A castell is a human tower built traditionally in
festivals at many locations within Catalonia. At these festivals, several ‘colles
castelleres’ or teams often succeed in building and dismantling a tower's
structure. On November 16, 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst
the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the 'enxaneta' climbs into place at the top an raises one hand with four fingers erect, in a gesture said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The 'enxaneta' then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest-to-lowest order until all have reached safety.
