Gremios, espacio sonoro y danzas alegóricas en la Tarragona Post-tridentina: la entrada de Felipe III y Margarita de Austria en la ciudad

Abstract

On July 16, 1599, King Felip III and Margarita of Austria made their entrance into Tarragona. Traditionally, the city was divided between the domain of the archbishop and the king, initially showing a preference for archiepiscopal celebrations, marked by their magnificence. With the rise of the Habsburg dynasty, there was a shift towards greater prominence of royal entries, although with the arrival of the Bourbons, the splendours of archiepiscopal festivities was revitalized. These events involved not only the political and religious elite but the entire community, including guilds that participated with allegorical dances identical to those performed in the Corpus Christi procession. These dances, with Christian themes and exotic elements inspired by mythology and Eastern cultures, captured the interest of the monarchs, who at times requested their performance. Based on the account of the event preserved in the Arxiu Històric Municipal de Tarragona, and using digital humanities tools such as geolocation, the route and the sound experience of these festive processions are reconstructed, with special attention to the urban nodes with a high acoustic load, highlighting sonic aspects that contributed to the ambiance and perception of the ceremony in the city of Tarragona.