Saint Teresa and the inexhaustible magic of the Old square
Els Nens del Vendrell repeat the great performance of the Competition in their centenary, the Jove maintains its romance with the Vella square and the Minyons complete a day of extra range
El VendrellStill with the hangover from the Concurs de Castells and with the season already heading towards its end, the Santa Teresa festival had all the ingredients to be one of the most interesting events of the final stretch of the year. The Nens del Vendrell wanted to repeat, in the year of their centenary, the great performance they had signed a week earlier at the Tarraco Arena Plaça. The Jove de Tarragona arrived in El Vendrell after having climbed the podium of the Concurs and with some casualties caused by the fall of the four of ten with folre and manilles, but also with the will to keep their ambition intact. And the Minyons de Terrassa wanted to give continuity to their best moment of the season.
The Nens were the first to take to the square and began with the three of eight, a human tower that for the 'reds' is a guarantee and which they had already unloaded five times this year, in addition to having loaded it on one occasion. In their centenary, and with October 15th as the marked date to celebrate one hundred years of history, the tower had to serve also to get rid of the initial nerves. And it did: clean construction, without suffering and unloaded with great solvency.
The Jove responded with the two of nine with folre and manilles, the ninth they have unloaded this year. It is a human tower that in the last two seasons has become one of the great emblems of the people from Tarragona and that they have already made a habit of for Santa Teresa: it is the fourth consecutive year they have brought it to the Plaça Vella. The manilles had to work more than on other occasions and the tower shifted, but the group knew how to master it. When the structure turned, the experience was key.
The Minyons also opted for the two of nine with folre and manilles, but the tower was more worked on. The 'mauves' had to apply craft and control the movements of the structure until the end. It was the fifth of the season and a new sign of the moment the group is experiencing.
The 5d8 that El Vendrell was waiting for
The second round brought one of the most special moments for the hosts. The Nens bet on the five-of-eight, a human tower they had not successfully completed at home since 2017. Last year, in fact, they tried it, but had to dismantle it before completing it.
This time there were no doubts. The tower went up with effort, but the Nens were extremely fast at the decisive moment and helped ensure the structure did not become complicated. When the tower was completed, the Plaça Vella erupted in an especially heartfelt ovation. It was the second five-of-eight of the season for the reds and, above all, a tower that had special significance in their centenary year.
La Jove then attacked their five-of-nine with folre, one of the group's great flagship towers and a construction with which the purples have a special relationship. Today's was the seventh five-of-nine with folre of the season, after having debuted it for Sant Magí at Les Cols.
It was a five with changes, but they were practically imperceptible from the square. And this is also a sign of the capacity of a great group: to modify pieces without the tower losing solidity or transmitting doubts. La Jove unloaded their signature tower with authority.
The Minyons also performed the five-of-nine with folre, the second of the season. The mauves had recovered it on September 27th and this Sunday they had to work much harder for it. The thirds stretched out and the fourths had to work hard to maintain the structure, but the group knew how to complete it.
Three third towers without discussion
The three groups have managed to maintain their level in the third round. The Nens went for the 'set de vuit', the second one they have unloaded this season. A human tower they managed with serenity, which allowed them to complete the same performance that, a week earlier, had given them their best record of the year at the Competition: 'tres de vuit', 'cinc de vuit', and 'set de vuit'.
La Jove closed the rounds with the 'tres de nou amb folre', a human tower that the purple group has paraded this season and that has not caused them any problems. The Minyons also completed the 'tres de nou amb folre', their tenth of the year, a construction that the group wants to turn into a preliminary step to placing it back on top of 'manilles'.
A cherry on top and a bittersweet ending
The pillar round served as the icing on the cake for La Jove's performance. The group from Tarragona successfully unloaded their third pillar of eight with folre and manilles of the season, a prestigious finish for a group that arrived in El Vendrell with some absences but has once again demonstrated that it maintains its ambition intact after the Competition.
The Minyons, on the other hand, have once again stumbled upon the eight-story pillar with 'folre' and 'manilles'. They successfully loaded it. The 'malves' have not unloaded this 'castell' since November 17, 2019, and this Sunday was not the day either. The fall was particularly ugly, occurring just as the 'enxaneta' was making the exit maneuver, putting a bittersweet end to a high-level performance.
The Plaça Vella has once again experienced a Santa Teresa of the kind that explains why this festival is a date marked in red on the calendar. The Nens have fulfilled their goal of repeating their great performance from the Competition just as they celebrate one hundred years of history; the Jove has once again found itself comfortable in one of its talisman squares, and the Minyons have maintained the level they had already shown in recent weeks.
And all this with a square that experiences the 'castells' with an unusual level of respect: before each construction, absolute silence; during the 'castell', attention to every movement; and afterwards, the ovation.