Decalogue of l'arrancà d'esquadra

1. The cabo, his squad and the band are the stars of this act. Make sure nobody bothers, distracts, walks or passes in front of or behind them, and that everything is ready for this magic moment.
2. The cabo leads his squad to the place set for l'arrancà. They walk down there without marking the step.
3. When everything is ready, the cabo gives the order to the band conductor to start the march chosen by him or by the filà. He must know the piece in detail.
4. The cabo marks the step for his squad as soon as the band is playing the march, not during the drum introduction. If he gets the step wrong, he will be told very discreetly.
5. The cabo should not ask the audience for applause before l'arrancà. We all know our audience is generous: they always applaud, whether it goes well or not.
6. The cabo does not move his weapon before l'arrancà. If he does, it must be very gently and as low as possible, except for the Andaluces and Labradores filaes, which carry different weapons.
7. The cabo keeps close communication with his squad. Beforehand (advisable) he will have told the squad when to raise their weapons. He and the squad stay focused at all times.
8. The cabo and the squad raise their weapons on the first forte of the march (strongly advisable). On the second one there is a lot of improvising and time is gold; only the cabo decides, with the consent of his filà.
9. The cabo orders the squad to start. Once the weapons are raised, or at the same time, the priority is to start quickly so the other filaes can do their arrancaes without problems.
10. The cabo does not move away from his squad. He keeps a margin of two to three metres, and four if there is a cabo batidor. The cabo always marches through the centre of his squad.

This decalogue is a guide: it only sets out advisable practices for a good arrancà. It is not meant as dogma or law, but as rules that were always followed and that seem to have been forgotten over the years.

Following this decalogue does not guarantee a successful arrancà: you must add, no more and no less, the art of the cabo, and there are no rules for that. Only ART.