Dani Olmo, Vinicius and The Beatles among new pooping 'caganers' this Christmas

The new 'caganer' figurines - a humorous Catalan tradition featuring a pooping figure in nativity scenes - for this Christmas season have been unveiled.

As every year, 'Caganer.com', a Baix Empordà company specializing in caganers, has unveiled the latest additions to its collection of famous personalities transformed into these festive figurines.

Among the most notable new caganers this season are FC Barcelona's recent signing, midfielder Dani Olmo, Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, Girona FC striker Cristhian Stuani, and brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams, who play for Athletic Bilbao.

They join the figures of Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham, both created earlier this summer in two versions.

In the world of football, Caganer.com has also paid tribute to iconic players such as Pelé, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona, each depicted in their national team jerseys. 

For 2024, the company has further expanded its offerings to include athletes from beyond football.

New additions include sailors from the six teams that competed in the America’s Cup in Barcelona, three motorcyclists, a paddleboarder, and a yoga practitioner.

Although football players remain the main focus this year, due to both the sport’s popularity and the high demand for sports-themed caganers, other areas of culture and music are also represented.

Among the highlights is a tribute to the legendary rock band The Beatles, featuring figurines that recreate the iconic 'Abbey Road' album cover, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr crossing the famous zebra crossing.

"Until now we only had a John Lennon caganer, but now we've turned the whole group into figurines, making it original, meaningful and different," explains Marc Alós, one of the two brothers who run the company.

Iconic guitarist Jimi Hendrix has also been transformed into a caganer, with special attention paid to his unique left-handed playing style.

Movie and fictional characters have also been included in this year's collection. "We already had the Minions, and now we've added Gru, the main character from the movie franchise," says Alós.  

"We did the same with others like Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story and Princess Fiona, the partner of Shrek," he explains.

"These characters are popular, so we wanted to see how expanding the range of movie, comic book, video game and superhero characters would resonate," Alós adds.

This new selection also includes Krillin from Dragon Ball, the villain Voldemort from Harry Potter, Darth Maul from Star Wars, and Kenny, Kyle, and Stan, from South Park.

Expanding further into film, Caganer.com has also added caganers of Elsa from Frozen, RoboCop, the devilish doll Chucky, Terminator, Stripe (the leader of the Gremlins), and Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean. 

This year, Caganer.com adds around 50 new figurines to its catalog of over 700 designs. The company operates nine stores across Spain, including locations in Madrid, Bilbao, and several Catalan cities. 

The best-selling caganer of all time is football player Lionel Messi, but this year, due to the upcoming U.S. elections, the figurine of Donald Trump has seen a sharp rise in popularity. 

Other top-selling figurines include the traditional caganer featuring a peasant with a 'barretina',  former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, and former U.S. president Barack Obama.

What are caganers? 

Caganers are traditional Christmas figurines depicting anyone from traditional peasants to global celebrities, all in the middle of doing a poo. 

Caganers, which literally means poopers, have been around since at least the 18th century. It's customary for them to be placed in the nativity scene, along with the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and wise men, and the donkey. 

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode from December 2020 to learn more about the Christmas traditions in Catalonia.