Find in this category our posts related to Catalan and Spanish folklore and popular people: music and dance, traditions, language and culture, religion, local festivals and more.
Are there differences between Castilian Spanish vs Catalan? A Spanish student arrives to Barcelona, gets out of the plane and the first thing they notice is that… they don’t recognize the words in the signs! Were all their lessons rubbish? No: the signs are in Catalan! (Actually, in the airport Spanish and English are also …
JOIN THE MISSA DEL GALL, the TRADITIONAL barcelona CHRISTMAS MASS In most of the Christian world the most important Christmas celebration takes place during dinner on December 24. However, in Catalonia the big family celebration is the lunch on December 25, because on the night of the 24th families usually just have a light dinner and …
ALL SAINTS DAY IN BARCELONA – NO HALLOWEEN HERE! In most cultures human beings have dedicated one day of the year to the memory of their deceased. Some of these festivities are as colorful as the Mexican Día de los muertos, famous all over the world. In Catalonia, with a strong Catholic influence, the dead …
CATALONIA SONGS THAT CATALANS CARRY IN THEIR HEARTS There are songs that are special to a land. Songs that when someone from that land hears them, one can’t but feel a special connection with their country. Songs that touch your heart and make you feel you belong. They have become identity symbols that one grows up …
SAINTS THAT PROTECT YOU IN THE CATHEDRAL OF BARCELONA Catholicism gives a lot of importance to Saints as examples to follow, but also for their role of mediators between us mortals and God. Not for nothing many of them suffered horrifying martyrdoms, or performed surprising miracles or healings, or had the privilege to encounter Jesus …
SAINTS THAT PROTECT YOU IN THE CATHEDRAL OF BARCELONA Read More »
A SELECTION OF THE BEST SPANISH CHRISTMAS MUSIC Merry Christmas! Don’t you love to celebrate it singing carols? Last year I shared with you the Catalan Christmas songs I grew up with, and many of you liked it. So I thought that there wouldn’t be a better subject for today’s post than talking about traditional Spanish Christmas songs, …
5 CRUCIAL POINTS TO UNDERSTAND FLAMENCO DANCE HISTORY Flamenco is a typical style of music and dance of Spain, specially from the regions of Andalucía, Extremadura and Murcia. Some theories calculate it dates from the 1700’s, and it is believed that the Flamenco culture was born out of the constant interaction between natives, Gypsies, Muslims, …
THE BEST CATALAN CHRISTMAS CAROLS I love Christmas Carols. We sang them in school when I was a child, and my parents bought me a book with tradition Christmas songs so I could learn and sing more of them. And while there are some Christmas carols in Spanish that I like, my favorite have always …
BEASTS IN TRADITIONAL PARADES IN BARCELONA Parades of all kinds are huge in the Catalan festivals. We have large cardboard men and women (the Giants – Gegants) and short ones with big heads (Capgrossos), who parade along the streets to the sound of music. And we have a collection of real and fantasy animals that are …
TOP SAINT JOHN’S EVE EVENTS IN BARCELONA The Sant Joan Festival (revetlla de St. Joan or Nit de Sant Joan) takes place in the evening of June 23rd and is celebrated all around Catalonia. The night of San Juan Festival is the summer solstice, the shortest night of the year. Families will get together for dinner: it’ll be …
THE SANT JOAN FESTIVAL IS COMING. ARE YOU GONNA MISS IT? Read More »
SPANISH JEANS BRANDS, APPAREL BRANDS, LUXURY AND MORE Visiting Spain is not just about learning its history, culture, traditions… but also about discovering its fashion! Because despite French, Italian and American brands being so strong in the international market, fashion in Spain today is really creative and fun, and acquiring a few pieces of clothes during your trip will definitely …
IDEAS FOR AN AUTHENTIC BARCELONA EASTER HOLIDAY Unfortunately, the Barcelona Easter Week isn’t one of the liveliest in Spain. While areas such as Andalusia are famous for their passionate and breath-taking traditions, in Barcelona you need to know where to go to get a feel of the local Easter celebrations. This is why today we are …
EASTER IN BARCELONA: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW Read More »
WHAT DO PEOPLE ASK GOOGLE ABOUT BARCELONA? If you are planning to visit Barcelona soon, you are likely to ask Google a few questions about the city while you are planning your trip. Yes, Google is the know-it-all that can answer pretty much anything you ask. Or I should rather say, find the answer for you. …
IS BARCELONA…? EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CITY Read More »
PLANNING TO ATTEND THE BARCELONA FIRE RUN? The Correfoc is a popular Catalan tradition consisting of a parade of infernal characters that chase people with fireworks. It is usually celebrated afterdark (when the effect of the fireworks is more striking), and arises a lot of emotions in the participants that range from (controlled) danger to fun …
CORREFOC – THE WILDEST TRADITION OF LA MERCE FESTIVAL Read More »
LEARN TO SET UP YOUR CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENE: Setting up a Nativity scene set is a Christmas tradition that children love: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Nativity scenes (pessebre in Catalan or belén in Spanish)! Families will set it up a couple of weeks before Christmas, and the whole process of setting it up will keep the kids …
BEST EVENTS IN BARCELONA LA MERCE La Merce Festival in Barcelona (or Festes de la Merce) is the most important local celebration in Barcelona: it’s our main festival – La Festa Major. Every year it is celebrated during the week around September 24, day of our Lady of Mercy – Patron Saint of Barcelona. If you …
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT BARCELONA After working as a tourguide for over 13 years, I’ve identified a few questions that I get asked all the time. So I thought, why don’t I share the answers with my readers? After all, you will be making the same questions when you get in town. So today is the day! …
roses and books for sant jordi in barcelona On April 23rd we celebrate “La Diada de Sant Jordi”. If you are in town, you will see that all of a sudden Barcelona is much more busy: there are people all around buying flowers and books. What’s going on? It’s the April 23 Holiday: St. George’s …
BEST SPANISH FAMILY TRADITIONS ON CHRISTMAS There are many fun Christmas traditions for kids: it’s a big time for them, and they are always delighted with the magic of traditions and presents. Barcelona children have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the holidays, and in many cases you’ll be able to experience them, too. Celebrating Christmas …
A TRADITIONAL AUTUMN IN SPAIN It’s the end of the summer: autumn in Spain is just begining. Soon the leaves of the platan trees in la Rambla will become yellow and fall down covering the boulevard with a crunchy natural carpet. This time of the year is full of local traditions, inspired by the celebration …
IS THERE HALLOWEEN IN BARCELONA? 5 LOCAL AUTUMN TRADITIONS Read More »
