Cuban province hosts event that unites two cultures

The Colla is a tradition that after so many years continues as an opportunity to gather and people are grateful for it, ratified on Sunday Loreley Rebull, president of the Casal Catalan "Gener i Guiteras", when once again this identity celebration was held in this western city.

This tradition, established in 1875 in the city of rivers and bridges, stands out because it invites to go up to the Hermitage of Montserrat with a giant bread on the shoulders, wine, and flags not only of Catalunya, but of all the Spanish society, Rebull explained about the practice that has centenary origin in the tribute to the virgin Moreneta.

Even if you are of Catalan, Galician or Canarian descent, or think you are just Cuban, you also have some of those Spanish roots; each one of us has in our hearts the love for traditions, ancestors, and we fight with incredible strength to see La Colla become a reality, she said.

It represents taking care of the roots; that is why every year, with an increasing effort, we overcome and seek alliances with everyone who can help us so that it does not die, said the acclaimed writer and oral storyteller, she stressed in a conversation with the Cuban News Agency.

La Colla is held on the weekend coinciding or contiguous to December 8, the day on which the Hermitage of Montserrat was founded in 1875; bequeathing the celebration to the new generations is also essential to preserve it, that is why young people are included with intentionality every year in this celebration.