Saint Teresa and the inexhaustible magic of the Old Square

El VendrellStill with the hangover from the Concurs de Castells and with the season already heading towards the 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 their centenary year, the great performance they had signed a week earlier at the Tarraco Arena Plaça. La Jove de Tarragona arrived in El Vendrell after having climbed to the podium of the Concurs and with some absences 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 that this year they had already unloaded five times, 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 human tower also had to serve to take away the initial nerves. And it did: clean construction, without suffering and unloaded with great solvency.

La Jove responded with the two of nine with folre and manilles, the ninth that 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 which they have already turned into a habitual one for Santa Teresa: it is the fourth consecutive year that they bring it to the Plaça Vella. The manilles had to work more than on other occasions and the human tower shook, but the group knew how to master it. When the structure turned, experience was key.

The Minyons also bet on the two of nine with folre and manilles, but the human tower was more labored. The 'malves' had to apply their craft and control the movements of the structure until the end. It was the fifth of the season and a new display of the moment that 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 hadn't successfully dismantled at home since 2017. Last year, in fact, they tried it, but they had to take it down before completing it.

This time there were no doubts. The tower went up with effort, but the children were extremely fast at the decisive moment and helped ensure the structure didn't get complicated. When the tower was successfully dismantled, the Plaça Vella erupted in a particularly heartfelt ovation. It was the second five-of-eight of the season for the reds and, above all, a tower that had special meaning in the year of their centenary.

La Jove then attacked their five-of-nine with a base, 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 a base 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 parts without the tower losing solidity or transmitting doubts. La Jove dismantled their signature tower with authority.

The Minyons also performed the five-of-nine with a base, 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 third-level participants stretched out and the fourth-level participants had to work hard to maintain the structure, but the group knew how to dismantle it.

Three third-round towers without debate

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 and 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 team has showcased this season and which did not cause 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 putting it back on top of 'manilles'.

A cherry on top and a bittersweet ending

The round of pillars served as the icing on the cake for Jove's performance. The team 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 once again demonstrated that their ambition remains intact after the Competition.

The Minyons, on the other hand, have once again run into trouble with the 'pilar de vuit amb folre i manilles'. They managed to load it. The 'malves' have not successfully unloaded this human tower since November 17, 2019, and this Sunday was not the day either. The fall was particularly ugly, occurring just as the 'enxaneta' was beginning to climb down, 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 met their goal of repeating their great performance from the Contest 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, an ovation.