The streets of downtown Madrid have once again filled this Sunday, October 25, with sheep, goats, and shepherds on the occasion of the XXXIII edition of the Fiesta de la Trashumancia, a celebration that this year has been marked by a change of route due to the camping for the right to housing set up in Puerta del Sol. A total of 1,410 animals, including 1,250 sheep and 160 goats, have crossed some of the main roads of the capital in front of the gaze of thousands of madrileños and tourists, who have gathered to witness one of the most recognized livestock traditions of the city.
The modification of the itinerary has prevented the flocks from crossing the Puerta del Sol and reaching the Plaza de Cibeles, as had occurred in previous editions. Instead, the City Council has moved the institutional reception to the Plaza de la Villa, where the shepherds have fulfilled the historic symbolic payment that recalls the rights of passage of the flocks through Madrid. The celebration seeks to reclaim the importance of transhumance, the conservation of livestock routes, and the role of extensive livestock farming in the protection of the environment and the maintenance of economic activity in rural areas.
The Sol camping forces a modification of the route for the sheep and goats
The presence of tents and tarps in the Puerta del Sol, where different groups have maintained a protest for the housing crisis since the end of September, has forced the usual route of the animals to be reorganized. The City Council of Madrid announced last Thursday that the flocks could not cross the kilometer zero of the capital, so an alternative itinerary had been designed to ensure the celebration.
The animals have begun their route from the Casa de Campo, passing through the Puente del Rey, the cuesta de la Vega, the street of Duque de Nájera, and the calle Mayor until reaching the Plaza de la Villa. Subsequently, they have continued through the Plaza Mayor, the street of Toledo, the plaza de la Cebada, the Carrera de San Francisco, and the street of Bailén, before embarking on the return to the Casa de Campo via the calle Mayor, the cuesta de la Vega, and the Puente del Rey.
The delegate of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility of the City Council of Madrid, Borja Carabante, has lamented that the camping has conditioned the development of a traditional celebration, although he has highlighted that the City Council has found an alternative to maintain the event. For his part, the counselor of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, has also criticized that the presence of the protesters has caused changes in an activity recently declared a Good of Cultural Interest in the region.
The modification of the route occurs when the members of the camping are debating a possible gradual withdrawal of the structures installed in Sol, after almost a month of mobilizations to demand measures that facilitate access to housing.
The Plaza de la Villa recovers the tradition of the 50 maravedís of 1418
One of the most representative moments of the day took place in the Plaza de la Villa, where municipal representatives received the shepherds, foremen, rabadanes, and ranchers to recreate a tradition that dates back more than six centuries. Around noon, Borja Carabante participated in the symbolic delivery of 50 maravedís for every thousand heads of cattle, a ceremony that recalls the agreement signed in 1418 between the Honorable Council of the Mesta and the Villa of Madrid.
That pact, known as the Concordia of 1418, established the conditions under which the shepherds could use the livestock routes to cross the city with their animals. The symbolic delivery of the ancient coin represents the payment that ranchers had to make for the use of these paths and constitutes one of the main institutional acts of the Festival of Transhumance.
The celebration has been accompanied by groups dressed in regional costumes, musicians, and traditional dances, which have contributed to recreating the atmosphere of the ancient livestock routes. Thousands of people have followed the passage of the herds through the center of Madrid, especially on Calle Mayor and the vicinity of the Plaza de la Villa.
A herd of 1,250 sheep and 160 goats advocates for extensive livestock farming
The flock that has participated in this edition has been made up of 1,250 sheep of the castellana, rubia de El Molar, and entrefina breeds, as well as 160 guisanderas and Guadarrama goats. The animals have been guided by members of the Trashumancia and Nature Foundation, an entity that works to preserve traditional grazing routes and give visibility to the importance of this livestock activity.
The festival has been celebrated in Madrid since 1994 and its main objective is to remind of the need to conserve the livestock paths, historically used to move herds between summer and winter pastures. These paths also constitute ecological corridors that favor biodiversity, allow the movement of species, and contribute to the maintenance of certain ecosystems.
Transhumance also plays a relevant role in the prevention of forest fires, as grazing helps control vegetation and reduce the accumulation of plant fuel. The participating ranchers have defended the need to maintain this activity and have reminded that extensive livestock farming helps conserve rural landscapes, generate employment, and combat depopulation.
Transhumance, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
The importance of this tradition transcends Spanish borders. Transhumance was incorporated in 2023 into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, an international recognition that values the practices, knowledge, and customs transmitted for generations by livestock communities.
In Spain, this activity also has heritage recognitions and constitutes a fundamental part of the rural history of the country. The Community of Madrid has approved this year its declaration as Cultural Interest Asset (BIC), highlighting its contribution to the architectural, ethnographic, cultural, and landscape heritage of the region.
In addition to advocating for the conservation of livestock routes, the Transhumance Festival aims to bring the rural world closer to city dwellers and promote the consumption of nationally sourced livestock products, especially milk-fed lamb, lamb, and kid, as a way to support producers and contribute to maintaining economic activity in rural areas.
The celebration this Sunday has demonstrated that, despite the changes imposed by the situation at Puerta del Sol, Madrid keeps alive a tradition that connects its streets with centuries of livestock history. The passage of the herds through the center of the capital has once again turned the asphalt into a livestock route for a few hours, reminding of the importance of shepherds and of an activity that is part of the cultural and natural heritage of Spain.