SOMETHINGABOUT THE FESTIVITIES OF GRACIA
The festivities of Gracia are the most famous and the ones that attract the most public in Barcelona.
A street decorated in the neighbourhood of Gracia.
August is the month of renowned popular events. And there are many cities and towns that every year look forward to the arrival of summer to celebrate their most traditional and important festivities. In the case of Barcelona, the most coveted patron saint festivities are the Gracia festivities, which are celebrated in the iconic neighbourhood of Barcelona. In its program, there is no shortage of concerts, “castellers”, popular dances, giants, “big-heads” and the emblematic “correfoc”, “bastoners” and “trabucaires”. The “Festa Major” de Gracia is a grand event in the Catalan capital. Although these are not the main festivals of the city, as the festivities of La Mercè are, those of Gracia are the most famous and the ones that attract the most public.
The origin of the festivities The origin of the Gracia festivities dates back to 1817. Initially, the festivities of Gracia took place coinciding with the festivity of San 6
Isidro (May 15), since it was the patron saint of farmers and the Villa de Gracia, then a small town whose inhabitants were dedicated mainly to agriculture. Years later, due to the demographic increase of its population, workers, artisans or small merchants lived in its streets, beyond the farmers, and the monks who lived in the convent that was between the city and the Villa de Gracia, they celebrated another party on August 15, with which they decided to move their festivities to the summer month and make them coincide with the so-called Virgin of August.
What to do in the festivities of Gracia The most important event of this festivity is the contest for the decoration of streets and balconies organised by the neighbours of the neighbourhood of Gracia. A spectacle of colour reigns during those days in avenues, squares, and boulevards with a specific theme that the
