Once a summer, the city of Lugo swells with ancient Roman citizens and the invasive Celts. It's a relatively recent festival known as Arde Lucus, to celebrate Lugo's Roman tradition and how they messed around with the
Castrexos (Celtic tribes living in the
castros). No wonder the Celts are always violent and scary-looking! Inside the wall (city center) gets packed with Lucenses and tourists alike. Almost all are dressed as either Romans or Celts. Shun the modernly-clad people!!
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| Why did I even bother dressing up? |
The weekend is full of activities suitable for any respectable citizen living 2000 years ago. To commence, the tribes and groups parade in. Friends and die-hard Arde Lucus fans form these groups that spend months preparing for this single weekend. The groups have encampments around the city where they spend the night like real Celts or Roman soldiers. The costumewear in general is enough to make you feel embarrassed about your reused Romanesque dress, because upon seeing these special groups you just feel like they're from the scene of a movie and you are a mere spectator. Then throughout the weekend there are ceremonies such as a Roman or Celtic wedding, where any couple can go get married the ancient way. When we went with our friend, the line wrapped around the gazebo. Part of the tradition included sharing a cookie. We also witnessed a Celtic baptism, but in practice it wasn't as pagan as I expected. Every once in a while there would be a ceremony by the Vestal Virgins, with chanting and the fire of Lugo. There was also a slave auction, which sounds so not PC, but really was a comedy group dressed as hags.
On Saturday was the grand parade with all the encampment groups of Celts, soldiers, and even Roman senators. Evidently, people knew what to expect for the parade and must've camped out way in advanced, because not only was the street was lined with people, but the Roman wall too. That's where I decided to get a good view of it all, but 1000 others had the same idea and the stragglers like myself had to walk and walk until finally finding a teeny space in the endless line of spectators. Really cool to see so many people on the wall though!
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| Celts ready to attack, as seen from the Wall. |
In between activities, it was enough just to stand around eating and drinking with fellow Romans (or Celts, I mean, they're good guys too). There were a handful of food tents like kebabs, tacos, desserts, but with Roman or Celtic designs, which just goes to show how into it people get. There were also a few food tents with tables and benches for eating. These are typical at any Galician festival, but seeing the big chunks of meat cooking over a grill, you can imagine where that tradition comes from. At night there were also roaming performers, like a group of women dancing with fire. Or a group of men including a small band, fire throwers, and two guys on stilts who breathed fire every once in a while.
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| Compatriots in front of the Roman encampment |
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| Fight fight! |
Then there were a pair of special events that required a ticket. And thanks to my friend Nathalia we got the hookup to see the Roman Circus (tickets sold out the week before). It consisted of two sides of the audience (black and white) who thus cheered for their two gladiators. They were on horses for the activities--that is, when they didn't push each other off. They jumped through a flaming ring, and raced chariots. In the end our white team won the challenges. And they decided to kill the losers. It was alarming to hear kids yelling "Kill him, kill him!"
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Some fashionable Romans after the circus
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So to conclude, it's an awesome festival that takes you back to ancient times (my favorite era) with an amazing ambiance. Also this year was great because my cousin came all the way from America to begin our European adventure. More on that trip soon...
