Festivities
The festivities in honor of the Virgen de la Rosa are the most important festivity and a great reference in the Beteta region, attended by all the neighboring towns.
The patron saint festivities are celebrated on September 17, the day of the patron saint, and usually last until the weekend. During the days prior to the festivities the novena to the Virgin takes place, around midnight on the 16th the Salve is sung, in one of the most traditional and solemn acts that culminates with the singing of the hymn of the Virgen de la Rosa. The festivities are days full of devotion and religious acts, which include Eucharist, processions, the offering of children to the Virgin and, of course, the traditional ringing of bells on the eve.
On April 30, the festival of Los Mayos is celebrated. In this festivity, the rondalla, composed of guitars, bandurrias and lutes, sings the Mayos to the Virgin in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. The deep rootedness of this celebration makes many neighbors join the rondalla to participate in the festivity. The tradition originated when the young people of the municipality went through the streets of Beteta at night to sing Los Mayos to the girls. The festival concludes the next day with the traditional pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Virgen de la Rosa.
La Caridad de San Antonio is celebrated every June 13 in Beteta. It begins with a mass and procession in honor of St. Anthony, the patron saint of the needy, followed by the blessing and distribution of bread and wine in the Plaza Mayor. The neighbors, organized in shifts, offer these gifts and a snack for the whole town, maintaining an ancestral custom that honors the generosity and solidarity of the saint.
Beteta celebrates its cattle-raising past with the Bonfire of San Pedro, a festivity that takes place in the square that once housed a church or hermitage dedicated to the saint. On June 29, the neighbors light a bonfire where they share food and music.
The celebration of All Saints’ Day is a deeply rooted local custom that dates back to ancient Celtic traditions. On the eve, neighbors empty pumpkins and carve them with eyes and teeth; inside they place a candle, transforming them into lanterns that illuminate the streets of the village and the road to the castle. This practice, of Celtic origin, symbolizes guidance for benevolent spirits and protection against evil spirits. On this day, sweet porridge, the typical dessert of the festivity, is prepared.
In Beteta, the Jueves Lardero marks the beginning of Carnival with a long-awaited tradition: where neighbors gather to share the typical tortilla de patata y chorizo en pan redondo (potato omelette and chorizo on round bread). This custom, celebrated on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, has ancient roots linked to the end of meat time before Lent. The following Saturday Beteta is filled with color and joy with the celebration of the carnival.
El Tobar celebrates two main festivals, San Ginés in the days around August 25. Among its events is the dance in the square and charity, in which bread and wine is distributed among the neighbors. A month later, on September 24, the Virgen del Socorro is celebrated.
The dances of Beteta and of all its region are characterized by their great similarity, a feature shared with all the Serranía Conquense. The common folkloric trunk is, without any doubt, the Castilian, although with numerous Aragonese influences due to the geographical proximity and historical circumstances. In many of these dances there are references to traditional life and trades; this is the case of El Borrego, which evokes the life of shepherds. Serranillas, jotas, seguidillas, mazurcas, songs of ronda, quintos or mayos are common in the folkloric of Beteta, where it is still possible to see some sample of them in the celebration of the mayos or in the bonfire of San Pedro.
However, the dance that attracts the most attention, both for its history and its representation, is the dance of El Pollo y el Milano, popularly known as El Pollo. This descriptive dance tells the story of a chicken and its predator, a kite that tries to hunt it. This country scene of the Sierra has, however, a political and military background. After the abdications of Bayonne, Napoleon’s troops invaded the Peninsula in 1808, initiating the Spanish War of Independence, in which the guerrilla phenomenon, together with the regular allied armies, caused the progressive attrition of Napoleon’s forces. During the war, popular songs and chants of political and satirical tone became common, and so many songs and dances against the French appeared in places like Albalate de las Nogueras, Sotos and Beteta. The melody of El Pollo, with a marked march rhythm, may well have its origin in a French military march that the inhabitants of Beteta used to ridicule Napoleon’s armies and their eagerness to conquer. In this dance, the chicken is a metaphor for the Spanish people and the kite represents the invading French empire. Thus, the dance acquires a political meaning: throughout the dance, the chicken (Spain) is stalked by the kite (Napoleon), who watches over it, flies over it and tries to catch it, but the chicken finally manages to escape.
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If there is a typical dance of Beteta this is “El pollo y el milano”, popularly known as “El pollo”. This descriptive dance tells the story of a chicken and its predator, a kite that wants to hunt it. This story that seems a common country scene of the Sierra hides a political and military background and origin.
After the abdications of Bayonne, Napoleon’s troops invaded the Peninsula in 1808, starting the Spanish War of Independence, which was highlighted by the emergence of the guerrilla phenomenon that, together with the regular allied armies, caused the progressive attrition of the Napoleonic forces. During the war, popular political and satirical songs and ditties became common. Thus appeared many songs and dances against the French, as in Albalate de las Nogueras, Sotos, or Beteta. The melody of the chicken, with a marked character of march could well be its origin a French military march with which the beteteños ridiculed the armies of Napoleon and the eagerness they had to conquer Spain. The chicken is a metaphor for the Spanish people and the kite, the invading French empire. Thus the dance takes on a political meaning: throughout the dance the chicken-Spain is stalked by the kite-Napoleon, who watches him, flies over him and tries to catch him, but the chicken-Spain outwits him and finally manages to escape.
Another typical song is found in El Borrego, with references to the life of shepherds.
