la mercé

this past weekend was la mercé. it's the biggest holiday in barcelona. la mercé is on september 24th and celebrates the catholic feast day of our lady of mercy. unlike back home, where people just go to mass for a day, the spanish do it big! even though the holiday technically only lasts one day, they stretch the celebrations into four nights- thursday through sunday. on monday or tuesday they started setting up different tents and blocking off certain streets. school and work are canceled on friday. hardly any stores or restaurants are open. everyone roams the streets and the metros are even more crowded and sweaty than usual.

on thursday night, my friends and i went were on our way to a fireworks show on the beach when we stumbled onto a carnival. it reminded me of the state fair back home minus the stinky animals. one of my roommates, her friend, and i got on one of the rides. sooo much fun.



then on to the fireworks... beautiful as usual. my camera failed at capturing the moment.

("fireworks setting" my ass)

later that night, we hit up ovella negra ("black sheep" in catalan), one of our favorite bars, and then sashayed on down to otto zutz - a kyke event. it was hip hop night, so you know i was happy... fyi kyke is this infamous club promoter who used to be a RA for my program. if you work it right, you'll never have to pay to get into a club here.


(kyke, kiah & me).............................................. (jennie-roommate, jeannette & me)

on friday, some friends and i met up and explored plaza catalunya before going to the parade. we saw some wannabe circ de soleil act. and there was music, charities, and political groups out promoting their agendas.


the "circus" act................................ some giants at the parade

this band was GETTIN it!................................. and so were the dancers on stilts

saturday was unbelievable! i had been really looking forward to correfoc since my RA told me about it the week before. we went to the one at plaza sant jaume. looking out into the crowd you'd think people were going to rob a bank. everyone was covered from head to toe to avoid getting burnt. some even went as far as wearing goggles and gloves. there was this archway that looked like the gates of hell at one end of the plaza. and there were dragons and demons that would spray fire onto you. it's tradition to run under the fire and do a little dance where you hop around like a rabbit... and the drums! i felt like i was in a medieval spanish version of "drumline". the music that filled the air pounded inside your body. that combined with the exploding fireworks and the scary demons really got your blood pumping! i'm a jumpy person, so i was legit scared at some points. but i sucked it up and danced under the fire with the locals!

the gates of hell................................................. getting ready (courtesy of sandy)

afterwards, my friends and i hurried across town to catch the last half of ok go's performance. sandy and i found out about the outdoor concert 5 minutes before correfoc. we didn't really know exactly where to go or what to expect, but the end result was nice. i'd never been a huge fan, but i was excited to go to a concert mainly because i was missing scu's fall concert. the guys were funny and the atmosphere was nice. some people were talking, drinking beer, and enjoying conversation. others were jumping up and down and singing the lyrics. when i got home, i immediately downloaded "skyscrapers".

sunday we went to the biggest castell competition of the year with the best teams from barcelona and surrounding towns. castell means "castle" and are these big towers and pyramids that are stories high. people form by standing on top of one another. at first the smaller groups performed on a big stage. then, the big shots came out and had to perform on the ground in order to have enough space to build their castells. at first, people cheer and make noise, but when the castell is at a certain point, "shhhh"s will ripple through the crowd, signaling quiet. once the group is nearly done, music will play and everyone will yell and clap. then, children aged 4 or 5 will climb to the top of the castell and when they wave their hands, it means the tower is complete. watching the groups gave me chills - especially when one really tall castell collapsed. my heart froze and i was so scared for the children who fell (at least 3 1/2 stories!) from the top. of course they were wearing helmets and someone caught them, but was so striking to me was the fact that i couldn't hear them scream. i was standing 10 feet away from the base and all i could hear was the gasps and clapping of the crowd.


sunday night was chill. homework had piled up... i was once again faced with the fact that i have to actually study abroad. so, i missed the fireworks & fountain show that was choreographed to music. i regret not going now, because everyone that went said it was the best fireworks show they've ever seen in their life. but, i did get to eat a paella to top off a very eventful and unforgettable mercé.