Masks. Alas y Viento Collection. Nacho Rovira II
An exhibition inviting visitors to discover the symbolic, artistic, and social value of masks through pieces from over 40 countries collected by traveler and collector Nacho Rovira, combined with Galician masks, some of which belong to the Museo do Pobo Galego.
The exhibition consists of a carefully curated selection of 54 masks from Romania, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, all belonging to the private collection of the collector and traveler Nacho Rovira, who has spent more than forty years gathering pieces of this ancestral art from various countries. The exhibition is complemented by a dozen masks from the Museo do Pobo Galego, a result of its work in compiling, studying, cataloguing, and preserving the tangible and intangible heritage associated with the Galician Entroido (Carnival).
In total, 66 pieces are presented, exploring the uses, times, and meanings of the mask, and illustrating the universality of this cultural expression. Visitors can see pieces from popular carnival traditions, linked to winter festivities and Entroido; masks used in religious celebrations such as Christmas, Holy Week, or Corpus Christi; examples from the Baroque courtly carnival and Commedia dell’Arte, associated with theatre and stage performances in early modern Europe; funeral masks, connected to farewell rituals, memory, and the cycle of life and death; as well as contemporary and artistic masks, demonstrating how these traditions remain alive and continuously reinterpreted.
The exhibition will remain open until April 2026 and is part of a research and outreach project by the University of Valladolid through the Chair of Studies on Tradition, included in the European project Unveiling the Arts and Works behind the Masks, promoted by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency.
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Masks. Alas y Viento Collection. Nacho Rovira II
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Festivals
ESTIMATED DATES, CALCULATED BASED ON THE PREVIOUS EDITION.
The “Xenerais da Ulla” is the most outstanding feature of the Ulla region’s traditional Carnival. It has been held in the surroundings of Santiago since the first half of the 19th century: the “Xenerais” (generals) ride on horseback, dressed in colourful military garments similar to those of that time, but they also include purely carnivalesque adornments, which the horses also wear.
On the afternoon of February 15, the parish of O Eixo in Santiago de Compostela celebrates its traditional carnival with the so-called Xenerais da Ulla perfomance, which involves a stagin where different characters take part.
A full day of tradition and celebration in Conxo: historical Entroido exhibitions, parades, vermouth session, communal lunch, atranques, ear and pancake contests, folk music session, hat costume parade, and the traditional burning of the Meco. Evening entertainment includes live music and karaoke.
After some time in silence, Raíñas is back — more local, more ours, and entering a new stage full of changes. A night to celebrate drag, the scene, and the desire to keep creating together. If you have been before, you already know what it means; if not, this is your sign. This edition will be hosted by Syndra, guiding the night through fantasy and glamour, joined by Yasmine Lutar and Moira Lutar, drag sisters with different energies but the same lineage. Completing the lineup is Liteah, all attitude and power on stage.
Save the dates February 27 and 28 for the big Sar Entroido, full of music, color, and celebration in the neighborhood. On Saturday the 27th, performance by París de Noia, and on Sunday the 28th, parade of the Xenerais da Ulla. Don’t miss it!
A religious and gastronomic festival. One of the most unique and oldest festivities in Galicia.
