How is a castell human tower built?

How a tower rises

1. la pinya The base forms Hundreds of people pack together at the bottom. Anyone is welcome in the pinya; it is the crowd that supports the tower and catches whoever falls.
2. la gralla The music starts A loud wooden pipe, the gralla, plays as the tower begins to rise, setting the rhythm of the climb.
3. el tronc The trunk goes up People climb onto one another's shoulders in six to ten stages. The higher the level, the lighter the person.
4. la enxaneta The child reaches the top A small boy or girl climbs right to the top and raises a hand. The square has been silent; now it applauds.
5. bajar It comes down The tower is dismantled in order. If it falls, the pinya protects those who fall; the children wear helmets.

• A castell is a tower made of people; the groups that build them are called colles.
• At the bottom hundreds of people form a base called the pinya; UNESCO describes it as the throng that supports the tower, which anyone is welcome to join.
• Castellers climb onto one another's shoulders in a succession of six to ten stages; the tallest towers have ten levels of people.
• The gralla, a wind instrument, plays before, during and after the tower, setting the rhythm it is built to.
• A small child climbs to the very top — the enxaneta — and raises a hand; then the crowd applauds.
• If the tower falls, the pinya protects those who fall; the children wear helmets.

Un castell es una torre hecha de personas.

A castell is a tower made of people.

Abajo, cientos de personas forman una base que se llama la pinya.

At the bottom, hundreds of people form a base called the pinya.

Arriba del todo sube un niño o una niña pequeña.

Right at the very top climbs a small boy or girl.

Cuando llega, levanta una mano y todo el público aplaude.

When the child gets there, he or she raises a hand and the whole crowd applauds.