Festa major del Poblenou

Activity dates

Dates de celebració

First fortnight of September in the Poblenou neighbourhood, Sant Martí district

Poblenou is a neighbourhood in the Sant Martí district historically for workers and artisans. For many years it was relatively far from the centre of the city and as a result, the neighbourhood developed its own special character, which today is still alive and kicking. Proof of this are the hundred-year-old societies, circles, casinos and civic centres which still abound in the area.

When the festa major, the main festival, comes round, all of the organisations from Poblenou get actively involved in arranging the activities. Over the two weeks of festival there is a rich and varied range of events, including music, art, dance, and sporting activities. The popular culture groups do not only organise their own particular events involving fire and gegants, giant festival figures, they also join together in community meals, workshops for kids, and sporting competitions.

Did you know...

Sabies que...

Bernat and Maria, the Poblenou giants, were bought in 1953 by three parishes in the neighbourhood so that they could take part in the Corpus procession. They represent a mediaeval king and queen. They are the work of the image maker Domènec Umbert and were purchased in the Barcelona shop, El Ingenio. From 1965, when the procession was no longer held, the gegants were kept in the Santa Maria del Teulat church until 1980 when the Poblenou giants' group took them back.

About festivities

Highlights

Cercavila procession for the festival proclamation. Representatives from all the neighbourhood's popular culture groups take part in this festive event. They include the devils and fire beasts of the Colla de Diables and the Colla del Drac, the enormous gegants, and the human tower group, the Colla Castellera Jove de Barcelona. The cercavila procession, which takes place before the reading of the proclamation, sets off from the Rambla del Poblenou and finishes up in the same place.

Reading of versots. Once the festival has been officially opened, still on the Rambla del Poblenou, the neighbourhood's devils read satirical verses, the versots. Unlike many other places, where the verses are recited before or after the correfoc fire run, in Poblenou they are very provocative and make up an event in their own right.

Matinades. The neighbourhood's grallers, playing their traditional double-reeded instruments, and the timbalers with their drums get together early in the morning on the Sunday of the festa major to play the toc de matinades, the morning call. After this they take a route through the neighbourhood streets and visit local residents and organisations that they invite to have a bit to eat with them.

Correfoc. The Colla de Diables del Poblenou and the Colla del Drac fire groups jointly organise the correfoc fire run, which involves three fire beasts, the wyvern Víbria and the dragons Estarrufat and Estarrufadet.

Trobada gegantera. For more than 30 years the Colla Gegantera del Poblenou giants' group has been organising the trobada, a meet held on the Sunday of the festival. Giants from all over the country gather in front of the Centre d’Imatgeria Festiva, from where they later set off on a cercavila, a procession through the neighbourhood's streets.

Diada castellera. At midday on the Sunday of the festa major, the group La Colla Castellera Jove de Barcelona organises a human tower meet on the neighbourhood Rambla.

Final Cercavila. Poblenou's festa major is brought to a close with a fiery cercavila procession through the streets, where everyone who takes part is invited to make noise by banging pans and drums and blowing whistles. The enormous festival figures, the gegants Bernat and Maria, participate, as well as the fire beasts from the Colla del Drac.

Supplementary information