Catalan Culture: Catalan Culture: La Mercé

This holiday is one of the biggest holidays in Barcelona. A weekend of celebrating is dedicated to the city’s patron saint, La Mercé. First there is a parade with the giants,( huge puppets representing people from history or folklore that are considered to be important_) Castellers, the corofouque, and a grand finale of an amazing firework show on that Sunday. There were also concerts throughout the weekend free of cost. The two events I found to be the most interesting were the Castellers and Corofouque.
When asked what it meant to be Catalan, many people replied that Castellers were a pivotal part of their culture. Castellers are people who train for the entire year to put on performances where different teams will compete to see who can make the strongest, tallest human pyramid. The pyramid begins at the bottom. There is a domino-like effect made up of about ten people deep. Each person is supporting the person in front of them, creating a circle of support. The first layer is not standing on the lower level’s shoulder, rather their weight is distributed through many supporting hands.The next layer of the pyramid consists of 8 or so people standing. They create a circle with their arms and brace themselves as the next group of people climb up their backs. Everyone has special handkerchiefs tied around their waist, to make it easier for the climbers to get onto their shoulders. I also noticed that many of the castellers wore bandanas, possibly to prevent their hair from getting pulled. While the Pyramids are being built no one is supposed to talk. The scattered comments are shushed and everyone waits for at least two levels to be built before the crowd erupts into cheers and music is played. It seems that if you cheer before the pyramid has any levels, it can be bad luck and jinx the pyramid's success.
The last person to climb to the tip-top of the pyramid is a child generally 3-5 years old. They wear helmets as a safety precaution, but my heart jumps a little every time a pyramid collapses.

Girls peer on as the pyramid slowly grows

The second layer struggles to maintain their positions as the next layer scrambles upwards

A young casteller breaks the one rule, of climbing high structures. Don't look down!

This girl was sitting on her dad's shoulder's waving frantically, cheering on the castellers. Towards the end a burly mustached Casteller came up to her, reached up and placed a sticker that said "Casteller'. This is a picture of how excited she was to be an honorary casteller.

This is not an American sport. Castellers cheer on members of their own team, as well as other teams. This is a sport that emphasizes community, and shared goals. One of the Castellers is also holding the traditional Catalan horn.

A young Casteller stops for a moment looking out at the crowd, before continuing on with the climb

Stilt walkers parade down the street furling their beautifully colored outfits

Children playing with the discarded confetti

A moonfaced figure shakes hands with a little boy

Singers at La Ciutadella

Although Corofoque is relatively new, it is a large event in Barcelona. It used to be an event for the whole family, but now there is a tamer event for children to experience. Hundreds of people gather, to be chases by demons through the gates of hell. On Gran Via a gate has been built, connected both sides of the street. At 8:00 an explosion of red fireworks erupt and a diabolic voice sounds over loudspeakers. Figures are also walking around in monster costumes lighting fireworks in the middle of crowds. Everyone is packed together like sardines so that if you want to break free of the mass, it is like pulling away from a magnet. You are always getting pulled the opposite direction of where you want to go.