Lagartera, a town full of embroidery and Spanish heritage

Every year for centuries (since 1590, I’ve learned!) on the occasion of Corpus Christi, the town of Lagartera, Spain, pulls out all the stops to celebrate. This year I had the enormous pleasure traveling there with a group of friends so we could witness it in person.

Lagartera is well known for their tradition of needle arts and embroidery. The elaborate embellishments can take months to create, and on Corpus Christi, designated houses along a traditional route around the city decorate the outsides of their residences with some of their work. Large pulled-thread pieces and works with heavy embroidery are arranged to create a stage for small altars set in the doorways of the houses, with small baby Jesus statues and other decorations set for a procession after mass. I loved how the path for the procession was also strewn with fresh herbs like rosemary and mint so that as you walk the path to view the alters your feet crush the herbs and scent the air around you. Truly a sensory experience.

But the best part, in my opinion, are the traditional costumes which have been handed down from generation to generation, and added to over time as well. We were invited to the home of one resident who welcomed us to watch members of her family get dressed for the occasion. It takes approximately an hour to get ready, from the lacy undergarments and the elaborate hair up-dos to the multiple embroidered skirts, the blouse, the heavily emboidered neck piece (almost like a dicky), the scarfs and vests and jackets. My favorite parts were the dickies and the pleated sleeves, but the skirts, stockings, and embroidered shoes are absolute showstoppers. You can see for yourself in my photos.

All of those ribbons that circle the skirts? Not jacquard weave–they’re all hand-embroidered ribbons. And take a look at the yellow scarf, below, which was embroidered on silk tulle! Every detail that you see in these photos is HAND EMBROIDERED. I cried twice looking at it all. It’s truly overwhelming to see the love and detail that goes into these costumes.

These men and women are wearing the items made and worn by their great grandparents, and in many cases their great-great-great grandparents, brought out specially for this event. They wear them with great pride, so pleased to represent their town, their family, their heritage, and their culture.

Lagartera is especially well known for their spectacular embroidery, and I’m so excited that our November Creative Madrid tour will include a special embroidery class featuring some of these techniques, taught by an expert in Spanish embroidery. She will also bring antiques like these to show, and some antiques to sell as well. I can’t wait to learn more about it now that I’ve witnessed this amazing dedication to the art.

Take another look at the stockings and shoes. Amazing, right? It was spectacularly hot this year, and no one complained. Even with all those layers of linen, wool, and silk, when we asked her about the heat one woman responded, “It’s only one day of the year!” They are each delighted to represent their heritage.

The men don’t get quite such an elaborate treatment, but I love this shirt with its pleated and embroidered sleeves and with the embroidered vest over it. Look at the shoulder!

Here are a few of the alters along the procession route. Can’t you just smell the herbs? Each family puts such pride into their display. And all of these textiles that cover the outside of their houses are made of pulled-thread embroidery, which is a technique that takes a lot of planning to create. Each piece requires months and even years to make! I learned this technique many years ago from my grandmother, who traveled around the world to learn a variety of needle arts, which she also taught, and I can’t wrap my head around the extraordinary work of each of these pieces. Absolutely overwhelming.

The Lagartera costume is unique to this particular region, and town, in Spain. Each region has its own costume, and a few people from other regions attended the event in their regional costume as well. Here is a group who came from Valencia.

And I’m not sure where these women are from, but you can see that their regional costume is quite different from Lagartera. It’s wonderful that they come to celebrate and support each other, isn’t it?

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day, and if you look closely at the ribbon in the photo at the bottom right you can see the back of the ribbon–just to prove that it’s all hand embroidered. Also, look at the jewelry! Very Moroccan and maybe even Indian in its inspiration. It’s fascinating to me to see how each region can have such a specific regional costume, and yet so many of the influences of those costumes can come from so far away.

I hope we don’t lose these traditions. They are such a treasure. Despite being quite a small country (by U.S. standards, anyway), Spain is surprisingly diverse. Many different accents, cultural traditions, traditional costumes, regional identities, all within a small geographical space. Will these differences disappear with globalization? I hope not. I’m so pleased to witness them myself.

What a memory! Truly unforgettable, despite the heat. We all had a wonderful time getting to know each other and enjoying the experience, learning more about the techniques, and celebrating a town with such a rich cultural history. Did  know Spain is so diverse, with such an emphasis on these regional arts?

I hope you’ll consider joining me in November so you can learn more about the rich culture of this country. I can’t wait to share it with you. You can learn more about the tour here. Registration is still open, but time is running out!