There are still several weeks to go before Teruel will once again focus on its Vaquilla del Ángel FestivalBut the festive atmosphere has already begun to heat up with the unveiling of this year's official poster. The City Council has revealed the image that will serve as an attraction for both the residents of Teruel and the visitors who come to the city in July.
The chosen work is titled "The day Teruel beats" It was created by the young designer Irene Casas Gil. The poster, which can already be seen in the city and will be featured in all official communications, aims to capture in a single illustration the intensity, color, and energy experienced during the main days of the Vaquilla festival.
A young designer at the helm of the Vaquilla's image
The poster's creator, Irene Casas GilShe is 25 years old and is a fourth-year Graphic Design student at the Higher School of Design in Zaragoza. Although she lives in Aragon but outside the province, she maintains a strong connection with Teruel and its surroundings, something that has decisively influenced her participation in the competition organized by the city council.
Casas, a native of Figueruelas (Zaragoza), explains that submit a poster for the Vaquilla It had become one of her goals within her training as a designer. It wasn't the first time she had tried: this was the second time she had entered the municipal competition, with the stated hope of one day creating the official image for the festivities.
That objective has been achieved in this edition, in which their proposal has managed to prevail in a process that combined technical selection and citizen votingHis work has been recognized not only by the jury, but also by the people of Teruel themselves who participated in the final selection of the poster.
The designer herself acknowledges that winning the competition represents an important step in her professional career, but also a personal satisfaction. His relationship with the provinceHer connection to the family and the many times she has experienced the Vaquilla festival firsthand have been a constant motivation when planning this graphic project.
A selection process with a jury and popular vote
The contest of Poster announcing the Angel Festival It is now a firmly established event on Teruel's cultural calendar. This year, 45 works were submitted, from which a specialized jury made an initial selection to choose the ten finalists before opening the decision to a public vote.
That jury has been made up of members of the Municipal CorporationThe group consisted of city council technicians, representatives from the School of Art, local media professionals, representatives from Interpeñas (the local festival association), and a graphic design expert. This group was responsible for evaluating the artistic quality, communicative power, and suitability of each proposal to the spirit of the Vaquilla festival.
After the initial selection, the final decision was left to the citizens through a process of popular vote in which 3.255 votes were cast. Irene Casas' poster received 25,51% of those votes, allowing it to become the official image of this year's festivities.
In addition to public recognition, the competition includes a cash prize for the winning proposal. This year, the author will receive 1.200 Euros, an amount that the City Council maintains as an incentive for creative talent and graphic design applied to the promotion of the city.
Municipal authorities have emphasized that the combination of a technical jury and open voting allows for a balanced approach professional criteria and citizen participationmaking the chosen poster both a solid work from a design point of view and an image with which the population feels identified.
"The day Teruel beats": symbols, color and energy
The title of the poster, "The day Teruel beats"The design summarizes the author's intention: to represent the feeling of a city in full swing that is experienced during the central days of the Vaquilla del Ángel festival. The illustration captures several of the most recognizable moments of the festivities, arranged in a dynamic and vibrant composition.
The image shows elements such as the roped bullThe brass bands, the peñas (social clubs), the dancing crowds, and, most notably, the gesture of placing the red neckerchief on the bull. These are moments that any resident of Teruel immediately associates with these days and which, according to the designer, could not be missing when graphically summarizing the essence of the Vaquilla.
The illustration is constructed with flat colors and a very limited color paletteof only six carefully selected shades. Among them, red takes center stage as a nod to the city's visual identity and the colors traditionally associated with the festival.
Another distinguishing feature of the poster is the predominant use of curve linesThese images aim to convey fluidity, joy, and a sense of swaying. This graphic approach seeks to suggest both the movement of people in the street and the feeling that the entire city is coming to life, generating a collective synergy that is very characteristic of this time of year.
The designer emphasized that she wanted the roped bull and the putting on the headscarf They should occupy the center of the visual scene. In his opinion, these are the two moments that most strongly come to mind when talking about the Vaquilla festival, so they should be the first thing any viewer notices when looking at the poster.
Reactions at City Hall and its connection to the city
The official poster presentation took place at the Teruel City CouncilThe mayor, Emma Buj, the councilor for Festivals, Eduardo Suárez, and the artist herself, accompanied by family members, participated in the event. During the ceremony, the significance for the city of unveiling the image that will represent the upcoming festivities was highlighted.
The mayor congratulated Irene Casas on the quality of her work and highlighted the proposal It accurately reflects the spirit of the Vaquillaconveying originality, joy, and freshness. For the governing team, the unveiling of the poster symbolically marks the beginning of the countdown to the Angel Festival.
Buj has pointed out that, when the poster is presented, many people from Teruel begin to feel that "little worm" in the stomach So typical of the approach of the holidays. It's the moment when winter is left behind, spring advances, and the city begins to think about brass bands, social clubs, and streets full of people.
The councilwoman also emphasized the artist's personal connection to the province. Although Irene was born in Figueruelas, part of her family comes from the Teruel region and she has experienced the Vaquilla festival on numerous occasions. According to the mayor, this direct knowledge of the celebration is evident in the details of the poster and in the way in which It captures the feeling of the bullfighter..
During the event, the designer herself expressed her desire to further develop her professional career in Teruel. The City Council encouraged her to consider the city as a possible place to work, highlighting that it is a municipality that wants to offer opportunities to young people also in the creative and cultural field.
The Vaquilla del Ángel: dates and atmosphere for this year
With the poster already chosen, attention now turns to the Angel's Fair OnesThe festivities, which will take place this year between July 3rd and 13th, will be ten days in which Teruel will once again pay homage to the Holy Angel, its patron saint, and commemorate the founding of the city, blending tradition, religious devotion, and a popular atmosphere.
The councilman of Fiestas, Edward SuarezDuring the presentation, she noted that the City Council is finalizing the last contracts related to the festival program. She added that details of the concerts and other activities that will be part of a program that typically combines musical performances, traditional events, and offerings for diverse audiences will be announced soon.
Suárez encouraged residents to start preparing for a new edition of the Vaquilla festival, reminding them that, before the big event in July, the city still has much to offer. neighborhood festivals and numerous activities typical of spring. Even so, he acknowledges that many people from Teruel already have their minds on the bull run, the peñas (social clubs), and the neckerchief.
The presentation of the poster, in practice, involves the unofficial starting pistol For festivities that each year also attract visitors from other parts of Spain and Europe interested in experiencing firsthand a celebration with deep local roots. The winning image will be featured in physical and digital media, helping to promote the Vaquilla festival beyond the province.
With remarkable participation in the popular vote, a young author with strong ties to Teruel, and a design that combines recognizable symbols, color, and dynamism, the new poster for the Vaquilla del Ángel stands out as the a calling card for some key days for the cityThe countdown has already begun and, with the official image on the street, Teruel is beginning to feel the pulse of its most emblematic festival once again.