Every year in August, Gràcia, a neighbourhood in Barcelona, celebrates its street festival, the Festa Major de Gràcia, one of the most beautiful, colourful and lively in Catalonia. The streets, balconies and main doors are decorated with streamers, motifs and images, becoming real masterpieces.
Year round, residents of Gràcia join forces and imagination to turn their street into the most original, bright and charming, and thus win the prize for the best decorated street. The streets have a different theme every year, such as “Ancient Rome” or “Under the Sea”.
The tradition of decorating the facades is relative young. It starts in mid-nineteenth century, when a small group of peasant population undergoes a tremendous growth and Gràcia becomes a town of artisans, labourers and small traders, from 3,062 inhabitants in 1828, increased to 61,935 in 1875. The feast started being a religious one, but soon became a civic celebration with the boost of many worker and recreational organizations.
Gràcia festival also includes a huge number of activities such as “castells” (human towers), “gegants” (typical Catalan giant figures), the “correfoc” (traditional fire expression), and exhibitions, gastronomy, and workshops, activities for kids, dance, theatre, parades and concerts.
Each year thousands of people walk the streets of Gràcia, enjoying the atmosphere and, above all, admiring the decoration of its streets.
Photograph: www.festamajordegracia.cat/