The clocks in the Spanish town of Tobarra will remain on winter time this weekend. An exception as the rest of Europe prepares to switch to summer time. On the night of Saturday March 30 to Sunday March 31, it will be 3 a.m. to 2 a.m. The municipality located in the province of Albacete cited an old tradition, the tamborada, to explain its exemption.
Classified as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO since 2018, the celebration which began on Holy Wednesday (March 27) must last 104 hours, until midnight on Easter Sunday. Problem: the ritual of beating thousands of drums simultaneously and without interruption across the city could be undermined by the time change. There would only be 103 hours of festivities if we switched to daylight saving time.
Unthinkable for the municipal council. This shortening would be an “alteration of one of our greatest signs of cultural identity,” he wrote in a press release.
To remain in tradition, the mayor of Tobarra Manuela Garrido Ruiz therefore decided to extend winter time. The small town of 7,824 inhabitants will only switch to summer time on Monday April 1st. No kidding.