Festa Major de Gràcia 2013

festa de gràcia

August 15th, 2013

Having stuffed ourselves stupid twice in one day, we set out for the Festa de Gràcia, not far from Xiringuito Aigua.

kiss

Gràcia is a barrio (region) of Barcelona, just above Barrio Gótico and Eixample. Gràcia was originally a village above the walled city of Barcelona, which was annexed in 1897.

dimensio perja

The Festa Major de Gràcia is an annual street festival in the barrio, where each street competes for the prize of best decoration on a theme chosen by the inhabitants.

spider

The theme and competition is taken very seriously and things get quite competitive.

carrer verdi

Standards are high, which makes for a great spectacle.

folk singers

We’d gone through several streets playing loud music with lots of people dancing and suddenly walked into a street hosting traditional music, with a much older crowd sitting down.

cremat

Just past the band was a stall selling Cremat, a Catalan rum drink containing:

1 liter of dark rum
2 or 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
a tablespoon of coffee beans
the peel of half a lemon
optionally the rum can be mixed 50 50 with Spanish brandy

To make, the ingredients are heated and lit in a Spanish terracotta cazuela. When the liquid has reduced by about two thirds the drink is ready. Considering some of the alcohol has been burnt off, it tasted very strong!

yellow fish

The festival goes on for a whole week.

red fish

During which time, there are shows and concerts on a daily basis.

purple fish

Most bars and restaurants stay open for the duration,

silver fish

while groups of men sell cheap cans of beer and bottles of water in the street.

alien invasion

Here an alien invasion is taking place, while a band plays to a packed crowd.

the planets

Evidently they’d come from one of these planets.

atelier robert

I noticed a man who looked like a crazy young William Burroughs, sitting outside what I assume is his shop, Atelier Robert. When I went over to take a picture he got up and started to dance.

cacti

These cacti led to a street

purple umbrellas

of beautiful umbrellas, hanging from above.

mixed umbrellas

It’s worth noting, that unlike Britain, there was not a single person rolling around in the gutter and the police keep a very low profile.

bricolatge

Here we came across a street full of Heath Robinson like pipes and tubes, reminding me of the film Brazil.

chicken farm

Next up was an unusual farm.

chicken farmer

The farmer chokes his chicken,

espantaocells

while a scarecrow keeps the other birds away.

molta marxa

By about 2.30 am, we were all exhausted, but the final street we passed before heading downhill, was packed with people dancing to a DJ con mucha marcha.

I hadn’t been to the Fiesta de Gràcia since 1992, but as you can see it’s very much full of life!