DESCRIPTION
Contemporary sculpture located in Plaza de la Constitución in Garbayuela, opposite the town hall, dedicated to the figure of the “Danzaor” of San Blas, one of the most representative cultural and festive manifestations of the locality.
The work constitutes a tribute to the inhabitants of Garbayuela who have kept alive the traditional Danza del Paloteo or Danza de San Blas, a celebration with deep popular roots linked to the festivities of the municipality’s patron saint.
The sculpture represents one of the participants in this ritual tradition, characterised by dances performed with dry wild olive wood sticks and accompanied by music and traditional choreographies passed down through generations.
HISTORY
The statue of “El Danzaor” was inaugurated on 12 November 2022 by the Ayuntamiento de Garbayuela as a public recognition of the tradition of the Danza de San Blas and of all those who have contributed to its preservation. The institutional event was conceived as a collective tribute to one of the municipality’s most emblematic cultural expressions.
The sculpture maintains a direct relationship with the declaration of the Danza de San Blas and “Los Danzaores” as a Bien de Interés Cultural with the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Extremadura, an official recognition granted in 2020.
HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC DESCRIPTION
The work is a figurative sculpture dedicated to the symbolic representation of the “danzaores” who participate in the traditional Danza del Paloteo of Garbayuela.
The monument is integrated into the urban space of Plaza de la Constitución, establishing a visual and symbolic link between the cultural identity of the locality and one of its main public spaces.
The sculpture also acts as an element of collective memory and recognition of a cultural manifestation with strong popular roots, representing a tradition that combines music, dance, popular religiosity and community participation.
RELEVANT FIGURES RELATED TO THE POI
The monument is collectively dedicated to the “danzaores” of Garbayuela, protagonists of the traditional Danza de San Blas. Likewise, the POI is linked to the figure of San Blas, patron saint of the locality and central figure of the festive celebration around which this tradition is developed.
It is also related to the Brotherhood and to the inhabitants who, generation after generation, have kept the Danza del Paloteo alive as one of the principal hallmarks of the municipality’s cultural identity.
MOVABLE HERITAGE
The sculpture of “El Danzaor” itself constitutes the main heritage element associated with the site.
Likewise, the tradition represented in the monument preserves different material elements linked to the dance, including the dry wild olive wood sticks used during the traditional choreographies.
INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
The sculpture is closely linked to the Danza de San Blas or Danza del Paloteo, one of the most important festive and cultural manifestations of Garbayuela.
The tradition brings together dozens of danzaores who perform ritual choreographies using dry wild olive wood sticks, maintaining a custom transmitted orally through generations.
This cultural manifestation was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural with the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Extremadura in 2020, thus recognising its historical, ethnographic and social relevance within Extremaduran heritage.
