The carnival of the municipality of Vilaboa, in the Ría de Vigo, draws on ancestral 18th-century traditions to assert its uniqueness.
The small Galician town of Vilaboa, on the shores of the Ría de Vigo, keeps alive one of the oldest and most colorful celebrations in Galicia: the Entroido of Cobres. This carnival, which aims to be declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, is full of unique elements dating back to the 18th century.
A symbol of wealth and social status, the wealthiest families used to dress up for carnival and walk through the neighborhoods of Santa Cristina and San Adrián. As has been done for over two centuries, unmarried couples —madamas and galáns— proudly wear traditional costumes representing their families, who have worked hard to prepare a celebration organized by the Asociación Cultural Cobres with support from the Vilaboa City Council.
Thousands of hand-sewn sequins make the madamas of Cobres shine. The more, the better. Ribbons on their backs, on the sleeves of their pristine white shirts, on their belts, or decorating satin strips that cover the skirt. A madama dazzles in traditional dress, completed with a handmade hat full of flowers and color.
Time stands still in Cobres as carnival approaches. Families rush to put the finishing touches on outfits that allow madamas and galáns to form the dancing couples that, since the 18th century, have traveled through the neighborhoods of Vilaboa bringing joy and celebration to every corner.
That’s how Luisa Poceiro experiences it. A resident of Cobres, she treasures the belt from her madama costume —a unique, priceless piece sewn by her mother when she was 14. “I keep it because of its beauty and because of the sacrifice it meant for my family to make the costume. It’s a legacy I’m proud of.”
Luisa has two sons, both involved in the musical part of the Entroido, and therefore dressed differently from madamas and galáns. She now puts her sewing skills to use helping young girls like 20-year-old Ariana update their costumes. While reviewing the dress, she recalls how hard it was decades ago to find sequins and decorations: “Getting around wasn’t as easy, and we had to travel about 12 kilometers to Pontevedra to buy things. Money was tight, and supplies were expensive compared to today’s wages.” This scarcity meant that few madamas danced with hats, for example. The arrival of discount shops lowered costs and made the sparkle accessible to all budgets.
Still, a madama’s costume costs over 1,000 euros in materials, and the hat can double that amount. “Not counting the hours of handcrafted work each piece requires,” says Maricarmen Docampo, who at 70 still runs her hat-making workshop and keeps the hat made for her by her mother and grandmother carefully wrapped. “It’s more than 50 years old and I don’t lend it to anyone.”
Months of patient labor are needed to turn a straw hat into a luxurious structure adorned with colorful flowers, mirrors, beads, figurines, and ribbons, reaching 40 cm in height and weighing about 7 kg. “The beads, both on the hat and the chest piece, used to be made of gold. No one had that many jewels, so we borrowed them from relatives.” The chest piece reflected the family’s wealth and social status.
To avoid neck injuries caused by the weight of the jewelry, Luisa Poceiro explains that some madamas now sew the —now fake— beads onto a vest, making the long dance days more bearable. Madamas and galáns dance for eight hours a day during the four days of the Entroido de Cobres.
These days, in every house in Cobres, madamas and galáns are finishing their outfits to ensure everything is flawless for the celebration, which will take place from March 1 to 4. During those days, the carnival troupe —over a hundred dancers and musicians— will fill the streets with dance and revived melodies.
