Festa Major de Gràcia

by Miriam | Events

Two major popular events take place during the two last weeks in August. They are the “Festes Majors” of the neighbourhoods of Gràcia and Sants.

Fest Major de Gracia

Formerly, these were villages in the outskirts of Barcelona and therefore they still maintain, not only some of the character and the way of life of a self-contained community, but also the celebrations of their local patrons, which go on for a week and fill the narrow streets of both areas with light, music, open-air activities and people of all ages, origins and interests.

The Gràcia Festa Major is the first one in time, coinciding with the third week in August. As in a huge number of villages around Catalonia, it is said to celebrate the Mare de Déu d’Agost (Saint Mary, 15 August), but others consider the patron of Gràcia to be Sant Roc.

This ambiguous religious origin may be due to historical reasons. The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 and the people of Gràcia that hadn’t been killed or exiled were looking forward to carrying on with their life after three years of bombings and hardship of all kinds; one of the signs of normality was to recover their summer celebrations. For this purpose, a Commission was created, lead by people connected to Franco’s regime.

This may seem strange, since it was originally a working class area, prone to revolutionary movements that were obviously quashed by the victory of the nationalist dictator. But we must bear in mind that we are talking of a civil war and therefore most communities and many families were torn between both sides, quite often depending on location or position rather than on hardcore beliefs, so after the war it was usual to have friends that decided to embrace the new regime – and one had to make the best of them, whatever the ideological compromises this might require! Anyway, the religious façade would have eased the authorities into accepting the festivities as a righteous popular celebration.

The Festa Major kicks-off with an opening speech by some local celebrity, but by then months of voluntary work have gone in to decorate the streets and organize the agenda. The street contest is one of the attractions of the Gràcia fair; you can find all sorts of motives, historical or recent, natural or cybernetic, inspiring the different but always colourful arrangements.

This is why one of the best things you can do if you are planning on visiting during that period is to just take a leisurely stroll through the narrow streets and passages and alight in various squares (Plaça del Sol, Plaça del Diamant) that will be offering sitting space, bars, proper restaurants and make-shift out-of-doors food counters as well as concerts and live dance music or traditional music, such as sardanes and havaneres. During the day activities for kids and other events (such as exhibitions, traditional dance and displays and popular lunches) take place.

We keep talking about narrow streets, because Gràcia is not to be confused with Passeig de Gràcia, the wide avenue that leads towards the mountains from Plaça Catalunya. Gràcia is the neighbourhood that you will find higher up, once you have crossed Diagonal, and Passeig de Gràcia turns into a much slimmer Gran de Gràcia, the neighbourhood spreading its intricate design to the left of it.

Because of its calendar, the Gràcia Festa Major assembles a mixed public. Many Barcelona inhabitants will still be on holiday and therefore, among the ones left, you will be sure to spot the people whose lives really evolve around their neighbourhood.

Elderly people, who may have been born there, and still haven’t lost the habit of taking their chairs out onto the pavement for a bit of fresh air in the evenings; youngsters and middle-aged professionals who have adopted Gràcia as their stronghold, thanks to its intense café and cultural life. And together with them you will find those who have returned to Barcelona after their break but are still willing the Summer to go on for a bit longer – and of course the inevitable tourists, though they will not outnumber the locals.

In the last years, the police has been asked to make sure activities end at a reasonable time (around 2:00 a.m. during the weekend; closer to 1:00 a.m. on weekdays) so that the inhabitants may find some sleep. The problem is often that the party goes on well after all the bands have disappeared, so it is wise to leave when the music stops, if you are a quiet kind of person – and as long as you have already made the best of your evening out!

The program is usually released quite late, but when it is you will be able to find it on the Federació Festa Major de Gràcia website, which you may want to browse in any case for a good archive of old photographs of the fair. In 2009, the Festa Major takes place between 15th and 21st August.