What is the La Mercè Festival?
La Mercè is a huge and impressive festival in Barcelona that takes over the whole city in late September. The purpose of the festival is to honour the Patron Saint of Barcelona, Mare de Deu de la Mercè, also known as Mother of God of Mercy, or Our Lady of Mercy.
The celebration is made up of many different festivals that all work together to capture the cultural richness of the city of Barcelona.
This year there are over 500 different activities and events planned for the La Mercè festival, with the majority of the events occurring Friday 20th September through Tuesday 24th September. From music and dancing, to fireworks, parades, street art, circus shows, and more – there’s bound to be something for everyone!
Ultimately, La Mercè is more than just a fun festival – it embodies many aspects of the city of Barcelona in a way that not only celebrates, but also honours, that which is important to the city and its people. So, go out and celebrate La Mercè this year for a rich and exciting cultural experience!
La Mercè Festival?
History of La Mercè in Barcelona
La Mercè has been celebrated in Barcelona since 1868. The holiday officially falls on 24th September, though La Mercè celebrations last for several days.
The festival honors the Patron saint of Barcelona, Mare de Déu de la Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy), who is thought to have performed several miracles to help people. One such legend says that this Saint appeared to King Jamie I, Saint Pedro Nolasco, and Saint Raimundo de Peñafort, requesting them to assemble a religious order to save Christian hostages in the Holy Lands. Another notable legend says that Barcelona was plagued by locusts that didn’t go away until the Barcelona people called upon the protection of Our Lady of Mercy.
At first, the festival was celebrated in a very religious and conservative manner. It wasn’t until 1902 that the festival began to leave behind its conservative roots and become the culturally diverse celebration that it is today.
Festival Highlights
Gegants and capgrossos
Gegants and Capgrossos (giants and big heads) are a huge part of the La Mercè festival and Catalan culture as a whole.
Rooted in Corpus Christi celebrations, the Giants parade can be found in festivals all throughout Catalonia. These figures are crafted from paper mache as representations of important historical figures and symbols in Catalan culture. Rising above a lively crowd, the giants sway and dance to the drums and percussion of the parade music. Overall, this parade is a highlight of La Mercè celebrations and worth going to for people of all ages!
Correfoc
The Correfoc, also known as ‘fire run’, is an iconic, highly anticipated aspect of the La Mercè festival. The parade consists of diables and dracs (dragons and devils) performing mesmerizing dances amidst a breathtaking shower of thousands of fireworks.
Since the Correfoc can get quite dangerous, it is not recommended for children; however, there is an alternative fun, yet safe, junior Correfoc happening shortly before the main event. The main difference between the junior and the adult Correfoc is that in the adult one, firework flames are thrown to the people. So, if you are planning on attending the main event make sure to take extra safety precautions and wear protective clothing.
Castellers
Another age-old Catalan tradition that makes up a huge part of the La Mercè festival is the Castellers, or human towers, a tradition that came about at the end of the 18th century and has been popular in Catalonia ever since. People get together and climb on top of one another, creating a human tower that is almost 8 stories high. To finish off the tower, a child will climb to the top. During the La Mercè festival, this event usually takes place in the Gothic Quarter.
BAM Festival
Live music makes up a huge part of the La Mercè festival. So much so, that there is even an entire music festival itself within the La Mercè festival. The BAM (Barcelona Accio Musical) Festival is a series of free, outdoor concerts all across the city of Barcelona. Consisting of performances of all different music genres, there is something for everyone during the BAM festival. Ranging from electronic music to rock music, everyone will be able to find a show that they enjoy during the La Mercè celebrations.
Event Flyer
The poster for La Mercè is yet another way that art is used as part of the festival to represent Catalonia’s rich history and culture. Every year, a different artist is chosen to design a new La Mercé poster with their own creative twist.
The Barcelona-based production company ‘Canada’ is filming a spot to advertise Barcelona’s Annual Festival, which is also the source of this year’s poster image.
Times change, and while until now, the La Mercè poster has been the exclusive turf of artists or designers, this year, it comes from Barcelona’s audiovisual talent. A Barcelona-based video production company that has created the video clips for some of the songs you like the best, and this year they’ve been invited to create not a poster but a teaser for the festival… which is the source of the image on the poster.
The audiovisual production company ‘Canada’ created the image for La Mercè 2024. The artistic concept refers to a ‘festa major’ (annual festival), that is open to everyone. It also highlights the influence and impact of a traditional festival such as this one on the city and it’s residents. The city acts as a meeting point for music, dance and shows even for people who aren’t here to attend the festival or don’t know what La Mercè is.
On the poster, Canada offers a picture of La Mercè from the standpoint of someone seeing it for the first time. Specifically, it shows the excited viewpoint of a child looking at the fireworks enthralled. For that child, the commotion, noise, lights and giants are the festive expression of the city where they live. Where other people’s senses are stimulated, this child finds peace. Barcelona’s festival enters through their home’s window and finds the one who needed it the most.
As we said, the poster image is related to a short film about a newborn baby who can’t stop crying. After an entire day, the baby stops crying when they spot a giant dancing through the window. The baby falls asleep amidst the dim of the fireworks explosions.
La Mercè 2024 guest city
Casablanca is this years guest city of Barcelona’s La Mercè Festival!
Moroccan festivities can be seen at the Música Mercè and Barcelona Acció Musical stages, as well as circus acts at the Castell de Montjuïc, urban dances at Parc de l’Estació del Nord, a concert at the Palauet Albéniz and displaying its talent for the visual arts at Parc de la Trinitat.
The presence of Casablanca and artists from this Moroccan city will be a great way to learn about a culture that is very geographically close to our own. That’s why in this year’s La Mercè programme, you’ll see artists from Morocco and many Moroccan artists who live in Barcelona. Circus, dance, street arts, music, visual arts and audiovisual arts are represented in the programming, which goes beyond just a schedule of activities related to the guest city this year. To effectively promote new cultural creations emerging from the fusion of two different approaches, this year’s La Mercè will feature two shows in Barcelona and Casablanca, showcasing both cities’ shared values and talents.
In this edition of Barcelona’s Annual Festival, you’ll discover a young, extraordinarily vital Casablanca with a clear commitment to urban music, street arts and many other displays of culture.
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