Inudeak eta Artzainak
February 1 in Gros and February 8 in the Old Town
The troupe of nurses and pastors preludes Carnival. Inudeak eta Artzainak takes place on the Sunday closest to Candlemas (February 2); usually the day after the “Caldereros” parade. This event brings together shepherds and wet nurses who dance, accompanied by drummers and other period characters performing musical pieces by Sarriegi. This is yet another event in the local run-up to Carnival.
Photo: Donostia Kultura
The parade includes 30 couples of inude eta artzainak, some 60 drummers, and other characters like the mayor and his wife, a secretary, a bishop, a priest, altar boys, provincial policemen, a wafer-seller, a boot cleaner, a baker-woman, a street sweeper and other characters in period dress.
Photo: Donostia Kultura
The celebration disappeared in 1912 when Pope Pius X announced that the holiday previously celebrated for Candlemas was to be a normal working day, although the Kresala Association finally recovered the event as one of the activities organised to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 1977.
The basque carnivals
