Festa Major de Gracia

Calle Verdi, the winning street at this year’s Festa Major de Gracia.

Every town or village in Spain has a Fiesta Mayor (Festa Major in Catalan). Its usually a week-long affair with parties and shows and cultural events depending on the region.  Barcelona’s is in late September and called La Merce. But within Barcelona every district also has its own Fiesta Mayor, and the most famous of these is in Gracia, an atmospheric neighbourhood with narrow streets, lots of plazas, and a vibrant nightlife. It takes place in mid-August. What makes their event so special is that on about 15 streets the neighbours get together and decorate the street and organise music and a bar. There is a contest for the best decorations, and as the photos I posted on Flickr show, the originality and flair with which they do this is stunning. By night the streets are packed until 4am or later, although they have started shutting down the music earlier. It must be a tough neighbourhood to get a good nights sleep in the summertime.