After the costume stamps of Aragon, we move now furher to the west to Navarre and Basque Country. Both Navarre and the Basque Country are autonomous communities in northern Spain. Basque is spoken in large parts of Navarre and in all three provinces of Basque Country: Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa. The traditional costume for the men is made up of a red sash and scarf (a pañuelico or pañuelo), worn with a pair of white pants and white shirt. Red was adopted as the official color because it is a festive color, but blue, green, black or checkered also exist. The white pants and shirt are adaptations of the simple, traditional clothing worn by farm workers and other laborers and is also adopted by pelota players in Navarra and the Basque country. The sash was the belt; the pañuelo was worn around the neck and used to wipe away the sweat of a hard days work. The shoes are espadrilles and the cap is the traditional Basque béret (boina) in either black or red. The women wear a red skirt, black petticoat, white blouse, white headscarf, black apron and on their feet laced leather sandals with woolen socks, or white espadrilles decorated with red ribbons. Only in some valleys of Navarre, there still exist some very different traditional costumes, more like the ones of Huesca in neighboring Aragon. The first stamp above shows such a beautiful antique costume of Valle del Roncal in Navarre. It is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. All other stamps show the more usual red and white Basque costumes. The second stamp above celebrates the "running of the bulls" at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, the capital city of Navarre.
The next two stamps show the costumes of Álava and Gipuzkoa. Both stamps are again from the large costume series of 1967-1971.
The next two stamps show the costumes of Biscay. The first one is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971. The second one is from a series of Spanish Zarzuela's issued in 1983, with a scene from "El Caserio" from Basque composer Jesús Guridi Bidaola.
You can find Navarre (grey) and the Basque Country (purples) on this map of Spain (in the north):
After the Catalan costume stamps of Spain, we move now from Catalonia to the west to Aragon. Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, once the medieval kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the region is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile-La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. In north Aragon, the costumes have still very old elements, and is a bit similar to the costumes in neighboring Navarre. Most striking are the (mostly green colored) long skirt and the pleated linen puffy sleeves and high neck cuff. In the other parts of Aragon, the costumes have similarities with the Catalan costumes.
The stamps above show the beautiful antique costumes of Huesca in north Aragon. The first one is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. The second stamp is from the "Popular Festivals" series, issued in 2003, for the the Day of the Costume Festival in Ansó.
The next two stamps show the costume of Zaragoza. The first one is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971, and the second one is from a series of Spanish Zarzuela's issued in 1982, with a scene from "Gigantes y Cabezudos" from Spanish composer Manuel Fernandez Caballero.
The next stamp shows the costume of Teruel, and is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971. The last stamp is of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981, and shows people dancing the jota, a fast traditional dance from Aragon.
You can find Aragon on this map of Spain (the olive green areas in the north east of Spain):
We stay this week in Andorra, but this time we look at the Spanish postage stamps. Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalan Countries. Therefore, Andorra has French and Spanish stamps, issued by France and Spain, respectively.
The Andorran costume is very similar to the Catalan costumes worn in France and Spain. For women the costume features a full, mostly flowered skirt over a white petticoat; a blouse (sometimes covered by a flowered shawl); long, black, fingerless net gloves; and black espadrilles (cloth sandals) with white stockings. The traditional costume for men is a white shirt, dark knee-length pants, white stockings, black shoes, broad red sashes tied at the waist and the barretina (the traditional Catalan cap).
The stamps above are from a series of 1972 celebrating Andorran customs. They show "Les Caramelles" (traditional Easter songs choir) and La Marratxa (a traditional dance representing the two co-princes dancing with the six parishes), respectively.
The next two stamps are from 1975 ("Espana 75" International Stamp Exhibition in Madrid) and 1978 (50th Anniversary of Spanish Post Office), respectively. They both show postmen delivering post at ladies in traditional costumes.
These last pictures show a series of 3 stamps with traditional costumes from 1979 (a you woman, a young man and newly-weds) and 1 stamp of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981, showing people dancing the Santa Anna dance.
You can find Andorra on this map of France:
