Esquivamosques

Wart

Dodger of Flies is the only bighead created as a reinterpretation of a pervious bighead, probably the first of the Gironan bigheads that had the name. Like his predecessor, he has a beard and a face filled with warts. Certainly this unites in a single character the features and popularity that in the past were held by two different bigheads: Dodger of Flies and Wart.

The fly resting on his nose is the most notable novelty and that which makes him one of the most unique bigheads. Originally, there were two others, one at the tip of his cap and the other on sewn on top of his belt. The fact that the flies of his name are present give the bighead an air of being angry, or better said, of being «flied,» without doubt playing with the Catalan expression «make the fly climb up the nose.» At the same time, this permits connecting the character with the popular Gironana legend of Saint Narcissus and the flies. According to this legend, when French invaders laid seige to the city, something that occurred on multiple occasions, a swarm of flies emerged from the saint’s incorruptable body—some gigantic, others of different colors, and even with horns—that expelled the French, causing many casualties, among both of men and horses, in the enemy ranks. Because there was no doubt about his origin, Dodger of Flies was decorated with a green hat in the French style, a piece of clothing much-used in the first half of the 18th century. He wears mismatched shoes, which, together with the squint from looking at the fly on his nose, gives him the appearance of a simple-minded and bungling character.

Like his predecessors, he carries out the task of opening the way for the rest of the retinue. In doing this, when he debuted, he was aided by an inflated bladder tied to a reed, a tool that received the name “bufa” (“blow”). With the passage of years, this element, which was also used by previous bigheads, disappeared. More recently, he has gone armed with an insecticide sprayer and also with a flyswatter.

As we have seen, all the bigheads of this set share their name with some spot in the city. In the case of Dodger of Flies it isn’t exactly so, given that he adopted an already-exisiting name. Nonetheless, it is easy to associate him with the church of Sant Felix, which contains the chapel of Saint Narcissus. In fact, at the foot of the main staircase, there is a very tiny alley named Street of the Flies.