Terços amunt! Músiques per a gralla a l'entorn del fet casteller

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(...) Many times I have referred to the true passion which for over twenty years the 'castells' have meant to me and which has taken me to become part of the foundational group of the 'Colla Xiquets de Reus', which I was a president of, and 'cap de colla'. A passion resting on two great pillars: the associationism and the traditional culture. I have always believed in associative life as a source of personal education, carrying all those values that enrich us as persons but also as the dynamic power, the strong 'pinya' that with collective action allows rising and promoting the country overcoming all the challenges of the present and the future. Furthermore, the 'castells' and their music, as many other demonstrations that are part of our traditional corpus, are usually undervalued and defined with a derogatory shade, as folk. We are mistaken if we want the country to improve and, however, we turn our backs on our traditions. The 'castells' and the 'gralles' music are also culture, Culture with a capital letter, and collaborating to its preservation and spreading we are reinforcing the country and cultural identity. Nevertheless, traditions do not have to be worshiped as if they were valuable museum pieces; they have to be alive, dynamic, as reality is. The world changes, evolves, and our traditions cannot stay behind. (...) The world of the 'castells' has evolved a lot and this evolution will continue, and the tones along with it are also part of this evolution. This is the aim of collections you have in your hands. It is not a museum book. (...)
Extract of the presentation of the Molt Hble. Sr. Ernest Benach i Pascual
President of the Parlament de Catalunya