Outside Spain, Spanish folklore is often identified with flamenco and Andalusian costume. In reality each region has its own traditions, linked to its history, language and landscape.
Andalusia
It is Andalusia that gave the world its image of Spain: flamenco, sevillanas, the traje de flamenca, the flounced, polka-dot dress worn by women at the fairs with a fan and a flower in their hair, and the Córdoba hat and short jacket of men on horseback. The great festivals are Holy Week, Seville's April Fair and the Romería del Rocío, the pilgrimage of hundreds of thousands of people on foot, on horseback and in carts to the shrine of the Virgin of El Rocío, in the province of Huelva, at Pentecost.
The Celtic north
In Galicia and Asturias folklore has a Celtic flavour: the gaita, the bagpipe, leads dances such as the muiñeira; legends tell of witches (meigas), of the Santa Compaña, a procession of souls that wanders at night, and of forest creatures. Asturias has its cider tradition and the vaqueiros, transhumant herders.
Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country
The Aragonese jota is a lively dance with castanets, accompanied by songs in which singers challenge each other in verses. In Navarre and the Basque Country traditional dances such as the aurresku, performed as a mark of honour, are danced, and the txistu, a flute, and the txalaparta, a wooden percussion instrument, are played. Basque rural sports (herri kirolak) include log chopping, stone lifting and tug of war, and pelota, played by hand or with a basket, is the traditional sport.
Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics
In Catalonia people dance the sardana in a circle and build castells (see traditions). Catalan and Valencian festivals are full of fire and gunpowder: the correfocs, in which devils with fireworks run through the crowd, and the Fallas of Valencia, with the mascletàs and March bonfires. In the Balearics people dance the ball de bot.
The two Castiles
The Castilian meseta keeps austere traditions: the dulzaina and tambourine accompany folk dances, Castilian jotas and seguidillas. Madrid's urban folklore is that of the chulapos, with Manila shawls and the chotis dance, during the San Isidro festivities in May.
Festivals all over Spain
Some elements are common to the whole country: the gigantes y cabezudos, huge papier-mâché figures parading at patron saint festivals, romerías to country shrines, Corpus Christi processions with flower carpets in Toledo, Sitges and La Orotava, and re-enactments of Moors and Christians, especially in Alcoy and the province of Alicante. See Spanish festivals and Spanish dances.