The bonfires of Sa Pobla have once again warmed up a winter's night in Barcelona's Gràcia neighbourhood.
A tradition that began 26 years ago has continued in 2018 with a dozen squares and streets in the central Barcelona district taking part on Saturday in the now-annual celebration which has turned into Gràcia's wintertime street festival. It was adopted from the Mallorcan town of Sa Pobla, where the annual Saint Anthony festival with its bonfires, popular culture and gastronomy is traditional.
The lighting of this year's bonfires in Gràcia also had an element of political protest, with the kindling and logs of the fires receiving extra fuel from cardboard placards and cut-out letters saying '155' - a statement of rejection of the Spanish government's intervention in Catalonia, under article 155 of the constitution.
Hundreds of Gràcia residents along with visitors from the rest of Barcelona and beyond, filled the squares, especially the Plaça de la Virreina and Plaça del Diamant.
"We have been holding the Sant Antoni de Sa Pobla festival in its Gràcia version for 26 years. It is a fellowship that lets us sustain, compare and share something that we have in common apart from our language and our culture: that is, everyday life", said Emeteri Frago, president of the organising association El Cargol Graciós - a name that translates as "The Funny Snail", or "The Gràcia Snail" if you prefer, as it's a play on words.
A la plaça de la Virreina la gent ha cremat el 155 en un dels #foguerons #LlibertatPresosPolítics #155alafoguera #oRepúblicaoRepública pic.twitter.com/D7h61TdB61
— ANC Grace (@GraciaxINDP) 27 of January 2018
"This is all about getting together, sharing food, singing glosses [traditional improvised Mallorcan singing style], playing the zambomba [percussion instrument] and listening to xeremiers [Mallorcan bagpipe musicians]", explained Frago.
"With this we attempt to strengthen our ties and our relationships. Especially because we have a long way to go together, building popular cultural projects based on the Mediterranean and on the element of fire", affirmed the president of the association.
1992: When the Gràcia bonfires began
Antoni Torrens, from Mallorca, lit the first Gràcia bonfire in 1992 so that his children, who were studying in Barcelona, could enjoy the Saint Anthony festivities as if they were at home in Sa Pobla. The gesture was appreciated and took root among the locals, who have since incorporated this tradition into the neighbourhood's annual celebrations, in an act of unity with the Mallorcan town. From that solitary bonfire, the warmth has now spread to this year's total of twelve locations (9 streets and 3 squares) where the embers warm up the cold on the last Saturday night in January every year. As a mark of gratitude and recognition, Torrens was awarded the City of Barcelona's Medal of Honour in 1997.