The Festa Major De Sants: A Neighborhood Party for the World
A CATALONIAN CITY GROWS INTO GREATNESS
In 1897, the village of Sants agreed to unite with the growing city of Barcelona. This was a boon for all concerned, as the textile industries of the village were able to join with suppliers and distributors in the city to generate an economic boom. Since that time, each summer, the neighborhood of Sants throws a party for the entire world, called the Festa Major de Sants.
The Sants celebrations immediately follow end of another neighborhoods festival, the Festa Major de Gracia, and the competition between the two for the better party is fierce. In each district, the little streets of the neighborhood are filled with decorations, and juries award prizes to the most creative.
The Festa Major de Sants is primarily a musical festival, but the events cover the entire range of the performing arts, from dance to theatre to painting. Everywhere you go, on every corner, the local café offer special deals, and bands play for audiences on small stages.
EXPLORING THE FLOATING BEAUTIES OF SANTS
The Festa Major de Sants is held to honor the neighborhood saint, Bartholomew the Apostle. It begins at the end of August, a couple of days after the end of the Gracia events, and lasts for a week. Throughout the area, traffic is redirected and over twenty selected streets are converted into party areas.
The street decorations are always creative and fun, as the local residents turn each selected avenue into fantasy realms with elaborate and colorful constructions made of countless materials. Every street is assigned a theme, such as “Airplanes,” “Cake,” or “French Dancing.”
The best time to see the street décor competition is at the start of the festival, before the weather and traffic has a chance to wear down the area. It is also a good idea to go at night. The décor is created with the street lamps of the area in mind, when the sun goes down the illumination of the area is very different, with a golden glow that makes the Festa ornamentation even more beautiful.
GOOD FOOD FOR THE GRAND PARTY
The food at the Festa is extremely good street kiosk dining. There are local sausages called butifarrades and gatherings at chocolate stands selling various chocolate drinks. The great Spanish contribution to dining, the tapa, makes an extended appearance everywhere throughout the festival. The word “tapa” means “lid,” and it refers to the old custom in Spanish inns and hotel of laying a lid of bread and ham on top of steins of beers or other libations, as a way of filling the stomach.
Today, tapas retain the small size of their ancestors, but have become very elaborate, and they are usually sold in small collections. Perfect for festival dining on your feet, or savoring in-between touring the streets, tapas are featured in almost every square, or plaça, of the Sants neighborhood during the festival.
In addition to food, dance, music, and other entertainments, the Festa features many events for children. The Festa is a true neighborhood affair, and all of the families that reside in the Sants area enjoy bringing their children out to participate in the fun. For this reason, the festival organizers are also very stern about wrapping up the party at reasonable hours, around midnight during the weekdays and one o’clock on the weekend. Adults can still enjoy more sophisticated shows at the concurrent Festa Alternativa, which the Sants neighborhood incorporates into the main festival in the area.
THE CATALONIAN APPETITE FOR ADRENALIN
The region of Catalonia retains great pride in its unique style and culture, and two of the most amazing performances of the Festa Major de Sants are completely Catalan creations. The Castellers and the Correfocs are both unique in the world, and wonderful to observe.
The Castellers are the local teams of human tower builders, called colles, who assemble human pyramids or standing towers in the town squares. Sometimes these towers, when topped off, are walked from the assembly plaza, whole and wavering, to the center of the neighborhood, where they are then disassembled.
The Correfocs are the fireworks displays, orchestrated by the “devils.” Local men run up and down the streets on parade, in costume, firing off fireworks of many kinds. It is expected that the sparks of the fireworks will burn the onlookers who get too close. Many locals put on damp clothes and wear hats to protect their hair. It is genuinely inspiring to see the madness of the young men sprinting everywhere, with rockets burning on their staffs, and watching the audience cheer and run away from them!
Festivals always need a bit of madness to be memorable. The Festa Major de Sants, a true celebration of family and friendship in a small neighborhood, can be as crazy as any other party, with a unique Catalonian beauty all its own.
You can learn more about the Festa Major De Sant here: