First Friday in May in Jaca

First Friday in May in Jaca
It celebrates: 7th May
Place: Jaca (Huesca)
Category: Historical
Popularity: (**) 2/5
Ideal for children
Organize: Jaca City Council
Tags:
ParadesMoors and Christians
Reading time: 1 minute

The people of Jacetà dress up in period costume to commemorate the victory over the Muslim armies in a popular parade that recreates the battle and defence of the city with everything they had at the time.

Even today we do not know which is more important, legend or reality, because the tradition maintained over the years tells us that, in very inferior numbers, the city's defences won the victory, when the women, faced with the impossible, joined the battle with their customary clothing and utensils. These caused glare in the sun and undermined the morale of the Moorish army when they thought they were being joined by troops from France.

The date of this battle is not known with total certainty, but it was possibly in the year 760, according to the first references in the IV Book of "Great and General History" by Alfonso X "The Wise".

Since then, the people of Jacetano have been reenacting the battle every first Friday in May. They wear their period costumes and go down every year to the "Llano de la Victoria", where the battle was fought. It is also a tradition to have a good lunch beforehand, with migas, chorizo sausage, ribs and local wine. Afterwards, they set off for the "Virgen de la Victoria" hermitage, which was built in the 10th century, to finally return to the town in triumph with Count Aznar at the head. He was an important figure around whom the town revolved at that time.

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