The Contradanza of Cetina
A pagan festival adapted to religious tradition in honor of San Juan Lorenzo, born in the town in the 14th century. It is a dance where the struggle between good and evil is represented. The centerpiece is the character of the devil who dances and directs the dancers to form the 'mudanzas', which are plastic frames or representative figures made with the dancers.
There are eight dancers, four dressed in white with black details, and four, on the contrary, in black with white details. The clothing is undoubtedly one of the attractions of this dance.
The devil always crowns the figures, which can be secular (The arches, the stirrups, the benches, the fountain, the spout), mythological (the god of waters), and religious (San Juan Lorenzo, the Virgin of Atocha, San Pascual, the Purísima, the Calvary, the Resurrection, San Miguel), but does not represent the devil as an evil entity, but as a restless being who tries to deceive the dancers. The devil is only represented in the context of San Miguel, and it is by the hand of a dancer who dies at the hands of the devil who, in this case, represents San Miguel.
The festival is declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage. It has been celebrated since the 1920s, and its origins are not known for sure, but they are attributed to Celtic fertility cults, full moon dances that were held around bonfires in the light of the moon at the doors of houses.
