of the acts was always folk groups in various spots in the city. This was a way for up and coming Aragonese bands to be discovered, apart from enjoying other known groups, such as La Ronda de Boltaña or Olga y los Ministriles.

Last year, Azcón, the current mayor (from the Popular Party, a right-wing political party) and his cabinet decided that Aragon's unofficial anthem did not have a place in the fiestas. Ever since Labordeta's death in 2010, it had been tradition to sing Somos on the last day of our celebrations. And in 2021, unlike other years, it was not included in the official program made by the City Hall.

This year, they have decided that the usual folk groups did not have a place during Pilares. One of the most popular Aragonese bands that has made a comeback this year, Ixo Rai!, has had to rent a space themselves, and having to charge for tickets, when usually, in a case like this, bands perform for free in the Plaza del Pilar (like in 2017).

This has led to around 50 groups to sign a declaration against this measure, reclaiming Fiestas del Pilar with folk music for everyone. The city hall doing away with the folk music for these celebrations is, although not surprising, very ironic, since this year the jota, the traditional Aragonese dance and music, is on its way to being admitted into UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage. This, in a way, shows what Zaragoza's and Aragon's right-wing parties really want: for our historial cultural heritage to be shown up on a pedestal, while the culture we have now to cease to exist.