The route of the 33rd Fiesta de la Trashumancia changed due to the encampment at Puerta del Sol. The flock traversed the central streets with stops at Plaza de la Villa and Plaza de la Cebada.
According to Infobae, a flock of 1,250 sheep and 160 goats paraded through the centre of Madrid this Sunday during the 33rd edition of the Fiesta de la Trashumancia, with thousands of people following their path. Around 12 noon, the delegate for Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility of the City Council, Borja Carabante, welcomed the shepherds and livestock farmers at Plaza de la Villa.
There, the Concordia of 1418 between the Good Men and Women of Mesta and the council representatives of the Villa was read. Carabante symbolically received the 50 maravedís per thousand, the payment that shepherds were required to make to the authorities for using the livestock paths. Groups in regional costumes, musicians, and traditional dances completed the event.
The flock consisted of sheep from the castellana, rubia de El Molar, and entrefina breeds, as well as guisanderas and Guadarrama goats, guided by members of the Trashumancia and Nature Foundation. An attendee who grew up with livestock in a village in Cáceres summed up the public's feeling.
Seeing the sheep pass through here in the middle of the city seems unbelievable
Another visitor, from Argentina and passing through the capital with her family, encountered the festival near the Royal Palace. A veterinary student from the Complutense University of Madrid noted that the shepherds had the sheep well under control despite the noise and buildings.
This edition was marked by the encampment set up at Puerta del Sol in protest against the housing crisis. For this reason, the route included stops at Casa de Campo, Puente del Rey, Cuesta de la Vega, Calle Duque de Nájera, Calle Mayor, Plaza de la Villa, Calle Toledo, Plaza de la Cebada, Carrera de San Francisco, and Bailén, returning to Casa de Campo.
Carabante lamented that the settlement affected the day-to-day life of the city and that Madrid residents could not see the sheep pass through Puerta del Sol. The delegate added the following.
What matters is that the tradition continues to be upheld
For his part, the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, criticized in Arganda del Rey that an event recently declared Asset of Cultural Interest by the regional government is affected by this occupation.
It is just one more aspect of the dystopia that this Government is leading us into
In the area of fire prevention, livestock farmers María Rodríguez and Santiago León defended transhumance following the fire in the Sierra Oeste, considered the most severe in the region's history. Novillo stated that extensive livestock farming is one of the pillars of the regional strategy in this matter.
Fires are extinguished in summer, but they are prevented at this time
Novillo indicated that the Ministry will focus its efforts in the coming years on the interior of the mountains, with prevention work that goes beyond firebreaks.
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