A percussion instrument that replaced the bells during Holy Week.

When did it return to the bell tower?

On 12 January 2025, following restoration by the Tórtola workshop with support from the town council, parish and Cuenca Provincial Council (Diputación de Cuenca).

Cardenete's matraca: the sound of Holy Week

Matraca of the church of La Asunción

The matraca of Cardenete church is a percussion instrument sounded during Holy Week instead of the bells. It is thought to date from the 18th or 19th century and probably fell out of use before the 20th century. The Tórtola workshop restored it with support from the town council, parish and provincial council; it returned to the bell tower on 12 January 2025.

When the bells fell silent

During Holy Week the bells fell silent and the matraca, a wooden percussion instrument, sounded instead. It is like a giant rattle: a shaft with arms and mallets striking boards, producing a dry, rhythmic sound to call people to services. The one in Cardenete probably dates from the 18th or 19th century, according to the restorer, although the 17th or 18th century has also been mentioned on the radio. It may have fallen out of use before the war: nobody in the village had heard it. It belongs to the church of La Asunción.

The return

The Tórtola workshop restored it, with the town council, parish and Cuenca Provincial Council (Diputación de Cuenca), and on 12 January 2025 it returned to the bell tower. The shaft and arms were retained; the rest, eaten away by damp, was remade using the old pieces as models, in around two weeks’ work. The way it is played also changed: it had stood around three metres above the bell-tower floor and is now a metre and a half up, with a new pulley. It was due to sound again on Good Friday 2025.

Plan your visit

Combine with

The Baroque organ in the same church.

Where it is