Getting to Know County Student: Mark: Task: Understanding a Legend: The Drummer of Bruc

The Legend of the Drummer of

At the beginning of the 19 th century (around 1808) there was a war in known as the Independence War wherein Spanish troops fought against Napoleon’s army. In , this war was called the French or Napoleonic War. One of its most important battles took place in Catalan territory near : The Battle of El Bruc . In this battle, the Catalans defeated the French and this fact was the beginning of the legend of “The Drummer of El Bruc.” According to a newspaper published in in September 1808, the town’s army defeated the French without cavalry , artillery or military leaders. This story planted the seed for the legend to grow as a way of explaining how an unarmed group of villagers were able to stop the invading French Army. Some people say that when you go to the mountain of , you can still hear a drum’s echo – the sound of the hero of the legend who wore sandals, a “faixa” (wide belt) and a beret .

1 Page PELE / 2010-2011 Academic Year

Getting to Know Anoia County Student: Mark: Task: Understanding a Legend: The Drummer of Bruc

Once upon a time, around 1808 in Catalonia, there was a war known as the French or Napoleonic War. During this time, the Napoleonic Army was advancing towards Catalonia and was believed to be unstoppable because it had conquered all the territory in its path . Finally, it was ready to attack the village of El Bruc (Anoia) near the mountain of Montserrat.

Thus , the villagers were desperate and armed themselves with whatever they could, including spears , stones and sticks . While they were doing this, a village boy who always played his drum, asked what he could do. The men of the village told him not to do anything and to stay at home. Meanwhile the men, who knew all the nooks and crannies of the region, hid in them. By doing this, they surprised the French and held back the first attack. However, the French Army planned to return to fight again with a greater number of soldiers. So the boy asked once more what he could do to help, but he received the same response.

This time, he was so angry that he went home and started to play his drum in order to calm down. Nevertheless , his anger grew until he was so furious that he hiked all the way from El Bruc to the mountain of Montserrat playing his drum non-stop. When he arrived at the base of the mountain, he saw the French Army approaching and cried out, “Oh, my mother!” but he bravely continued playing his drum. The next thing he noticed was that the mountain echoed and amplified the sound of the drum, multiplying it and making it louder .

Suddenly, it dawned on the boy what he had to do! He needed to play his drum as powerfully and loudly as possible so that the French would believe that there were thousands of drums from a large army waiting for them. In the end, the boy’s plan worked because the French fled as fast as they could. They were afraid of facing a huge army hidden in the mountains. Afterward, the whole village learned of the heroic exploit of the boy with the drum.

Years later, the villagers of El Bruc made a statue to honor The Drummer of El Bruc.

2 Page PELE / 2010-2011 Academic Year