page_title: Valls
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Valls / Culture
caption_attribution_description: Calçot is a variety of garden onion known as Blanca Gran Tardana from Lleida. The Calçot from Valls (Tarragona, Catalonia) is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication. The most traditional way of eating calçots is in a calçotada (plural: calçotades), a popular gastronomical event held between the end of winter and March or April, where calçots are consumed massively.Calçots are then barbecued and dipped in salvitxada or romesco sauce, and accompanied by red wine or cava. Pieces of meat and bread slices are roasted in the charcoal after cooking the calçots (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calçot).
context_page_description: Valls is the capital of the comarca of Alt Camp, in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570.
  Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradition known as the castells. The town is the birthplace of the composer Robert Gerhard.
context_section_description: Valls is known for its culinary tradition, the feasting on calçots at what is known as a "calçotada". The calçots are a large type of sweet-flavoured spring onion, barbecued over a pit of flaming vines, and eaten piping hot with a sauce. The calçotada continues with a main course of meats and sausages grilled over the same glowing coals, and is washed down with locally produced wines. The calçots are only available between December and May and draw diners from as far away as Barcelona. The calçot is grown locally and has a "PGI" (Protected Geographical Indication) status in the same way that champagne does.
  Another cultural tradition of Valls is the practice of building "castells" at festivals, towers of people sometimes as much as ten individuals high, with each layer being supported by the people below. This human tower tradition originated in the Ball dels Valencians in Valls, first recorded in 1712, and later spread to nearby towns such as Vilafranca del Penedès and Tarragona, and more recently, to other parts of Catalonia.
  The composer Roberto Gerhard was born in Valls in 1896. He studied under Charles Koechlin in Paris and under Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna and Berlin before returning to Barcelona in 1928. During the Spanish Civil War he supported the Republican cause and was forced to flee the country in 1939, first to Paris and then to England where he spent the rest of his life, meanwhile his town was bombing and a lot of republican and catholic citizens killed. His works were virtually banned from performance in Spain under Francisco Franco. His output included symphonies, stage works, chamber music, choral music and electronic music.
  In January 2017, Valls City Council announced the start of construction of a multimedia museum devoted to the culture of castells, called the Casteller Museum of Catalonia ("Museu Casteller de Catalunya"), marketed in English as "The Human Towers Experience". The project was initially launched in 2015, and is supported by the Catalan government.
caption: Calçotada
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