FiraTàrrega to celebrate multiculturalism hosting premiere of ‘Manifesta’

FiraTàrrega, one of the most iconic street-art festivals in Europe, will host the premiere of ‘Manifesta’, a large format performance by Bobskené that celebrates difference while mixing text, music and circus. The 38th edition of FiraTàrrega is marked precisely by an ambition to overcome differences and explore the intercultural potential of street art. That’s why one of the main performance on the first day of the festival is ‘Manifesta’. The text of the show is a multilingual manifesto, written in Catalan, Spanish, French and English, that reflects the seven nationalities of the artists that take part in the performance. ‘The manifesto makes us question the times that we live in and invites us to relax, to arrive to ecstasy and end up dancing’, said the director of the performance, Ricard Soler i Mallol.

‘Manifesta’ will be performed for the first time on the 8^th of September in FiraTàrrega, and then again on the 10th and 11^th. The show, which lasts for 60 minutes, will go from Tàrrega to Barcelona, where performances are expected during the local festivities of La Mercè, in late September.

The text of ‘Manifesta’ was written by Jean-Frédéric Messier and the Centre de les Arts del Circ Rogelio Rivel. It includes sentences such as ‘you need to be crazy to be normal’ and ‘you need to be crazy to work’. The aim is for the audience to reflect on the current values and the state of the world. ‘Our philosophy is to ask questions. I ask questions to myself, and then I ask them to the audience’, said Soler.

Messier and Soler got inspiration from the political manifestos of the 20^th century and the mottos of the May of 68 revolution to write their text. Moreover, they also tried to reflect on more recent events, such as the social revolutions of the 15 of March in Spain or that on Taksim Square in Istanbul.

The 36^th edition of FiraTàrrega, from the 8^th to the 11^th of September, presents the work of 57 companies, from 10 countries, with 33 premiere performances, including ‘Manifesta’. The programme includes a rich line-up of formats genres and styles, with performances for all audiences and ages. There are 30 participating Catalan companies, 11 Spanish and 16 international. Show will take place at various locations around the city of Tàrrega.