· 7 min read
La Caballada is not a re-enactment. It is a living tradition, unbroken since 1162, which every Pentecost Sunday fills Atienza with riders in black jackets and hats. It has the rare virtue of explaining itself: behind every gesture there is a concrete feat and a brotherhood —the Cofradía de la Santísima Trinidad— that has sustained it for more than eight centuries.
1162: the flight of the boy king Alfonso VIII
The festival's origin is documented in the High Middle Ages. After the death of Sancho III in 1158, his son Alfonso VIII is left at the age of three under the tutelage of Castilian nobility. The Castros and the Laras dispute the boy king; King Fernando II of León presses from the west. In 1162, Alfonso is taken to Atienza —then a “mighty crag”— to be protected behind its walls.
During the siege, the village's brotherhood of muleteers devises a stratagem. They feign a pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Virgen de la Estrella, drawing the attention and horses of the Leonese troops. Meanwhile, the fastest riders carry the boy king out by another route bound for Ávila. The escape succeeds and the grateful village institutes the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity to perpetuate the memory.
The Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity
The Brotherhood is the backbone of La Caballada. It preserves documentation —books of agreements and accounts— from 1679, although its existence dates back to the 12th century. Its calendar is not limited to Pentecost Sunday: the Saturday of the Seven Omelettes (the eve) gathers brothers for a traditional meal; the Sunday of the Trinity closes the celebration with the final procession; and throughout the year there are liturgical acts in the church of the Holy Trinity, which also houses the brotherhood's museum.
The role of the Prioste —who keeps the brotherhood's banner in his own home during the year— rotates by lottery and is the most visible of the day. The Seises, in their traditional jackets, accompany the Prioste at every act.
The programme: hour by hour on Pentecost Sunday
The day begins early. The brothers gather at the Prioste's house to collect the banner. Around 10:15 they walk through the Plaza del Trigo, the Plaza de España and the Calle Real toward the convent of San Francisco and from there they ride toward the Estrella hermitage, about 3 km from the village. At the hermitage a field mass and a brotherhood meal are held. In the afternoon the riders return to the old town along the same path, in an entrance that is one of the most photogenic moments of the year in Atienza.
For visitors: how to experience La Caballada
If you are going to Atienza for La Caballada, book lodging well in advance: it is the busiest weekend of the year. The La Caballada section of the Holy Trinity Museum helps to understand the festival before or after experiencing it. And it is worth showing up for the Saturday of the Seven Omelettes: the eve begins with music and food in the Plaza del Trigo, in an atmosphere more intimate than that of Sunday.
