On Halloween Day, the center streets of Madrid were overtaken by a parade... of livestock. Yes, in addition to the usual regional costume-wearing dancers and musicians, there were horses, sheepdogs, cows, a bull, and several hundred sheep. The occasion was the 17th annual Fiesta de la Trashumancia loosely translated as the Festival of the Seasonal Migration of Livestock. Spain is full of vías pecuarias-- old herding paths that are maintained as part of the public domain, traditionally used for livestock but now also popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. I knew a little about this, having worked in a rural school two years ago that was across the street from an old herding path (see photo). But I didn't know that these paths can be found all over the Iberian Peninsula, forming a network of 100,000 km and covering an area equal to 1% of the country. It's fifteen times longer than the railroad system--no small feat considering the reach of the railroad system! And it's been around for a LONG time. Historians believe the seasonal migration of livestock has been happening since the late Paleolithic Era, and the network of vías pecuarias as public land was officially created in 1271.
As for the mechanics, anyone who's ever read Heidi understands the basic idea of trashumancia. When snowy weather began to threaten in the mountains, shepherds led their flocks to lower ground to pass the fall and winter. In summer, the flocks returned to the mountains to graze, thus allowing pastures in both areas time to regrow. It's incredible to realize that for many rural areas of Spain, these traditions are not that remote. A friend in his late 20's told me his great-grandfather herded his sheep this way, and you can sometimes still see animals grazing freely in the mountains or being led by a shepherd in rural areas.
The purpose of the parade, apparently, is to remind people that the vías pecuarias are still a valuable public resource which should be maintained and protected just the way they are: no asphalt, no motorized vehicles, no development. It's an admirable message, and one whose point was amply driven home by surreal presence of so many confused, nervous sheep milling around in the heart of downtown Madrid.