#correfoc

[useless-catalanfacts]

All the devils' dances and dragons dance together at the end of the correfoc held in Sant Pere de Ribes (Penedès, Catalonia) before its festa major (Catalan holiday that each town/city celebrates on the day of its patron saint).

A correfoc (meaning "fire run" in the Catalan language) is an event held as part of a town, city or neighbourhood's festa major festivity, usually celebrated a few days before the feast day itself. On the day of the festivity and its eve, the traditional dances from the town will dance on the streets, including the fire dances like the Devils' Dance and the fire bestiary. But for the correfoc, the devils' dances, the dragons and other fire bestiary from the near towns are invited as well, each one accompanied by their drummers. All these fire beasts and devils dance on the streets of the host town. In some towns it's treated as a game where the people have to run faster than the fire dancers or dodge the fire. In some places like Ribes (this video) they all light up for one last song together in the same square.

Video by Drac de Sitges. The song is "Nanu" by the local band Bugies.

[cahierenblanc]

Correfoc (2024)

[nanaarc]

[Vlog] Festa de Tardor de Sant Feliu | La millor festa del 'Baixllo' i e...

[tinovalduvieco]

Correfoc Feata Major de la Minerva.

Calella.Maresme 21-09-2024

©Tino Valduvieco

[catalanadventures]

Ball de diablos, correfoc, en Torredembarra!

[mctutacara]

Reus, Correfoc de Misericòrdia 2023

[elmonstro]

Went to a correfoc with a friend tonight hell yeahh we danced with the devils and saw The Beast a big black cat dance with fire and the drums were sick 🔥🔥🔥

[aroaceofthesea]

I have plans for the three interesting days in la merce ive made it in life

[itsguysnightitsironic]

"Gresca i destrucció, riurem i ens penedirem, el cremarem el dimarts i patirem fins el diumenge."

"Party and destruction, we will laugh and repent, we will set him on fire on Tuesday and we will suffer until next Sunday."

I almost forgot the whole Carnestoltes and Vella Quaresma celebration when it literally goes hand in hand with OAUW themes.

Some context under the threat:

- The Carnestoltes i la Vella Quaresma represent the two extremes of the balance, the excess, "El rei Carnestoltes", and the abstinence, "la Vella Quaresma".

As the story sings: the King Carnestoltes brings party and joy for days, but after a whole week of partying, no sleeping and "sinning", the people find themselves exhausted, with their homes destroyed and no food for the winter.

So Carnestoltes is sentenced to death by the stake on Tuesday and on Wednesday "El dimecres de cendra" (Ash Wednesday) starts the 40 days of penitence (no meat, no eggs...) marked by the seven legs of the Vella Quaresma who loses one every week, ending in Pasqua (the return of Spring).

-The style is inspired by the nostalgia and softness of Pere Torné Esquius illustrations.

"Venedora de globus" cap els 1907 de Pere Torné i Esquius.

-Also, also, the demons represent the Correfocs, pyrotechnics spectacles made by adults and children dressed as demons throwing fire and spurns around.

Diables de les Corts fotos de Albert Pedra 2019

Which is the coolest thing ever. Also there's dragons dances.

Correfoc de Manresa 2011

This is a threat for you to forget Sant Valentine and go watch Correfocs-

[erikadawndraws]

“visual journal, 4th september 2024: my homage to catalonia aka my home country (one of many). I absolutely adore going back and seeing my friends and family, but can never shake the feeling of melancholy either. like going back to a place that fills you with so much nostalgia yet still feeling disconnected from it somehow. piñas al revés a las 19:00 en mercadona, blasting sabrina carpenter on the plane to and from el prat airport, and looking at all the photos my mum has of me as a toddler on her mirror. we watched el correfoc for the festa major and I remembered how much it used to scare me as a little kid. beach and suncream. wearing old 2010s clothes from my teenage wardrobe. warm 30 degree sun.”

follow for more on instagram ✨🩷

[useless-catalanfacts]

With festa major season coming to an end, I leave you with this beautiful video of how it's celebrated in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Penedès, Catalonia).

Festa major (called festes patronals in some areas) is one of the most popular holidays in Catalan culture, especially in the Southern half of Catalonia. Each town or city holds it on the day of their patron saint and the days around it, which means that each place celebrates it on a different day. Most festes majors happen between June and September, but there are others spread throughout the year.

It's celebrated with a lot of traditions on the streets that bring the community together. Even though it might vary from place to place, generally it goes something like this:

On the weekend before the day, there's the correfoc (the devils' dance and fire beasts from the town invite the ones from other towns and go around the streets).

Even though a few other events might have happened on the week before (such as the "spoken dances"), the festivity proper starts on the patron day's eve at noon with a bang: a loud kind of fireworks (called traca or mascletà or other names depending on the area). These are long lines of little explosives put together with a string, usually set up in the main square. Everyone gatheres around and the firecrackers are set off, with a string of loud sounds to let everyone know that the holiday starts. When it ends, everyone claps and cheers and the church bells ring.

Immediately after the firecrackers, the dance groups start the parade. It's important to know that they are not professional dancers, they are people from the town who sign up to learn the dance they like. These are traditional festa major dances, each group accompanied with their band of musicians. Each group learns their group's music, dance and clothes from the previous generation. They can change from area to area and from town to town.

On that night, there are fireworks and free concerts.

The next day, there are more parades of the dances. For lunch, families meet to have a meal together. In the afternoon, there are more dances again.

In many places, a diada castellera is held. The castellers (traditional Catalan "human towers") groups from other cities and towns are invited to perform in the town square.

You can see many of the dances that are widespread (with local variations in the clothing, choreography, and music) across the Southern half of Catalonia in the video.

You can also see one of the variations done in Vilanova i la Geltrú. There, the holiday starts by hanging a Catalan flag from the most visible point in the city: the church's bell tower. Vilanovins do this as a sign of celebration, because festa major is an icon of Catalan culture but, same as the rest of Catalan culture, it has had to endure a lot of hardships. Thanks to the fight of many people, Spain's attempt to ethnocide the Catalan people didn't succeed. Even though we had to keep speaking our language and celebrating some of our holidays in secret during Franco's fascist dictatorship of Spain (1939-1978), most of it has survived and still thrives, once again in public.

The song used in the video is one of the songs danced in the holiday. It's a traditional song from Catalonia and Occitania which we call "la polca d'Ours" (in Occitania they call it "la dansa de l'ors").

This beautiful video was made by Crispetes Films filming the 2024 holiday. It was posted by Festa Major Vilanova i la Geltrú's Instagram page.

[sofea-00]

De Correfoc

[tinovalduvieco]

14a Trobada de Bestiari per la Festa Major de Sant Quirze i Santa Julita.

Calella.Maresme 14-06-2024

©Tino Valduvieco

[elpetitrossinyol]

Els DOFINS veuen les imatges que ens heu portat de les festes de la Mercè!! Descobreixen gegants, castellers, correfocs...

[ericalto]

How is celebrating San Sebastian day in Palma, Spain this weekend?

PALMA will celebrate the festivities of San Sebastian this weekend, honoring their sponsor. The official saint’s day is January 20, a Monday, but celebrations are held throughout the weekend. Bonfires, concerts, workshops, correfocs, exhibitions and more will be held, with the main party starting at Placa Major at 18:00h, on January 19. The main bonfire will be lit with free concerts throughout…