commemorates the historical Battle of Simancas where the Christian troops destroyed the army of Abd al-Rahman III, and the subsequent pledge of the king to never again use the young women of Simancas as currency in the face of Moorish demands. The Oath is the end of the legendary cycle for these brave maidens, seven young women who in the ceremony abandon the role they assumed a year before to make way, on August 6th, for the women after them. Seven new girls will wear rainbow-colored medieval dresses for the Requerimiento (“Summoning”)-- the town mayor summons each girl at her home, in an act of tradition that brings the people out into the streets, thus enabling the cycle to begin anew. In this way Simancas revitalizes itself, year after year, in “a beautiful tradition whose base is in Astur-leonese legend, with a historical background, but which the town enriches in its own way,” said Teresa Salvador, the director of the Asociación El Zancón and organizer of the festival. While the “Summoning” of the seven young women has been celebrated since 1988, according to a project presented to the local government by Salvador, the Oath which marks the end of the story is only twelve years old. Danza de los Lazos In Simancas a traditional dance exists related to the Pascua de Resurrección, celebrated to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 20th century. Called the danza de los Lazos (“dance of the bows”), it features twelve young men from the area. They dress in a special outfit consisting of a white shirt, a woman’s underskirt, white shoes and stockings with a bow tied at the knee, a purple sash across the chest, and a striking, high-topped hat adorned with flowers. A character known as the Zárraga carrying a whip with a ball at the end accompanies the dancers. The dance starts in the town square where the Zárraga announces the following: “Se va a echar un lazo a la salud del señor alcalde” (“The mayor’s health is going to be tied up”). The participants then walk the streets, stopping in front of the houses of the richest and most generous citizens, dancing the lazo in front of them and subsequently receiving a prize of money. See also Cuisine of the province of Valladolid References External links https://web.archive.org/web/20061011012419/http://www.cultura.mecd.es/archivos/visitas/simancas/simancas.html Municipalities in the Province of Valladolid