Vaqueiros de alzada

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Vaqueiros de 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 Asturias, who practiced transhumance, i.e. moving seasonally with cattle.

Historically, they had been wrongly believed to be a separate ethnic group to the Spanish populace (their ancestors would have been the Moorish soldiers defeated at the Battle of Covadonga in 722)^{[citation needed]}. The group have traditionally been ostracised by the valley dwellers. They distinguished themselves by their costume and dialect. Their nomadic lifestyle placed them out of the reach of the Church and the Government.

[edit] Sources

• vaqueiro de alzada in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, Madrid, 1992, from the Spanish Royal Academy (in Spanish)

VAQUEIROS