ACTIVITIES OF THE YEAR 2005

With regard to the activities conducted by our Organization during year 2005, we recall the following ones as especially important:

· Edition of four numbers of our CIAG.doc magazine. This quarterly publication; from the number corresponding to the month of December, is remarkably improved in quality, not only in the paper on which it is printed but in that it includes the front and back covers in color, as well as an important improvement in impression. At the moment, it is published in two different versions (Castilian and Catalan), but as of Number 13, it will also be in English.

· Signature in the agreement of collaboration with the "Coordinadora de  Colles de Geganters i Grups de Grallers de les Comarques Meridionals de Catalunya". This is the fourth agreement of collaboration reached by the Circle, since previously they had been already signed with Groupings of Chile, Nicaragua and Aragon.

· Also at the end of February, in a meeting between representatives of the Boards of Directors in Fraga (Huesca), performance proposals were defined and the joint relations between the Coordinator of the Comarques Meridionals, Apomaga and the Circle, whose first visible result has been the presentation of three projects to Institutions

· From the month of March: Working on the project of a didactic Web page dedicated to the world of the giants. It is anticipated that it shall be published in five languages.

· The month of June: a representation from the Board of directors of the Circle attended, at the invitation of APOMAGA for the third consecutive year, the "Encounter of Giant Puppets of Aragon", carried out on this occasion in Ayerbe and organized by this Aragonese Organization.

· In the month of September, we participated in a communication, in the "Day of Arts in the Street", organized by the Diputació of Barcelona.

· This year the Organization has received a grant from the Generalitat de Catalunya in agreement with the Caixa Laietana, which has allowed us to extend our capacity of management and power to face displacements which otherwise would not have been possible.

· Exhibitions: As we recalled in another section, this year we have made three; one in Vallgorguina (Barcelona) and two in Nicaragua (Leon and Corinto).

· In the chapter of relations (aside from the attacks in Nicaragua and Costa Rica), numerous Organizations have contacted us, especially from America.

TRIP TO NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA

From the 2nd to the 19th of December, five members of the Board of Directors of the Organization headed the expedition that took three groups of giants from our country to Nicaragua, to participate in an wide range of activities developed by several localities of that Central American country, as much in the area of parades as in that of management of interrelations between governmental organizations, historians and representatives.

The initiative of this trip began to be planned at the moment in which the Circle signed, in 2004, the agreement of collaboration with the Folkloric Association of Gigantonas" Viva Leon Jodido", which brings together more than thirty gigantonas groups in the city of Leon. 

As a result of this agreement this Association began to oversee the visit, recounted from the first moment, with the express invitation of the City Council of Leon.

Groups that participated in the expedition were those of La Bisbal d'Empordà, Riudoms and Vallgorguina, which in the first days of the month of October had already sent to Nicaragua a container which transported a total of seven giants, four bigheaded and the material of the Circle for mounting the anticipated exhibitions.

In addition, it was related by the management that Mr. Roberto Marenco, member of the representation of UNESCO in that country, carried out the objective which allowed our delegation to meet with diverse personalities, as is explained further below.

Also, from before our exit towards the American continent, several contacts in Costa Rica had been set up, taking advantage of the fact that we would spend some days in that country, as much in going to and returning from Nicaragua.

Therefore, in the outward journey we already held one first meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica with the directors of groups related to the giants of that country, and who have an ample knowledge of them, and who served to plan future performances as well as the contacts which would be developed at a later date, upon our return from Nicaragua.

As for the Nicaraguan representatives, we must especially mention the conversations and the friendship established with Mr. Edgardo Buitrago, the most important historian of Nicaragua and, among others, founder of the Museum "Rubén Darío", and who in addition, has a book in print on gigantonas of Leon. It was a very beneficial relation.

We will also refer to the contacts and meetings held with Mayors and Councilmen of the City Councils that received us: Leon, Corinto and Nagarote, as well as the directive team from the House of Culture of Leon, and also with one of the constructors of giant puppets of the city.

And as it was predicted, thanks to the previous managements, the meetings with the representatives of diverse countries who were present in the city of Leon on those dates, on the occasion of celebrating there the "Subregional Forum on Tourism and Culture: a binomial to impel cultural exchange and sustainable development in Central America ".

In the first block, the representation of the Circle met with the cultural representatives, at the ministerial level, or the equivalent, from Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama. In this meeting, a series of questions and proposals related to the giants in Central America were considered by them , and were welcomed in a very positive manner.

On the following day, 6 of December, the meeting with the representatives of the governments of El Salvador and Honduras also took place, being with a great receptivity towards our proposals.

Day 8, the encounter was with the representatives of Costa Rica, as well as with the observer sent to the Forum by the government of Ecuador, and the main representative of UNESCO in Central America by the Area of Culture.

All these conversations have allowed to establish a level of relations in those countries that must do possible to get to develop, with the coordination of the Circle, a series of knowledge initiatives and relation.

In addition to these personal relations two great exhibitions mounted by our Organization with the objective took place to show to the wealth and diversity of the giants in the world.

First of them, and most complete one, it took place in the enclosure of the House of Culture of Leon, being visited by many people, some of them coming from cities very moved away.

The other exhibition, more reduced and of only three days, was made in the city of Corinto, where also people responded of an important way.

To mention the great echo of the visit, with many interviews conducted for all mass media of Nicaragua (it presses, radio transmitters and television channels). In some newspapers our visit occupied the cover and several televisions dedicated spaces to him of up to twenty minutes.

On the other hand we must mention the enormous impact that represented the presence of our giant puppets in that country. By all the places where they marched past there were important amounts of people who followed them and, a thing that was surprising, that asked all the components of the expedition continuously on these figures. The day of the main Encounter in the city of Leon (8 of December: "annual Encounter of Gigantonas"), the expeditionary ones during hours we were surrounded by groups of people interested in knowing more on our figures and the giant puppets in general.

The groups of giants developed the following activities:

Day 5: Presentation in the Stage of Baseball of the city of Leon, along with a representation of gigantonas and dwarves cabezones of the city.

Day 6: It visits a school of Leon to make delivery of didactic material coming from donations, an aid of the City council of Vallgorguina and drawings conducted by children of our schools.

Day 8: The visit with the giant puppets to the interior of the church of the Mercé took place, of Leon, in which there is an image of the Virgin of the Mercé brought from Barcelona for three centuries.

Next participation in the "Encounter of Gigantonas", the most important event of the leonine culture, along with the "Gritería".

Day 9: Attempt of ascent to the volcano "el Cerro Negro" with three of our giant puppets to shoulders. The fort wind prevented us to arrive at the summit.

Day 11: Parade in the city of Corinto.

Day 13: Parade in the city of Nagarote.

Day 16: We left Nicaragua towards Costa Rica, where we would remain two days. In the occasion of this stay the predicted activities took place:

First the visit to the exhibition went that was made in the Museum of the Bank of Costa Rica dedicated to the "Mascarada" in Central America and the later relation with the Commissioner of the same one.

Later the encounter with group of giant puppets of Barva took place that their figures with an excellent work showed to us. The group went accompanied by one by the constructors who exposed the techniques to us that he used. It concluded the day with a new meeting with representatives of local groups. Unfortunately it was not possible to interview to us with the most important historian of the mascaradas ones in the city of Cartago. Nevertheless once returned to our country they have stayed by Internet.

As a conclusion we wished to be thankful, in the first place and again, the support received, in special from the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Caixa Laietana, but also of the Diputació of Barcelona and the City council of Vallgorguina, without which the development of all the predicted program would not have been possible.

As result of this trip has opened for the "Circle" doors that are to allow to continue working with the diverse countries with which us, and thus to reach the objective of interrelation and knowledge of the surroundings of the giants anywhere in the world. Therefore in the next months these relations and possible new visits to the zone, or on the part of the Meeting of the Circle like of groups of giant puppets of our country will consolidate.