Vaqueiros de alzada

Vaqueiru-style wedding.

The Vaqueiros d'alzada ("nomadic cowherds" in Asturian language, from their word for cow, cognate of Spanish Vaquero) were a northern Spanish nomadic people in the mountains of León and Asturias, who practiced transhumance, i.e. moving seasonally with cattle.

Historically, they had been discriminated by the valley dwellers (xaldos) and by the church in Asturias, because vaqueiros were a free people in the mountains. There are few studies about the origin of vaqueiros and their culture. They distinguished themselves by their costumes and dialect. Their nomadic lifestyle placed them out of the reach of the Church and the Government.

Sources

• Asociacion Cultural Vaqueiros de Alzada La Brañina (in Spanish)
• vaqueiros (in Spanish)
• vaqueiro de alzada in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, Madrid, 1992, from the Spanish Royal Academy (in Spanish)