TRAVEL MEMOIRS
Fighting Fire With Fire at Barcelona’s Merce Festival
Prepare to dodge some fireworks
I love a good adventure but seriously, who puts themself in the line of fire for errant fireworks? Would you stand there while someone launched fireworks or high-energy sparklers at you?
There’s a festival in Barcelona where getting showered by fireworks is the goal. It’s called Correfoc and is part of the Merce Festival which is held every year in early to mid-September. As soon as I heard about it, I decided I had to check it out. I connected with Val, a traveling acquaintance I had met up with at La Tomatina. We had so much fun that I went back a few years later to experience it again with a good friend of mine.
Correfoc means Fire Runs and that’s an apt description. Community groups dress up as devils and other evil characters and set off fireworks aimed at each other while dancing to the traditional Timbal drum beat. The lit fireworks are sometimes rockets and sometimes on spinning wheels, and they’re sprayed directly at spectators and other participants. It is loud, frantic at times, and only mildly dangerous.
At dusk, the celebration begins with a group of drummers pounding out a rhythmic beat to get the crowd pumped up. Excitement builds as the sound and light show ramps up with a dramatic introduction by costumed participants moving through the crowd. The story of Correfoc is broadcast to the crowd but it’s all in Catalan, which I don’t understand.
The excitement reached a crescendo as soon as the satanic figure made an appearance. He was wearing a ram’s head and holding a giant pitchfork as he squared off against the emcee who wore a top hat.
The real fun and excitement began when we heard the first fiery explosions. Fire-breathing dragons and other mythical creatures meandered through the crowd along with the red-hooded devils, showering everyone with sparks.
At first, I kept my distance from the center of the celebration, to avoid getting hit with fireworks. But I was wide-eyed as I watched as the fire rained down on everyone close enough.
Teams paraded through the Dragon Gate, lighting their fireworks and shooting out streams of sparks toward the crowd. Some daredevils ran through the fiery shower, hunched down, and dancing among the sparks. It’s all very surreal.
We were prepared for the hazards and wore something to cover every part of us from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes. That meant long pants and a long-sleeved shirt or hoodie, despite the sweltering September heat in Barcelona.
As the sparks landed all around us we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves without fear of bursting into flames. I didn’t completely let down my guard though. While it was reassuring that the fire brigade and paramedics were on standby, it did make me think twice about what I was subjecting myself to.
We didn’t feel the fireworks showers as they hit us, but when the fireworks had almost died out they let out a loud bang, and the cartridges were ejected, sending the smoking cartridges and any remaining embers into the crowd. I got hit in the back by one cartridge that was scorching hot and I still felt the burn hours later.
We spent the rest of the evening checking to make sure there were no burning embers on us. I had to put out one ember that landed in a girl’s hair and both my friend Val and I got home to discover holes burned through our hoodies.
There is a much tamer version of the Correfoc Parade for children that is held a few hours earlier. The fireworks are not directed at those taking part but it does give the kids a taste of the fiery danger before they can take part in the bigger celebration.
Correfoc is not the only part of the Merce Festival, but it was the highlight for me. The festival is a big end-of-summer four-day blowout to celebrate the patron saint of Barcelona, Mare de Deu de la Merce.
If you don’t like being showered with fireworks there is a traditional fireworks display each night on Barceloneta Beach with a spectacular musical fireworks show following Correfoc on the final night.
The magic of the festival continues during the daylight hours as well. One of the most popular events of Merce, but one that terrified me because of my fear of heights, was the Castell building competition.
I followed a large crowd of people making their way through the narrow streets around La Rambla to the Placa Sant Jaume in the Gothic Quarter to watch as community groups created five to eight-meter-high human pyramids. It’s a feat of strength and determination by the mostly young people who call themselves Castellers. They each scramble onto the shoulders of their teammates to create castells or castles.
The largest teams carefully choreograph their tower construction with the largest and strongest participants on the bottom and the lighter and smallest team members on each successive level with a small child (wearing a foam-padded helmet) scrambling to the very top. It is a very fast event; those at the bottom of the tower can only withstand so much. Some groups build larger-based tiers that get progressively smaller on the way up, while others opt for a narrower tower with members simply standing on each other’s shoulders (still not an easy task).
Getting to the top is a major accomplishment. A hush moves over the crowd as the tower grows in height and then erupts in loud cheers when the top level is finally achieved. Once the competitors reach the summit, they quickly wave to the reviewing balcony before beginning the dangerous task of dismantling the tower. Participants have to pay close attention and maintain the integrity of the tower or it will completely collapse.
These two key events of the Merce Festival demonstrate the strength, determination, and fearlessness of Catalonians. The Castels give observers a chance to see the Catalans at their best, working together towards something bigger than themselves.
Correfoc is a test of the participant’s individual fortitude as they dodge fiery rain showers. It looks more dangerous than it is. I took part… twice. You have to be fast on your feet and ready for anything.
Just don’t forget to wear an asbestos suit.
Thank you for reading.