Rosanna:

Festes de la Merce

This is 4 day festival has tons of things to do and lots of sights to see. The festival ends on September 24th which is an official public holiday in honor of Mare de Deu de la Merce, the Patron Saint of Barcelona. Since the streets are packed we found it easiest to just walk to the different areas all over the city that hold different events. What caught my eye right off the bat was the Castellers, or Human towers. Groups of people work together to form the highest human tower. Once completed a young child climbs to the top and stands up. What a sight to see! We couldn't imagine the strength and preparation that goes into this.

The festival also has Gigantes or the giant parade where large floats of nobles and royals navigate the streets. This was extremely popular with the kids. Their eyes gazed upon the giant people as bands and choirs followed the Gigantes filling the streets with music.



The Correfoc is a fire and sparkler wonder show. This took place after dusk with a junior fire run first and an adult fire run after. Groups of people dress up like devils and run through the streets spraying people with the sparklers. It was kinda scary at first as we are taught not to play with sparklers but it was neat to be a part of this. I would recommend bringing a hat or protective clothing just to be on the safe side.


Check out the official website here, Spanish only.