Summer Festival of El Vendrell

Festival Location: Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain

Festival Type(s): Summer Festivals , Traditional Festivals , Cultural Festivals

Festival Photos of Summer Festival of El Vendrell: gallery 1

Summer Festival of El Vendrell

by © Genevieve Shaw 2008

There is a really special Catalan destination that combines sun and sand with a twist of magic for four days at the end of July. The Festa Major of Vendrell (Summer Festival) celebrates the day of Saint Anna on and around the 26th July in true Mediterranean style. Vendrell is a relaxed town, 70 kilometres south of Barcelona, known for its luxurious coast line. Home to the former cellist Pau Cassals, Vendrell is set slightly inland and has over 7 kilometres of sandy beaches a short bus ride away. The three best known beaches are Coma-ruga, Sant Salvador and el Francàs, characterized by peaceful atmospheres in addition to the high mineral content of the sea water.

Like so many other towns in Catalonia, Vendrell celebrates the summer in style during a four day festa, organized by the town's own people. This is a time when everything changes, when the town metamorphoses into a fantastical and vibrant world of Dragons, Human Castles and folkloric processions. The magic commences on Tuesday 25th July, when a Tronada sets off the festa with a bang. The Tronada is a series of firecrackers laid out on the ground and filled to the brim with gunpowder. When the first one is lit, it sets off all the other firecrackers in a very loud Domino like fashion. The Tronada in El Vendrell is accompanied by the church bells and is used in Catalonia to mark an important event.

It is Fire, though, that is the real protagonist of the Festa Major at Vendrell. Fire bursts in on the festa scene on the first night (25th July) at 23.00 when there is a huge firework display. It is on the following day of Saint Anna, however, that the flames really start to burn the skyline when a Cercavila de Foc (Fire Procession) winds its way through the dusky streets at 21.30. The Caramot is one of the biggest dragons in the whole of Europe and it shoots fire from both ends during this spectacular event. The Caramot is over twenty metres long and has fifty different points on its body from which fire shoots out. The Dragon weighs 750 kilos (the equivalent of eight strong men) and is pushed on wheels by eight people. A series of smaller fire spitting creatures called Puces accompany the Caramot. Following the Procession of Fire, Vendrell's Devil Group participates in a separate Correfoc (Fire Run) on the streets, where they dance with firecrackers through the darkened walkways.

During daylight hours, the Catalan traditions take on a different but equally as tantalizing form. From 8.00 onwards the Grallers, musicians who play a traditional wind instrument that sounds similar to an oboe, fill the streets with festive sounds. Shortly after at 11.00, a massive procession of all the different folkloric groups that make up the festive acts makes its way through the town centre before ending up in the main square. From 13.00 onwards, the atmosphere becomes electric as the Catalan crowd cheers on Castells (Human Castles) that steadily grow sky-high. Human Tower formations stem from a 17th century Valencian dance in which a small number of people balanced on each other's shoulders. It has since evolved into the massively celebrated Catalan event that it is today. Straight afterwards there are a series of Catalan Dances followed by the Vendrell Devils who act out the famous Devils Dance before reading out satiric poems specially created for the occasion called Versots.

In addition to the folkloric elements of the festa there are a number of music groups who play until 2.00 in the morning. In between acts, of course, it is quite feasible to make a beeline for the beach to cool off in the crystal clear waters. Not quite as refreshing, although very interesting, is a small river situated near the beaches called the Riuet de Coma Ruga. Due to the positioning of rocks underground, hot thermal water recognized today for its therapeutic properties broils forth. It is eventually channelled into a small river, Riuet de Coma Ruga, that leads into the sea. The river stays at temperatures between 18 and 21 degrees all year round and it is not uncommon to see people bathing during the winter. El Vendrell is definitely one on the "Must Do" list for this summer.

More Information

Festival programme: www.elvendrell.net (Go to the Section on "Festes I Activitats")
Trains to Vendrell: www.renfe.es
Day trips in English to Catalan Festivals: www.cultourabcn.com

culTOURa : Trips in English to the Folkloric and Fantastical "Festes" of Catalonia

culTOURa wants people to experience the sometimes strange, always stunning, Catalan customs. Throughout the year, festivals and "Festes" turn the Catalan towns into magical kingdoms of Giants, Human Castles, Dragons and Devils. culTOURa brings these traditions alive for visitors in an alternative form of cultural tourism, while promoting Catalonia as a place with its own unique identity.