THE FISHMONGER’S SLOPE/THE OX'S RUN
The descent from the Peixateria (Fishmonger’s Slope) is given its namebecause in the 19th century, where the Colla Jove Xiquets de Tarragona premises are now, there was a fish market. From 1915, the fire station was located there. In the past, it had a more gloomy name: descent of the Forques (Gallows), in reference to the gallows of those condemned to death, as it was located at the foot of the king's castle.
Together with the Cos del Bou (Ox’s Run), united and indestructible, they are among the most festive streets in the old quarter: entourages, processions, descent of the Pajaritu, major festivities... all of these celebrations gather us there.
Llegir més...
The recovery of the capital of the Roman circus changed its physiognomy. Houses and establishments such as Bar Pepito, run by Isabel Ortega's parents, were demolished... as part of the project to recover and integrate Roman heritage into the urban fabric. We can see part of the head of the Circus: bleachers, transverse vaults of the facade, the podium and the arena, in which the medieval foundations of the Boqueria are preserved.
The remains of the ancient Roman circus that still remain today constitute only a small part of the original construction from the 1st century AD, as it extended to Plaça de la Font. It had approximate dimensions of 350 meters in length and a width of 115 meters. The circus was, without a doubt, the most popular mass spectacle in the Roman world. Chariot races were contested in this enclosure, usually pulled by two or four horses (bigas or quadrigas).
Also in this place is the Colla Jove dels Xiquets de Tarragona premises. The writer Olga Xirinacs was one of its godparents along with the mountaineer Òscar Cadiach. It's a group that was founded in 1979. The headquarters and the rehearsal space is this building by the architect Ramon Salas that you can see located at number 23 of Carrer Cos del Bou. This building, constructed in the 19th century, had been the first fish market (abandoned in 1915) and then the headquarters of the Tarragona fire department between 1923 and 1971.
In January 1979, they decided to form a group to build human towers and, on November the 4th, in Cornudella, they carried out their first performance, without a shirt or an official name. They were sponsored by the Brivalls of Cornudella. They later agreed to call themselves Colla Jove dels Xiquets de Tarragona and decided to wear purple shirts. If you look inside the premises, you can see the large shield that presides over the premises on the back wall.
In the city, there have been different human tower gangs. In 1951 there was the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Tarragona, a unified group by order of the post-war authorities and later the Colla Nova dels Xiquets de Sant Magí. La Colla Nova, dressed in purple, stood on the side of Merceria street before standing in the Plaça de les Cols for Sant Magí and for the Mercè, while in the Plaça de la Font, it raised the human towers along the nearby facade on Rambla Vella. The reference bar was the Florida (a venue that has disappeared when it was demolished in order to be able to visualize the head of the Roman circus better) situated at the bottom of the Peixateria. La Colla Vella met at the Ca l’Ambròs bar restaurant in Plaça de la Font. It must be said that the Colla dels Xiquets de Tarragona was founded in September 1970 during the Santa Tecla festivities and arose from the merger of two gangs: the Colla Vella de Tarragona and the Colla Nova de Sant Magí.
