Andorra goes back to the 2nd century BC. C. with the Lakuerter Íbera party
Andorra don’t forget their Iberian roots and to make them known to anyone who wants to visit the town, the festival has been held for 13 years on the second weekend of November Lakuerter Ibera. This 2022, the appointment is from 11 to 13 of this month of Novemberdriven as usual by the City Council, together with the Business Association and the altruistic collaboration of several thousand neighbors.
With this recreation of the Iberian past, Andorra wants to value its wealth. The town is special because it has up to three sites from that time: La Cerrada, Cabecico Royo or Regatillo and Cabo. The latter is the most important, as it is completely excavated and exposed in a different place from the site where it was discovered. This historical fact, since it is not usual to move the remains of a site stone by stone in order to expose it in a more realistic way, gives an idea of the importance that the Iberian roots have in Andorra.
To celebrate it and that everyone knows it, the weekend of November 11 to 13 the streets of the town will go back to the 2nd century BC. c. to organize a festival that has been declared of Tourist Interest in Aragon since 2018. In addition, Lakuerter Íbera is part of the Spanish Association of Historical Festivals and Recreations (AEFRH). These are merits that were not obtained without the involvement of an entire town, which is united by its past. They are the neighbors who, voluntarily, incarnate in some 2,000 sedetanos so that the Iberian past comes to life in Andorra. For several days, sand they will put on the skin of those who lived in Sedetania, name given to this area south of the Ebro in the time of the Iberians.
Dressed in the clothing of the time, the recreationists take to the streets with the greatest possible fidelity not only to the clothing, but also to the way of behaving, to the activities and jobs of that time or to the decoration of the spaces. Definitely, it is that all this care to detail so that the recreation is as real as possible. That includes setting up an authentic Iberian village in an open-air enclosure set up just for this purpose. This is the nerve center of the festival and it is there where the clans, that is, the groups of people who come together to organize and star in the event, carry out the activities that make up the program of events. Its members are in charge, for example, of staging a gladiator fight, of recreating a funerary rite or simply of representing scenes of daily life at that time. As then, within each of these clans there are different roles, such as the priestess, the prince, the farmers or the fighters.
Between 8,000 and 9,000 spectators
Andorra has about 7,600 registered inhabitants but the weekend of the Lakuerter Íbera its population multiplies exponentially. According to the figures handled by the Association of Tourist Entrepreneurs of Andorra, between 8,000 and 9,000 people pass through the town of Teruel on the occasion of this recreationist festival. A not insignificant figure for a relatively young activity whose purpose in the beginning was to attract visitors and boost the local economy. This has been achieved and, over the years, in addition to being a commercial catalyst, it has established itself as a massive event that values the heritage of the municipality.
Like any recreation that is appreciated, in Lakuerter Íbera there is an Iberian market, made up of around 50 craft stalls that extend down the street leading to the clan compound. It opens on Friday the 11th, at six in the afternoon, and on Saturday and Sunday it will be open from eleven in the morning until 9:00 p.m. (Saturday) and 7:00 p.m. (Sunday). In between, the acts will take place between which there will be parades, wine and cheese tastings, a children’s writing and clay workshop or the recreation of a battle between Romans and Iberians.
In addition, during that weekend, there will be free guided tours of the El Cabo site. It is an Iberian settlement of the Va. C. those remains appeared when Endesa found itself moving land in the area in an open pit mine owned by it. In 1999, when the excavations finished, all the stones were discarded to another space where the town could be reconstructed in plan, and some parts in elevation. As a result, The Archaeological Park of El Cabo It is currently the only such deposit in Spain. Due to its layout and the reconstruction of the pieces, the visitor can get a much truer idea of what Iberian life was like in Andorra.
On November 12 and 13 you have the opportunity to do it for free and with the help of an expert. On the occasion of the Lakuerter Íbera festival there will be a visits every day, at twelve in the morning and will last one hour. For those who cannot travel to the site on their own, a minibus will be made available, leaving the bus station at 11:30. Spaces for transport are limited, so you have to reserve them and they cost one euro. All the information about the party, as well as the detailed program of events, can be found on the Lakuerter Íbera website.