Once A Year, Thousands Of Sheep Take Over Madrid

A man dressed in a black beret and wide red belt appears on the plaza in front of Madrid’s City Hall, leading two black oxen joined together by a wooden contraption reminiscent of a distant era. Amidst the car-lined streets and illuminated shops, the scene stands in stark contrast to the modern city. The oxen’s arrival at the Plaza de Cibeles marks the final act in the Fiesta de la Trashumancia, or Transhumance Festival, which has been taking place in the city every autumn (typically at the end of October) since 1994. Conceived by the Association of Transhumance and Nature, it was designed to recognise and celebrate the centuries-old tradition of seasonal livestock migration. Since then, hordes of sheep (and sometimes bulls and horses) take over the Spanish capital once a year. They stumble through the elegant streets of Madrid with their hoofs clattering on the asphalt and eyes glazed in terror. Singing and dancing precedes them. Keeping the beat with castanets, women in mantillas, customary head coverings, and large, colourful skirts with aprons and men in wide pants tucked into long socks swirl around each other in a jota, a traditional Spanish dance. Most wear wooden shoes on spikes, which help dancers navigate muddy fields...more