Cristina Garcia Married | Salamanca (EFE)
Sixty extras and a dozen horses have been characters this Sunday in the Battle of the Spanish Thirds in Flanders on the football field of the Athletics tracks, next to the Roman Bridge and with the postcard of the monumental Salamanca in the background.
Among the hundreds of people of all ages huddled in the shadows were several children dressed as knights or warriors who had brought their own swords.
The representation of the Siglo de Oro Festival has been narrated by the producer Manuel Sánchez Hoyos, who has highlighted the values of the thirds “such as camaraderie”, which have been forever reflected in popular sayings such as “don’t leave anyone in the lurch” or ” close lines”.
“Calderón de la Barca, who was in the tercios, said that in the tercios nobody was more than anyone else. That the son of a nobleman was the same as the son of a shepherd, and that honor belonged to whoever defended his companions”, Sánchez recounted.
And he added: “Our writers who participated in the tercios said that the dress does not adorn the chest but that it is the chest that adorns the dress, referring to honor.”
Young and old, women and men, have recreated various scenes such as the encamisada, the nocturnal incursion of the Spanish tercios against the enemy troops, the cavalry attack, the assault on the rival camp and the signing of peace, a hug that the audience has applauded enthusiastically.
Rice in the style of shepherds of the 16th century
The narrator has highlighted the universality of Salamanca in the Golden Age and the courage of the tercios in a story in which he has also resorted to humor, which has been well received by the public.
“We have casualties from the Flemings, because they don’t eat chorizo or ham like those of Salamanca,” he said, and also, to ask some people to leave the scene of the battle: “You will understand that if it is a historical recreation and you They are in the background in the century where there is a mortgage, because it looks very bad ”.
Regarding the tercios, he explained that “many men from the towns of Castilla signed up because they were well paid and, if they came alive, they got money to buy sheep or land.”
“They have the Spanish tercios on their left, the most undefeated unit in history after the Roman legions,” he proclaimed, with the epic music of the time playing very loud on the banks of the Tormes.
After the heat of the battle, combatants and spectators have moved to the neighboring park to taste rice with grilled meat in the style of the nomadic shepherds of the 16th century.
The city “functioning”
José Ignacio Maide Merino from Salamanca has finally been able to witness a recreation of the battle in its third edition, and he has done it with his son so that he can learn history and because they like to see their city “functioning”.
The young Cristina Martín and Andrea Polo have dressed as warriors for the first time to enjoy a different “and very attractive” activity, as they explained to Efe while they rehearsed with the swords.
José Vicente Ledesma, for his part, has precisely indicated the history of the “leather” he wears, a garment that allows “a lot of mobility and avoids cuts and punctures.”
Behind him was adjusted the gala suit José Cuadrado, who wears the garment that was used to accompany the court in official acts. “With this you did not fight, but the idea today is to show everything,” he pointed out.
He is flanked by the young Gonzalo and Adrián, somewhat nervous before representing a historic episode in front of hundreds of people on a splendid June morning. EFE