Here, the Jarramplas have traveled to Bemposta, Portugal to perform at a masked gathering. Traditionally, thousands show up in the tiny village of Piornal, Spain to hurl over 50,000 pounds of turnips at the Jarramplas.
The Jarramplas festival dates back over a century, and is held every January.
The masked character that is the protagonist of the event is called the Jarramplas. The name comes from the Spanish word “arramplar” which translates to “to steal.”
As the tale goes, the Jarramplas was a character that came to Piornal to steal all of the cattle from the local ranchers. The Jarramplas was not ready for the vehemence of the local villagers, who caught the theif and pelted him with handfuls of turnips from the cattles’ feed. The furious assault drove the bandit out of town.
Today, it is considered Piornal’s greatest honor to wear the suit of the Jarramplas. He is the town hero. He wears a carbon fiber reinforced suit and mask, capable of withstanding the consistent heavy blows from the vegetables. His mask has two devilish horns and a large nose, while his suit is covered in multicolored strips of fabric accrued over the years. Once dressed, he faces the crowd and begins to beat his “tamboril” drum. The Jarramplas will make his way through town, getting obliterated until he cannot withstand the beating anymore. At this point a new Jarramplas will rotate out, and the wallops will continue until the alternates have been exhausted.
