Offbeat Traveler: Tarragona, Spain human tower competition

Team Castellers de Vilafranca (teal shirts) forms a human tower at the Tarragona Castells Competition. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Oct. 8, 2012 5:19 PM PT

Thousands gathered at an old bull ring in Tarragona, a city in Spain’s Catalonia region about 50 miles southwest of Barcelona, over the weekend for its annual castells competition, where teams made of up to hundreds of people collaborate to build human towers.

Building human towers, or castells, is an old Catalan tradition dating back over two hundred years. Each castell (a Catalan word for castle) is built by a team, called a colla, consisting of between 75 to 500 men and women. Young and light members form the top of a tower while heavier members form the base. Music plays as a team erects its tower, usually between six and ten levels high.

Castellers de Vilafranca starts its tower. Members of a group are identified by the color of their outfits, usually their shirts. The color of each team is typically associated with their town. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Team Jove Xiquets de Valls. (Jaume Sellart / EPA)

Team Castellers de Lleida. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Competitors put on their cummerbunds, which supports their back and are used as footholds by other team members. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Caprogossos de Mataro constructs its tower. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Members of team Caprogossos de Mataro form the tip of their tower. Some are wearing specially designed helmets that protect their heads and are cushioned on the outside so they don’t injure other team members. (David Ramos / Getty Images)