Culture is all around us all the time. From the food we eat to the way we speak, whether in our home country or across the world, culture peeks through in even the smallest things. But sometimes, culture leaps up in front of us in a big way we can’t miss. After seeing “Castellers Celebrate the Tower,” the photo that won the Culture, Customs and Traditions category in the ISA Photo Contest, we asked College of Charleston student and ISA Barcelona alumna Cori Simons to tell us about the culture shining through this amazing image.
“I took ‘Castellers Celebrate the Tower’ during a castell competition held in Plaça Sant Jaume during La Mercè, a week-long cultural festival. The building of castell – meaning castle in Catalan but referring to the human tower – is a long standing Catalonian practice. It connects the athleticism and bravery of the modern groups that participate with deeper religious origins. La Mercè is only a glimpse at the huge culture which castellers compose, and even in its brevity, it is an incredible spectacle. The moment I took this particular picture, I was reaching over a huge crowd of people who were ecstatic over the completion of the tower, and as the castellers disassembled the tower, they were everything you imagine true joy to be. On a personal level, looking at this photo now reminds me of how important it is to learn and appreciate the beauty of other cultures, and how incredible it can be to feel a part of one.”
Thank you, Cori, for giving us a peek into Spanish culture!
Want to explore a new culture for yourself? Check out all the places you can discover with ISA!
The world awaits…discover it.