La Mercé

 "Many are the visitors who come to Barcelona and quite a few, on a repeat visit, have even succeeded in discovering the most hidden corners of the city. However, only those who have been here during La Mercè can claim to know the city inside-out. This is when the soul of the city is shown in the clearest way. The festival mixes the latest street events, music and dance with deeprooted traditions, including gunpowder and Mediterranean fireworks. Do you really want to get to know Barcelona? We are waiting for you at La Mercè."

That's what the brochure says. I feel lucky to have experienced two of these festivals but feel nowhere near competent enough to guide myself through the city without my iPhone. Here are a few things I learned about the people of Barcelona:

Fireworks off of the Capitol Building...with 100,000+ people below

Fire Walk

1. Barcelonians love fire(works)
The city spent millions of euros on pyrotechnics. There were fireworks on the beach every night, with a grand 1 hour finale at Plaza Espanya in conjunction with a laser, water, and music show which over 300,000 people attended.

One of the traditions of the festival is the "fire walk." This took place at dusk on Saturday on calle de La Laietana. The significance is to show the doors of hell opening and the demons and fire which lie inside. So, demons "escape" from the float and come out into the street with massive sparklers, fireworks, dragon creatures, and flames, making their way to the crowd. I have a burnt t-shirt to prove it.

My man Daby Tourè rocked the stage (clip here)

2. Barcelonians love live music
Every night the festival had live music running on 4-5 stages set up across the city. Music and performances started early in the afternoon and would run non-stop until 3-4am. The guest city at this year's Merce was Dakkar, Senegal, so I was lucky to hear some of their music. Also present was a salsa band, an 80s-90s American Rock cover band, famous Spanish rock groups, a Catalan group, and some Reggaeton. This was the best free concert that didn't cost $10 I have ever been to (funny how I can still laugh at that).

Competicion de Castellers

Homegirl was in the zone. And praying. Bravery knows no age.

3. Barcelonians love to be different
This festival is not national. It's specific to Catalonia, the province/autonomous state where Barcelona lies. One key event is the "castellers," or human towers. I was "lucky" enough to be used as part of the base support for the Castellers de Vilafranca, the defending Catalonian champions. Being part of the base means you have people climb/walk on your shoulders, and should the tower collapse, you help support the fall. I don't think I've ever been as nervous in my life. No training, nothing. A single sneeze could ruin it and cause a poor 4 year old child to come tumbling 9 stories to the ground (which happened to the team before us, but the show went on). Regardless, it was an amazing experience and I was lucky to have participated

There's so much more the festival. I hope you all can experience it one day. A little secret...after Merce last fall, I decided to choose Barcelona as the city to base my research out of. Talk soon.