Barcelona festival La Mercè is back with a French accent

This year’s edition of Barcelona’s annual festival will have a French flair and feature the best artists and activities from Paris, the guest city. Between the 22^nd and the 25^th of September Barcelona’s citizens and tourists will be able to enjoy several performances by French artists. To prepare the programme, the organisers sought out a host of collaborators, such as the street and circus art cooperative 2r2, the prestigious theatre company Théâtre Silvia Monfort, and Centquatre in Paris, an artistic platform formed by many international artists which aims is to support innovative creations like digital art. Ciutadella Park will be the setting for a majority of the French performances. On other hand, the celebration will also fill the streets with popular traditional activities such as ‘castells’ (human towers) and ‘gegants’, huge traditional Catalan figures which spin around and are dressed in traditional costumes.

Among the events resulting from the agreement with the French capital, the highlight is ‘Nuage’, a really aesthetic proposal in which acrobats will climb a ladder and jump to a cloud suspended over the audience. Renowned artists and hip hop dancers like Arthur Cadre and Stéphane Deheselle and the human beatbox, Eklips will also perform during the celebration. In addition, and to foster citizen participation, visitors will be invited to take part in the making of large cardboard constructions by the artist Olivier Grossetête that can reach up to 23 metres in height. “Our desire is to keep the spirit of an open and cosmopolitan city in contact with other capitals, in this case, Paris”, said Jaume Collboni, Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor for Culture.

La Caldera Les Corts, a dance creation centre, will be the venue for the documentary ‘L’Opéra de Paris’ (Paris Opera) and other films related to dance. In this way, the head of celebrations of the Institute of Culture, Marta Almirall, aims to promote the exchange of cultural products, as Catalonia will also bring a production to Paris in the near future. Finally, both the International Pyrotechnic Festival and the ‘Pyromusical’, a performance where music and fireworks are synchronised, will also count upon the participation of French pyrotechnic companies and a section dedicated to Parisian music and culture.

Popular folklore: ‘Cercaviles’ and human towers
‘La Mercè’ is one of the greatest opportunities for Barcelona city to show its folklore to the world. Hence, there will be ‘cercaviles’ filling the streets in which giants and other carnival figures will explain the city’s history, accompanied by live traditional music and a lively audience that will follow them all over the city.

Another iconic activity in the whole of Catalonia during the summer festivals is ‘correfoc’, a parade composed by groups of ‘diables’ (‘devils’) who dance and jump in a festive way whilst holding torches and burning candles. Traditional human towers, ‘castells’, are also an essential part of ‘La Mercè’. Two ‘castellers’ groups have been invited, ‘Els Minyons de Terrassa’ and ‘La Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls’ and together with the ‘Castellers de Barcelona’ will celebrate the patron saint’s feast day.

‘La Mercè’ 2016, more technological than ever
Barcelona’s festival embraces technology in this year’s edition. Three spaces, the CCCB museum, Ciutadella Park and the Fabra i Coats building, in the Sant Andreu district, will be virtually connected online during the celebration to create a unique real-time interactive show. By using information technologies, the performances taking place will be turned into one complete show broadcast in the three different venues.

Besides this, Ciutadella Park will also take advantage of technological developments featuring shows where light and technology will be the protagonists. ‘Groupe Laps’, a team composed by Parisian artists, lighting and stage designers, will use light to bring inert sculptures to life in a hypnotic show call ‘Keyframes’.

The festival expands its horizons to boost participation
‘La Mercè’ 2016 broadens its horizons and will bring the festival to new areas of the city. Trinitat Park and the Fabra i Coats facility will also be settings for the celebration, as well as central Barcelona streets, the common epicentre. The aim is to bring the party to neighbourhoods and encourage citizen participation. As a novelty, between the 24th and 25th of September, Plaça Catalunya will become a great stage where 200 city associations will display their activities.