At the beginning of the long "Seguici Popular" -the traditional popular retinue of the Festivity of Santa Tecla- the “Ball de Diables” (Devils’ Dance) makes its way onwards while burning all the powder in hell. The ecstasy is overwhelming.

The Devil in disguise

“Without baddies, heroes would not exist.” Written by Oriol Margalef, this is the story of Txema Gavaldà, the actor who plays the Demonness at Tarragona's annual Santa Tecla Festival, held every September. One of the festival's most popular events is the Correfoc or fire-running, which is also the closing event of the festival. People run and jump over characters dressed up as devils and dragons, carrying fire.

Txema Gavaldà who plays the character "the Demoness" for the Devils’ Dance in the Tarragona Festivity of Santa Tecla. – © Rafael López-Monné

Fire, paso doble, kettledrums, fireworks… The popular Seguici leads the Santa Tecla Festival right up to its crucial point, while thousands of Tarragonins (Tarragona citizens) gather around the Part Alta streets, so they don’t miss a thing. At the front of the long procession, the ‘Ball de Diables’ (Dance of devils) makes its way onwards while burning all the powder in hell. The intensity is overwhelming, and the Demoness smiles with satisfaction: Tarragonins spare no expense in order to honour the patron saint. And whereas bells cry out for virtue from the sky, the Demoness invokes all human vices on earth.

‘A unique world, and two powers complementing each other. Without baddies, heroes would not exist‘. Txema Gavaldà says he is one of the heroes. Casteller (human towers participant), married, with 2 kids, he works shifts in the chemical industry. He is a responsible, kind and decent man. But during Tarragona’s festivities, he becomes possessed. He does not eat or rest properly, does not follow any schedules, because it is time for his alter ego to erupt into Demoness; a character he is been playing for the ‘Ball de Diables‘ since 1990. The worst of all evil.

Saint Michael and the Devils. Popularly known as the Devils’ Dance, this festive activity opens the city’s Popular Retinue in Santa Tecla, the great festival in September. It represents the fight by the forces of good, personified by the archangel Saint Michael, against the forces of evil, played out by the devils. – © Manel R. Granell

Banal, grotesque, lascivious… Lucifer’s partner sticks her tonge out, pulls her skirt up, and chases everyone around her. ‘Demoness has glamour, she seduces me, transforms me. I stop being shy all at once, and I feel really comfortable. She’s completely crazy, symbolising the lack of control people have at parties, which allows anyone to do what most people would love to, but don’t dare‘, explains Txema.

Despite the fire, despite the imposing respect she radiates, thanks to her royal beard and ceptrot (a stick where fireworks are carried), the Demoness is also one of the most beloved characters. ‘Kids come to me and take pictures. Youngsters have not met any other Demoness than me‘, he states.

The so-called ‘Battle of Sant Miquel and Devils‘, which has its roots in Tarragona back in the 14th century, was revived in 1983. It shows the fight between the good, embodied by Sant Miquel, and the bad, twenty-two horned devils led by Lucifer and Demoness, one of the most admired and popular groups of the festivities in Tarragona.

There is no other time of the year as lively as during the great festival, Santa Tecla. The origins of this celebration held on the streets go back to the year 1321 when the arm relic of the patron saint arrived to the city from Armenia. In the Devils’ Dance you could see twenty-two horned devils led by Lucifer and Demoness. – © Manel R. Granell

The traditional element, in fact, is Santa Tecla’s undisputed appeal, a massive celebration, declared as Patrimonial Festivity of National Interest by the Generalitat. The Seguici, which almost disappeared during the 20th century, was brought back again in the 1980’s thanks to civil society’s push, and can boast now of an increasing success.

Demoness lights so many carretilles (firework boxes) in each performance, they are impossible to count. When Txema was a child, his parents used to run a bar at the Plaça de la Font, downtown Tarragona, and he was not allowed to play with fireworks during Sant Joan festivity, because it would scare customers.

His two children and his partner, also take part in the Ball de Diables. One of his boys plays now as Demoness in the kid’s Dance. Txema, who is one of the biggest fireworks men in Catalunya, has finally come to agree with his father. ‘I can’t stand the mass of fireworks during Sant Joan’, he admits, laughing.