The Dance of the Almorratxes is a beloved tradition happening in Lloret de Mar during the festival celebrating the town’s patron saint, Santa Cristina.
The dance dates back to the legend of a rich Moorish man falling in love with a local girl from Lloret. He tried to win her over, but the Christian girl rejected all of his advances. Finally, on the day of a town dance, he appeared before a smartly dressed crowd and presented the girl with a crystal “almorratxa”, a four-spouted vase, filled with perfume. The girl, indignant at his audacity, threw the gift on the ground, which shattered to a thousand pieces. Embarrassed, the Muslim man returned to Africa, while the girl retired to a convent.
Today, the Dance of the Almorratxes is led by four couples, with young ladies dressed in evening gowns and the men wearing dark suits. Each male dancer carries an almorratxa filled with scented water which he then offers to his dancing partner. The first part of the dance is performed to slow and ceremonious music, and the dancers are joined by the right hand. At the end of the first half, the ladies throw their almorratxes to the ground, like the Christian girl in the legend did. The second part of the dance is faster and much more jovial than the first.
The dance is performed every year on the 24th and the 26th of July on the central town square in front of City Hall of Lloret de Mar.
