The ritual celebration of Pero Palo in Villanueva de la Vera is seen to be a genuine spectacle of all that the Spanish culture has to offer.

For UK buyers looking for a holiday home or a property in Spain from which to learn more about life in the rural areas of the country, the town of Villanueva de la Vera could provide an ideal base.

The village’s main annual attraction is the Pero Palo fiesta. The townspeople parade the straw effigy of Pero Palo through the streets, dressed from head to toe in black and complete with a trademark moustache.

The men of the town dance around the figure, beating and taunting him with sticks until it is destroyed and the celebrations can begin.

Pero Palo was reputedly a ruthless bandit who was publicly punished and killed much in the same way as he is at the festival.

Villanueva de la Vera is situated in Caceres, Extremadura in eastern Spain.

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