Friday, July 3, 2009

Arde Lucus

Lugo was built by the Romans about two thousand years ago and this origin has been celebrated for a few years now with this festival, Arde Lucus (=Lugo is Burning). For a long weekend a multitude pours into the streets, many of them dressed up as Romans, but you meet up with Celts, Barbarians, some middle-aged peasants... Togas and soldier -legionary- uniforms for men and long gowns for women are the favourite costumes; some are very elegant. Hairdressers offer special prices for Roman hairstyles for women and some of the hairdoes are really elaborate. For nearly a year, the Town Hall runs workshops where people learn how to make these costumes but you can also buy or rent them. Some of them are made by prisoners from a nearby jail.

There are so many things you can do during the Arde Lucus: you can buy handicrafts in the Macellum (= market)- many of which are made of leather, iron or wood; but there are plenty of things to eat there as well - after all, we´re in Galicia and there´s a saying people associate with Lugo which says Y para comer, Lugo( = and if you´re thinking about a good place to eat, that´s Lugo)

At night you can go to the circus -but only if you are not wearing ordinary clothes- or you can get married according to a Celtic ritual. You can also have a look at the encampment (inside the city walls) where you can see the horses grazing and resting before they are tied to the quadrigas (=chariots), driven by aurigas (=drivers)

The Roman Wall in Lugo has been a World Heritage Site since the year 2000 and it is a perfect stage for a celebration such as this one.

These are some of the pictures I took last weekend:





And this video will give you an idea of what our city looks like during Arde Lucus:

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