Sant Julià de Lòria Festa Major

The Sant Julià de Lòria Festa Major is one of the most famous festivals in Andorra, held on the last weekend of July. There are diverse events that take place in the city during the last days of July, but dances have a particular significance as representations of the city's most vibrant folklore. Dances and their music are the products of community imagination, and as a result, they have significant social and identity importance. In the case of Sant Julià de Loria, La Passa, the Ball Cerdà, and La Marratxa stand out as activities that occur on the Monday of Festa Major.

La Passa is the first traditional demonstration of the Festa Major. It's a parade of young couples that marches through the local streets. The first of the couples planning to marry during the year stands in front of the procession, followed by the rest of the couples, starting with the elder ones and finishing with the younger ones. The tour finishes at the Major square, where each couple's boy offers the girl to vermouth and the girl invites him to lunch at her home.

The cobla (traditional music group) performs the music of the Ball Cerdà after the La Passa dancers arrive in the Major square. The dance is initiated by older couples or young singles, and the females ask the boys to dance with a barretina (traditional red hat). The approach is that of a dance performed in couples, similar to those that were danced in medieval times and documented since the 18th century.

The dance La Marratxa is the most solemn of the Festa Major's folk and traditional events. It takes place on a festive Monday afternoon in the Major Square. This dance also evokes the Andorran identity of all those participating in the Sant Julià de Lòria Festa Major.

Time: last weekend of July.