Issue date: 05 May, 2017
ANNIVERSARIES. 1255th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF LA VICTORIA (JACA)
The first Friday of May each year the city of Jaca celebrates an age-old festival commemorating the Battle of Los Llanos de la Victoria between Moors and Christians, which took place around the year 760.
Like all festivals that commemorate the past, some of the story is true and some is legend.
The story goes that more than 90,000 Moors arrived at the gates of Jaca with the intention of conquering the city.
Leading the resistance was Count Aznar Galíndez who was able to bring the people together and motivate them to fight back against the enemy.
Because the invading army vastly outnumbered the Jaca residents, they were close to surrendering when the women decided to take to the street armed with kitchen utensils, and joined their husbands, fathers and brothers in defeating the enemy.
According to legend, the Moors were confused by the sun’s reflection in the pots and pans and mistakenly thought their enemy was much more numerous. They fled in fear of losing the battle and their lives.
Since then, a parade is traditionally held to remember Count Aznar’s entrance into Jaca after winning the battle.
In the 10th century the country chapel of La Victoria was built on the site where it all happened.
Now, on the first Friday of every May, Jaca residents go to the chapel for a picnic lunch, and a mass is held.
Afterwards they return to the city centre for the Victoria Parade.
Participants dress in period costume and are led by a resident playing the role of Count Aznar.
During the parade shots are fired that fill the flower- and flag-lined streets of Jaca with the scent of gunpowder.
The stamp, which commemorates the 1255th anniversary of the battle, features an image of the parade with a drawing of Count Aznar in the foreground.
Carmen Álvarez Casanova
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