I'm standing in a town square in the Spanish town of Libertadores. The Fiesta Mayor is coming, the city's annual local heritage festival that happens every August. The festival celebrates the city's rich culture and features a variety of dances and performances. But now, everyone is huddled together to watch the main event: the Catalan castle, a giant human tower made up of hundreds of people climbing on top of each other to build a multi-story castle. Castle anchors were joined today by a crew from National Geographic’s Explorers , a documentary series focusing on diverse stories and events from around the world. The production team is in Spain filming the Jan. 7 Castel Minyons episode, which airs on the National Geographic Channel at 6 p.m. ET.
The atmosphere in the crowd was a little exciting, but also a little nervous. What the castle masters are about to do is dangerous. Although the tower has a large number of people supporting it to help keep each level stable, falls do happen. Everyone gets nervous when a kid as young as seven climbs to the top. After Mingyong fell twice, the atmosphere became more tense.
The Minyons weren't the only Custer band to perform at the festival. Four nearby teams also came to show off their tower-building skills. The festival lasts five days, with Custer's performance being a highlight of the week. Even outside of Villafranca, castles are an important part of Catalan culture. There are more than 100 teams in different towns across the country, and each team is composed of citizens of that town. The Millon family is from Terrassa, about an hour away from Vilafranca.
Like other teams, the Minyons are made up entirely of volunteers. It's a tradition, not a sport, so there are no winners or losers when it comes to castle building. There are no prizes or scoreboards, the castle owner's only goal is to successfully build the tower to share and keep centuries of tradition alive.
Therefore, even though the Mingyong team fell twice, the Castle players still persisted tenaciously, which is amazing. I left Spain with a new sense of empowerment. I saw firsthand what true collaboration is: persevering as a unit, whether it succeeds or fails.
I could talk about it all day (and have been since I saw the castle in August), but there's really nothing like seeing it in person.
Castellers practice year round
Casters rehearse throughout the year as they perform at many events throughout the year, not just the Carnival Major. They take safety very seriously during rehearsals. The younger children wore helmets and the absolute silence during the build helped with concentration, and nets were used to practice new formations before being led out into the open courtyard. After a few practice climbing nets, the kickers will rehearse their new formations outside.
Castellers rehearse in the courtyard so they can climb high
Explorers producer and National Geographic reporter JJ Kelley tells Bustle that the Mingyong team practices three to four times a week, often lasting until after midnight. “These people are very welcoming,” he said. "They don't get paid to do it. In America, if you make [your own] basketball team, it might last a year; it might last a few years. [The Castellers] have been doing this for 250 years .Year."
The support base is packed
The team is very welcoming to new members, even getting Explorer host Phil Keoghan (right, circled) involved. Whether you're a base member or a climber, "everyone has a place in the castle," one member told the Explorer Camera, as each role is crucial to the castle's success.
During my time at Custer, I got to see all the moving parts that go into building these towers. Each one requires dozens of people at the base, all pushing forward with their hands to stabilize climbers. There are also people who shout instructions, and other members who observe any flaws in the construction so they can do better next time. For climbers, the first few layers usually consist of people with strong shoulders who can support the weight of the following layers. Teenagers and women occupy the top tiers, while younger children climb to the top because they are the lightest and most agile.
What’s cool is that this base is made up of so many different people. The wide ground floor was crowded with men and women, young and old. There really is room for everyone in the castle.
Team camaraderie is as strong as the foundation
Between the construction of each tower, old friends can be seen catching up with each other, hugging each other, and laughing. I love this tender moment between seven-year-old climber Quiralte and another member of the team.
Even on game day, young children can be seen coloring in between builds. They may take their roles seriously, but team members also know the importance of having fun together.
They basically operate like a professional sports team
Castellers has detailed drama and everything. Each castle comes with a map showing a deconstructed version of the tower and listing everyone who should belong within it. This way everyone knows exactly where to go when construction begins, and which tower should be built next.
Every tower starts with a group of people
Then it became a huge crowd. Minyons' team consists of 500 people, and each tower can easily exceed 100 people. Depending on the number of floors in the tower, the tower will be nearly 50 feet tall.
Despite the large turnout and chaotic crowds watching during the festival, each team was assembled relatively quickly. Construction and demolition of the tower typically takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes. When one team completes a tower, the next team starts, and so on until each team has three or four towers.
It was great to watch the kids climb up and slide down
Building the tower is only half the battle. The team also had to deconstruct it without dropping it.
When they fall it's devastating
"When the first [castell] crashed, I was like, 'Oh, wow. That's real,'" Kelly said. "When we were five feet away from it, you could see people bouncing off each other."
Other teams know how devastating falls can be to morale and damage, so other teams will often help catch fallen people before they hit the ground. There is no animosity between the Custer groups. They both want to see each other succeed and share their heritage with the world.
But when they succeed, it's a beautiful sight
Even after two big falls, Mingyong stood up again and perfected their castle on the third try - one of the last they allowed.
It's so gratifying to see the victory on the Castlers' faces
This is not an easy task. No one gets paid and practices are long and frequent. The risk of injury is high. There are no prizes to be won. But we take pride in knowing that you are keeping the traditions of your country alive.
Kelly said it was always a challenge to put together an Explorers season that is filled with so many of these compelling stories around the world. Kelly said that just like the castle keepers who have to keep their feet on the ground to build their towers, the Explorers team has to weave their different stories together in just the right way so that each episode is "not too serious, not too light-hearted, not too More about the continent,' [etc.]" He added, "It's an incredible balancing act. "
But the result is a collection of stories told from around the world that expose you to new cultures and ideas. “It’s a unifying force,” Kelly said. "It's not something that divides us; it's something that brings us together, and I just think this kind of healing for the planet is really awesome."
So, no, not everyone can climb to the top of the castle, but everyone can learn from what they represent – the sheer power and beauty of humanity coming together for a common purpose. If that's not a lesson to start 2019 with, I don't know what is.
