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Vijanera the first winter carnival in Spain

A white dancer descends by a hillside jumping during the first carnival of the year in Vijanera festival on January 8, 2017 in Silio, Cantabria province, Spain. La Vijanera is a winter masquerade that takes place in the town of Silió, in Cantabria (Spain), the first Sunday of each year. If this date coincides with the new year it is moved to the next. The real protagonists of the party are the zarramacos due to the importance of its paper. The latter are people dressed in sheep's clothing and bearded hats in addition to wearing the face painted black that are driving away the evil spirits of the year that begins by ringing the various bells that are tied to the body. Its mission is to expel these spirits from the people reaching the limits of the same, a tradition that points to much older ones probably from Roman times. La Vijanera concludes with the death of the Bear, which symbolizes the victory of good over the Evil and the desire for good intentions for the new year. (Photo by Joaquin Gomez Sastre/NurPhoto)

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