The Country of the Catalan Jota

The region of Terra Alta is a place where the tradition of dancing jotes and dances is maintained during its most characteristic festivals. A tradition that has remained alive over the years in many municipalities in this region and that other towns have managed to recover successfully, which means that today most of the municipalities of Terralt can enjoy watching the dance jota on his holidays. La Fatarella is one of the municipalities that has never lost the tradition of dancing the jota in its most popular aspect, it is danced in February for Sant Blai and its summer festival. In the municipality of Pinell de Brai, on the 10th of August, during the Festa Major dedicated to Sant Llorenç, the Cap de Dansa takes place, with well-dressed dancers of all ages with skirts and skirts, handkerchiefs and belts, a whole show. Around the 20th of August, the day of the Caseres Festival, the local jota group is in charge of dancing the jota in this beautiful town located on the banks of the river Algars. For the festival of Sant Bartomeu, on August 24, the Prat de Comte dance troupe offers its villagers and visitors an exhibition of the Prat de Comte jota dance, in the middle of its Festa Major. Already in September, it is Gandesa who celebrates the Festa Major coinciding with the first weekend of the month. During the celebrations, the dance of the dansada or jota gandesana, an important piece of Catalan folklore, is one of the indispensable elements of the party. Around September 8, during the Festa Major of Horta de Sant Joan, jota dances also take place, just after the traditional procession. The dancers of Horta, with the traditional dress put on, punctuate every year to the sound of the traditional jota of the population. Still, the jotas in the Terra Alta don’t end here. Jotas dances and dances are also very popular at winter festivals. This is the case of the village of Arnes, where women wear their shawls during the jota dances they do in honor of their patron saint, Santa Àgueda. Also in Vilalba dels Arcs the jota is heard and looked at, as in this town the dance of the dance has also been recovered, which takes place during the days of the feast of San Sebastián, around the 20th of January. . In La Pobla de Massaluca it is danced in January during the festival of the patron saint of the town, Sant Antoni, on the occasion of the Festa Major. February 3rd is Saint Blai’s Day and, therefore, it is a big holiday in the town of Biot. This is one of the municipalities that, like La Fatarella, has always preserved the jota dance. For Sant Blai you can see in the town’s main square and for different days as people of all ages dance to the sound of Bot dancing in their traditional costumes. For Saint Isidore, patron saint of farmers, the jota is danced in the town of Batea, on a festive day organized by the Cultural and Recreational Center that bears the name of this saint. The richness of the traditional folklore of the Terra Alta is reflected in the dances of the jotas. It is one of the Catalan regions that has been able to keep the Catalan jota ballada very alive over the years.