Today’s Mystery Photo is a monument which looks like it is in the middle of nowhere. Identify it and tell us where it is located, and why. Send your answer to ebrack2@gmail.com, and include your hometown.
A massive bronze monument in Spain was quickly identified by several Gwinnett readers. George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote that it was the monument to the Castellers, Rambla Nova, in Tarragona, Spain. This bronze sculpture is by Francesc Anglès of hundreds of bodies forming a traditional Catalan human tower. Castells are human towers built by members of amateur groups, usually as part of annual festivities in Catalonian towns and cities. The traditional setting is the square in front of the town hall balcony. The human towers are formed by castellers standing on the shoulders of one another in a succession of stages (between six and ten). Each level of the tronc, the name given to the second level upwards, generally comprises two to five heavier built men supporting younger, lighter-weight boys or girls. The pom de dalt – the three uppermost levels of the tower – comprises young children. Anyone is welcome to form the pinya, the throng that supports the base of the tower.
“Each group can be identified by its costume, particularly the color of the shirts, while the cummerbund serves to protect the back and is gripped by castellers as they climb up the tower. Before, during and after the performance, musicians play a variety of traditional melodies on a wind instrument known as a gralla, setting the rhythm to which the tower is built. The knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation within a group, and can only be learned by practice.”
The photo came from Sharon LeMaster of Decatur, via Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill. Others pinpointing the photo were Jay Altman of Columbia, S.C.; Stew Ogilvie of Lawrenceville; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: ebrack2@gmail.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Water for warm weather cooling
The Splash Pad at Lilburn City Park will open for the season at noon on Saturday, May 18. Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Pad is closed for maintenance on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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