September’s Best Event: La Mercè

The Lowdown: Every Spanish town and village has a patron saint and a festival to celebrate him or her. In Barcelona it’s La Mercè, the Lady of Mercy, who reportedly rid the city of a plague of locusts in 1637. But more than remembering this kindly act, the Festa de La Mercè is when Barcelonese get to show how much they love their city in one last bash before the summer ends. It starts off with castellers (human towers) in the Plaça de la Mercè (M: Jaume 1) and doesn’t let up. Every night, fireworks (set off from the beaches) light up the sky, accumulating in the grand finale, a spectacular piromusical (festival of fire and music) on the last night of Mercè week. In between, there are nightly concerts throughout the old city; you can take in habaneras (Catalan sea chanteys), tango, bhangra, Moroccan Raï, and flamenco in less than a kilometer’s stroll. Simply everyone joins in the fun, regardless of age or nationality (it’s not unusual to see Pakistani beer sellers trying their hand at the paso doble or a demure elderly couple attempting a belly dance). But it’s the Catalan customs that draw the biggest crowds: the castellers (human towers), gegants, and capgrosses (costumed giants and “fat heads”), and the hair-raising correfoc. Held on the last Saturday, leaving from the cathedral and making its way down Via Laietana (crowds are less dense at the port end), this pagan-like ritual consists of hundreds of fire-breathing dragons and devils parading through the crowds, who tempt the devils closer and block their way with chants, only to be scattered in all directions by whirlygigs of gunpowder. Madness? Yes. But a bonding, playful sense of madness that, like the rest of La Mercè, unites the city for one glorious week.

When: September 18–25. Free. The piromusical is held at sunset on Sept 25 at the Parc del Forum. The correfoc starts at approximately 8pm on the last Saturday of La Mercè week. Pick up a complete program at the Palau de la Virreina, Las Ramblas 99 (M Liceu).

Where: All over the city.

Contact: bcn.es