Festivals and events - The Rough Guide to Barcelona - page 343

Almost any month you choose to visit Barcelona you'll coincide with a saint's day, fest-
ival or holiday, and it's hard to beat the experience of arriving to discover the streets
decked out with flags and streamers, bands playing and the entire population out cel-
ebrating. Traditionally, each neighbourhood celebrates with its own festa, though the
major ones - like Gràcia's Festa Major and the Mercè - have become city institutions,
complete with music, dancing, traditional parades and firework displays. The religious
calendar has its annual highlights too, with Carnival, Easter and Christmas as popular
times for parades, events and festivities across the city. Meanwhile, biggest and best of
the annual arts and music events are the summer Festival de Barcelona Grec, the ever-
expandingSónarextravaganzaofelectronicmusicandmultimediaartandtherockand
indie fest that is Primavera Sound.
There'sa month-by-monthcalendar below ofthe best annual festivals, holidays, trade fairs
and events, though it's not an exhaustive list. For more information about what's going on at
anygiventime,callintothecultural information officeatthe PalaudelaVirreina ,Ramblas
99, or check out the Ajuntament's useful website ( bcn.cat/cultura ).
Incidentally, not all public holidays coincide with a festival, but many do. In addition,
saints'dayfestivals-indeedallCatalancelebrations-canvaryindate,oftenbeingobserved
over the weekend closest to the dates given.
CASTLES IN THE SKY
Guaranteed to draw crowds at every festival are the teams of castellers - castle-makers -
who pile person upon person, feet on shoulders, to see who can construct the highest, most
aesthetically pleasing tower. It's an art that goes back over two hundred years, combining
individual strength with mutual cooperation - perhaps this is why it was discouraged as
an activity under Franco. Nowadays, it's very popular once again, with societies known as
colles in most Catalan towns who come together to perform at annual festivals and events.
There's a real skill to assembling the castell , with operations directed by the cap de colla
(society head) - the strongest members form the crowd at the base, known as the pinya ,
with the whole edifice topped by an agile child, the anxaneta , who lifts their palm above
their head to “crown” the castle. Ten human storeys is the record. For more see cas-
tellersdebarcelona.cat .
JANUARY
Capd'Any NewYear'sEve. Streetandclubparties,andmassgatheringsinPl.deCatalunya
and other main squares. You're supposed to eat twelve grapes in the last twelve seconds of
the year for twelve months of good luck. The next day, Jan 1, is a public holiday.