BY ED ANDERSON
Fiesta de la Transhumancia Madrid brings the countryside to the city
One month ago, Madrid got to witness one of its most bizarre but beloved spectacles as hundreds of sheep and goats hurled themselves throughout the city to finish their long voyage of from the hinterlands of Spain to the heart of Madrid at Plaza Cibeles.
There was something quite surreal about seeing one of Europe´s most bustling cities come to a halt on Sunday 19th October as the cars and traffic made way for the historic owners of these streets, rural livestock and with it, the community that supports them.
In this case, that community is Fundación Trashumancia y Naturaleza whose hard work has turned the event (resurrected in 1994 by the late Jesús Garzón Heydt and countless volunteers) into one of Madrid´s most unique cultural days. But as we found out two days earlier when we were given an exciting preview of the event as the sheep worked their way towards Casa de Campo (a former hunting grounds of the Spanish Royal Family and now a sprawling public park in the west of Madrid), we found out the event is so much more than just another chance for Instagram moments.
Thanks to Italian volunteer Francesca Pasetti, we were able to understand more about just how important this event is whilst the sheep ran wild . “They aren´t running wild” Francesca politely corrected me. “It´s a transhuman flock and they have travelled 500 km to be here and we do this every third weekend in October to let the world know about the importance of mobile pastoralism.”
But apart from being a quaint tradition, does it have any utility? Francesca informed us that “Mobile pastoralism is very very important because it allows the grassland and rangelands lands to recuperate so this is hugely important to maintain this all over the world.” Some of the numbers show this isn´t just a pleasant trip but vital to Spain´s ecosystems. “In Spain, we have 125,000 km of transhuman paths along which the sheep, goats and cows are walking.”
Admittedly, most of us are urbanites now but suddenly when the sheep came out the world and his wife were desperate to see them and on Sunday´s event, people were arriving half an hour earlier just to get a good position on the route. Events like this play a huge role in raising some awareness in a generation who may not have ventured from their concrete jungles.
With next year being the International year of Rangers and Pastoralists, Francesca was keen to point out that the work began by the late Jesús Garzón Heydt to resurrect this Fiesta de la Trashumancia back in 1994 continues with every step the animals and their volunteer shepherds take, giving Spain´s rural life a much important day in the sun. And if you missed it, you´ve got 11 months to be a part of next year´s celebrations.
Edward Anderson is currently living in Madrid covering Spanish life /politics and can be found online @MetinMadrid on Twitter or https://metinmadrid.com/