Festa major de la Sagrera

Activity dates

Dates de celebració

Second fortnight of November in the Sagrera neighbourhood, Sant Andreu district

Feast Day: The Crist Rei festival, the last Sunday before the start of Advent in the church's calendar

Sant Andreu

Traditionally, the Sagrera neighbourhood was linked to the old village of Sant Martí de Provençals, but today it makes up part of the Sant Andreu district. The first record of it is as a small group of fortified masies, country houses, at the end of the 10th century. Unlike neighbouring areas, Sagrera was very sparsely populated until the end of the 19th century, when industrialisation arrived with a bang. From this time on, and throughout the entire 20th century, the area underwent a very fast transformation.

The festa major, the main festival, and the neighbourhood's associations are a reflection of this recent past. In fact, the oldest groups were set up no more than 40 years ago. The festival is organised by the Comissió de Festes de la Sagrera, a collective that includes the majority of the neighbourhood's organisations. Among the most notable events are the cercavila gegantera, the procession of giants on the morning of the festa major, the dance festival organised by the Esbart l’Estel dance group, and the correfoc, the fire run, of the local devils' group, the Colla del Drac i Diables de la Sagrera.

Reason

The Festa del Crist Rei, the Christ the King festival, marks the end of the liturgical calendar and the beginning of the most important celebration in the Catholic Church: Advent.

Origins

The local parish, which dates from the 1930s, is dedicated to Christ the King.

Did you know...

Sabies que...

The neighbourhood's giantess, Sagrerina, is the only single lady giant in Barcelona. She represents a farmer who went to the spring to collect water, where she was supposed to meet a boy and fall in love with him. She was unveiled in 2003 and, in theory, the next year was to see the birth of her beloved, but he was never made.

About festivities

Highlights

Diada castellera. The human tower group, the Colla Castellera Jove de Barcelona, is responsible for beginning the festa major, and they hold their winter gathering in Plaça de Massades. This display is usually the group's last of the season and they do it in the Sant Andreu district to which they are strongly linked.

Festa major morning. The main day of the festival starts early with a despertada, a wake up call, by the Diables de la Sagrera. Later is a gathering of giants, which involves figures from all over the city, followed by a cercavila procession around the most central streets of the neighbourhood. The final event is held in Plaça de Massades, involving the dance of honour of the host giants.

Festival of traditional dance. For many years now, on the Sunday of the festa major, the Esbart l’Estel dance group, linked to the parish, has been organising a show of traditional and creative dance in Plaça dels Jardins d’Elx. As well as the esbart's sections performing their usual repertoire, there are always a couple of guest groups from the city or other places across the country.

Correfoc. The local devil's group, La Colla Drac i Diables de la Sagrera, organises the correfoc infantil, the fire run for kids, as well as the main one and the corresponding drum sessions. Generally these activities are concentrated into a single evening, and before the start of the main correfoc, some versots, satirical poems, are read out. After this, the group's fire beasts, Drac Volador and Sagresaure, head out to the street to burn with the devils.

Supplementary information

Organisers

Comissió de Festes de la Sagrera.