They call them the Festes de Gràcia - the Gràcia parties. "Parties" - the plural form of the word - because each street in this vibrant Barcelona neighbourhood that wants to take part in the celebration organizes its own party. And that's no small undertaking. For a start, in Gràcia, the essence of the party is the competition among streets for the best decoration, so teams of locals spend literally thousands of hours transforming their urban lanes into mind-blowing, other-wordly scenes made from papier mâché, recycled plastic, and a ton of imagination. Then there's the party itself: it lasts for a week and each street puts on daily activities, morning, noon and night, ranging from children's games, shared meals for the residents, sessions of bingo, dominoes and chess, through to late-night rumba and rock'n'roll. It's a miracle in 2023 that neighbourhood communities consisting almost entirely of volunteers throw themselves into this year after year, but they do: this year, there are no less than 23 streets and squares holding parties in Gràcia. It is not the only Barcelona district where this happens - Sants, for example, has its own wonderful festes - but Gràcia is extra-special. Here's our programme for the Festa Major de Gràcia 2023!
Dates of the 'Festes de Gràcia 2023'
The dates are, in fact, practically the same every year: the parties start in Gràcia on August 15th and continue until the 21st. There are more than 900 activities.
One of the first prizes which Festes de Gràcia award every year is for design of the annual Festes poster. This year's winner is illustrator Gina Pont. "The colours of the poster are inspired by the coat of arms of the three lilies of Vila de Gràcia, in which yellow, blue and white predominate. As well, there are hands, scissors and other tools that highlight the great craftsmanship behind the decorations, which fill the streets of Gràcia with color and creativity during the festivities."
Proclamation of the Festes
Most Catalan towns and villages that hold a festa major or big party invite a local personality to make the traditional speech declaring them open and setting the mood. This year the proclamation speech for the Festes de Gràcia 2023 - in la Plaça de la Vila - will take place on August 14th at 7pm - the night before it all really gets started. Those tasked with the duty are local footballers Andrea Porta and Àlex Cano, leading past and present figures in Gràcia sports club CE Europa. While they are delivering their speeches, you can bet your life that in many of the streets, volunteers will still be slaving away to complete their fabulous decorations.
All the decorated streets in Gràcia 2023
A total of 23 streets and squares will be decorated from August 15th to 21st for the Festa Major de Gràcia 2023. Every street can choose the theme of its own decoration - they range from fairy stories to major political issues, and the competition to take out the top prizes is fierce. This year, Carrers Mozart and Verdi will be honoured with two special plaques that will be inaugurated on August 16th. Here you have the complete list of participating streets and their themes for 2023, with the numbers in the list corresponding to the map below. Part of the fun of the Festes is navigating your way round the neighbourhood to see as many street parties as possible. But as you do this, note the arrows on the map: for crowd safety reasons, the direction of entry into decorated streets is one way.
- Carrer Berga - Harvest 2023: A recreation of a vineyard and wine cellar.
- Placeta Sant Miquel i Rodalies - Shadow Theatre by La Placeta company: Representation of shadow theatre.
- Carrer Jesús - Selva'm: This street's theme is a wake-up call about climate change. The name seems to be a play on words: Selva = jungle. Salve'm = save me.
- Carrer Mozart - Mozartland: Inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
- Plaça Vila de Gràcia - Qualsevol nit pot sortir el sol ("Any night the sun might come out"): Inspired by the fantastic characters in Jaume Sisa's classic Catalan tune.
- Carrer Llibertat - Rapa Nui: A tribute to the Rapa Nui culture of Polynesia and, especially, Easter Island.
- Carrer Progrés - Formigues ("Ants"): A tribute to the film A Bug's Life by Pixar and Disney.
- Carrer Tordera - Tordernisme: Tribute to Catalan Modernisme, the great early 20th century architectural style of Barcelona, epitomised by Gaudí.
- Carrer Fraternitat de Baix - Christmas: Representative elements of Catalan Christmas festivities - in the heat of summer!
- Carrer Fraternitat de Dalt - Fratern d'Oz: Adapting the name of the street itself, the inspiration comes from the movie Wizard of Oz.
- Plaça Poble Gitano - The Paper Boat: Inspired by the poem Veles e vents ("Sails and winds") from medieval Valencian poet Ausiàs March.
- Carrer Lluís Vives - Minions: A tribute to these little yellow creatures from the animated Minions movies.
- Carrer Perill - Insects in Danger: All kinds of insects will grace this street for Gràcia 2023.
- Carrer Puigmartí - Natura Viva: This street's theme is the power of nature and how it prevails over humans.
- Carrer Joan Blanques, de Baix de tot - Tocats del bolet: "Bolets" are wild mushrooms, the gathering of which is a great Catalan pursuit.
- Carrer Ciudad Real - Oasis of Peace: A simulation of a Sahrawi camp.
- Carrer Joan Blanques, de Baix - Abracadabra!: As you might guess from the name, the theme is the theatre of magic and illusions.
- Carrer La Perla - Perlagueram: "Clavegueram" means sewer. Bravely, the residents of this beautiful street are recreating it as a city sewer.
- Carrer Travessia Sant Antoni - Travessia de New Orleans: Street decoration inspired by New Orleans, the city at the mouth of the Mississippi.
- Carrer Verdi del Mig - The Pied Piper of Hamelin: Inspired by the famous Brothers Grimm tale.
- Carrer Providencia - Provi S.A.: A tribute to the film Monstres, S.A. ("Monsters, Inc.") by Pixar and Disney.
- Plaça Rovira i Trias - Alis volat propriis (Latin for "She flies with her own wings"): This decorated square will be full of butterflies eager to get out of their cages and achieve freedom.
- Plaça del Nord - A l’estiu, tota cuca viu ("In summer, every bug is alive"): The theme is the vitality and joy of people, animals and nature during the summer.
Key moments in the Festes de Gràcia 2023
Monday 14th August
- 7pm Proclamation speech for the Festa Major de Gràcia, by Andrea Porta and Àlex Cano
Tuesday 15th August
- In the morning, the noisy Cercavila or procession makes a circuit of the district for Festa Major
- in the afternoon at 6.15pm: Another cercavila, the XXIII Cercavila de Cultura Popular, with gegants ("giants") and traditional figures
Wednesday 16th August
- The official opening of two plaques in recoginition of those who decorated the streets Verdi 81 and Mozart 21.
Friday 18th August
- Parade of Giants
- 8pm: Pilar caminat - "Walking (human) pillar" which will proceed from Plaça del Sol to the Plaça de la Vila.
- 8:30pm: Diada castellera - human towers
Saturday 19th August
- "Special guest": the Gegants of Gràcia and the Gegants of Sallent (in Bages county).
- 6pm: Diada castellera - the main human tower contest
Monday 21st August
- 7:15pm: Correfoc - the fire run - for the Festes de Gràcia. If you want to get close to the action, wear cotton clothes that cover you well and protect from sparks. Also, sports shoes and a hood or cap.
How to get to the Festes de Gràcia
There are five Metro stations and one FGC station that are close to the Festes. By metro, on L3 (Diagonal, Fontana, Lesseps), L4 (Verdaguer, Joanic) and L5 (Diagonal, Verdaguer). If you want to take the FGC trains, your stop is Gràcia. Finally, by bus you have TMB lines such as 7, 22, 24, 39, 114, H6, D40, V15, V17.