Revelers in Spain celebrate Fat Sunday

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Photos by Paul Hanna/UPI

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Revelers turn out for the annual Fat Sunday Carnival celebrations in the small Spanish towns of Navalosa and Navalacruz on Saturday and Sunday. People dress up in traditional half man/half beast costumes and masks made of animal parts -- cow horns, horsehair, etc. -- or local plants ahead of Lent.

A carnival reveler dressed as a traditional "Harramacho" poses during a carnival festival in the village of Navalacruz, Spain, on February 18, 2023. The "Herramacho" figures, whose costumes are made from natural materials collected from the surrounding environment, were believed to protect family and cattle in pre-Roman rituals. 

The "Herramacho" figures' costumes are made from natural materials collected from the surrounding environment.

The ancient festival has been celebrated for centuries in Navalacruz. 

Parades are part of the weekend-long festivities. 

The festival was traditionally held to protect cattle and children. 

Traditional music and dance are also part of the festival, which comes before Lent and the arrival of spring. 

Onlookers gather to watch a man jumps over a bonfire. 

Participants also walk through the mountains and participate in rituals as part of the celebration.

The celebration comes from the traditions of the vettones, a pre-Roman people that lived in the region. 

A carnival reveler looks down from the mountain. 

A carnival participant arrives in costume.

The costumes are meant to appear fierce. Some of half-man/half-beast. 

A group attends in agricultural-themed costumes. 

Carnival revelers dressed as "Cucurrumachos" with masks made out of animal parts, including horse hair, ram or cow horns, and dressed with striped blankets and cowbells, take part in a traditional Fat Sunday carnival in Navalosa, Spain, on Sunday. 

The origins of the Cucurrumachos are believed to be Celtic and related to agriculture and animal breeding. 

The "Cucurrmachoes" wear striped blankets and cowbells. 

Revelers dressed as "Cucurrumachos" carry animal horns through the street.