Mayor Ignacio Gramún, councilors María José Barrafón and Javier Catalán, the head of the Tourist Office and the protagonists of the poster traveled to the capital of Huesca to present the Festival of National Tourist Interest at the Provincial Council and visited the Huesca City Hall
The mayor of Fraga, Ignacio Gramún, councilors María José Barrafón and Javier Catalán, the head of the Tourist Office, Idoia Moreno, and the protagonists of this year's poster, Víctor Casas and Iris Chueca, traveled to Huesca this Thursday with the aim of promoting La Faldeta Day.
First, they presented this Festival of National Tourist Interest at a press conference held in the Saura Room of the Huesca Provincial Council, where they were accompanied by the provincial president, Isaac Claver. Afterwards, the bride and groom featured on the poster paraded through the streets of the capital of the Alto Aragón region in their traditional attire and visited the tourist office and the town hall, where they were received by Mayor Lorena Orduna. They presented her with a print reproducing the painting 'Fraga's Wedding' by Miquel Viladrich.
The press conference began with Claver highlighting “the pride of belonging to our land, our history, our traditions.” “In Fraga, they know what I’m talking about, because that pride is what makes 2.000 people take to the streets every year dressed in their traditional costumes.”
“The Day of the Skirt is also a tribute to one of the pillars of our society: women. Because they, those known in Fraga as the women of the skirts, were the ones who left us this legacy, this cultural heritage,” commented the president, who indicated that it is not only about celebrating a garment, but also about “remembering ancestral customs that have created an identity in Fraga society that has endured to this day and will continue to be fundamental in the future.”
For his part, Ignacio Gramún, who thanked Víctor Casas and Iris Chueca for their presence, expressed his “pride” that Fraga is celebrating a Festival of National Tourist Interest of this magnitude, “in which hundreds of residents are involved with the sole objective of highlighting our customs and extolling our roots and the spirit of Fraga.”
On the other hand, the mayor emphasized that this will be a “truly special” edition, as part of the program will return to the Plaza de España following its renovation. “Celebrating Fraga’s most important day again in its most emblematic location is something very, very special,” Gramún stressed.
In conclusion, the mayor invited "all the people of Alto Aragón to visit us this weekend" and wished that "everyone has a great La Faldeta Day and enjoys the many events we have prepared with great care and affection."
Following the mayor, the councillor for Culture said that “our grandmothers, les nostres jaies, who were first recognized in 1977, forever marked our essence and taught us to cherish the meaning of our garments, our culture and our traditions, passing on to the younger generations a great passion for respect and values, for our customs, our cultural heritage and, above all, for our language, lo fragatí.”
“We are very proud of the effort to preserve our garments, of being able to celebrate the traditional dress on Faldeta Day, and of the fact that it has reached our days in pristine condition,” said Barrafón, concluding that “the wedding dress of Fraga is recognized as one of the best in Aragon for its authenticity and for the value of the clothing.”
Finally, the head of the Fraga Tourist Office explained that “this weekend is packed with events and activities, all centered around the Fraga wedding.” “It’s a weekend in which the people of Fraga bring out and experience their traditions with great intensity, paying homage to women, to the festivities, to the women of Fraga, to their traditional dress and all their attire, but also to the traditional way of life they maintained until their final days.”
As a conclusion to the press conference, Rosita Hernández, clothing expert and curator of the exhibition 'The Threads That Weave', detailed the different parts that make up the typical Fraga costume and explained the different ways of wearing it.
