Merce is an annual festival in honor of the Virgin of La Merce, the patron saint of Barcelona, and it is going down this weekend! This means parades, shows, traditions, and tons of live music! I wish every weekend could be like Merce, there is so much going on!
The most interesting traditions I have seen so far are the Gigantes and the Castellers at Plaza Sant Jaume, the center of politics for the state of Cataluña
Gigantes = Giants = very large paper mache figures, both of humans and animals, that people stand beneath and control like very large puppets. And what do these giants do?... well, they dance! Obviously! Hah I saw enough dancing giants this weekend to last me for a while...
giant birds with... boobs?? hmmmmmm
Dancing prince and princess
~*~
Next we have the Castellers!! Basically they are teams of people from different parts of the city who compete against each other to build the tallest tower made of people!
This is how they processed in... there were five teams
We were close enough that we could see them shaking! So terrifying!!
Two teams competing... ridiculous right?
One of the biggest crowds I've ever been in... it was hot and crowded and pushy and after one round of competition we were ready to leave.
If you are interested in seeing an upclose video of castellers in action, click here!
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