Mercé Street Art Festival Barcelona
Between the 23rd and the 26th of September the Festival of Mercé (MAC) will be taking place in Barcelona and thanks to this event, locals and visitors alike will be able to enjoy more than 300 free activities that are taking place in diverse locations of the town. This year, the Mercé Street Art Festival will be taking place for the first time, and different activities will be carried out in three different places in the city; in Park Cuitadella, Montjuïc and in the Dog Track. On top of all this, BAM is holding one of the largest festivals that has been celebrated in Barcelona to now.
The new MAC festival programme includes more than 300 performances taking place in 30 locations and stages of the city where everyone will surely find something to meet their taste. This new programme comprises circus performances, dance, theatre and entertainment going on all day and night in Park Ciutadella. Thus, during the day Park Cuitadella will become a park for Creators and Dance, thanks to the out door dance activities lined up, with performances from Voalá, an Argentinean company specialising in aerobatics, Tenane, an African dance group formed by four sisters and Heart Wahs, playing the role of a washerwoman who is a very strong person but with a endless amount of washing to do.
At night Ciutadella Park will become a Park of Lights through events such as ´Splash! `, a dance on the lake with light, colour and music, glowing juggling acts from the Gandini juggling company, and a legendary party around the waterfall, as well as various performances based on technology. Amongst the other two locations dedicated to the MAC festival (Montjuïc Castle) there will be circus performances taking place in a big top with an 800 person capacity, and other activities taking place on other stages such as Tight Rope Walking, and the trapeze. On the other hand, artists such as Pandora will be performing, as well as the Always Drinking Marching Band who will be performing ´La Calle es Nuestra de Always`.
Last year the guest city was Estambul, whilst this year the guest city is Dakar who will be performing and carrying out workshops in locations such as the Greek Theatre, Park Ciutadella, Plaza de Catalunya, or Cathedral Avenue. Thus, Doudou N’diaye Rose, who at 86 years old continues to be the king of playing the traditional drum the ´sabar, ` will be performing in Plaza de Catalunya.
Furthermore, as these festivals are based on tradition, there will be traditional events taking place such as an opening address by the poet and architect Joan Margarit, the human towers, fire runners, and finally the stick dancers.
In addition, there will be video projections on the City Hall in Plaza de Sant Jaume, with a beautiful combination of lights and colours. To conclude all the festivities, on Sunday the 26th of September there will a Piromusical where the most well know songs in the history of music will be performed.
To further whet your appetite, on the Sunday the 18th the Mercè mini-marathon will be celebrated, and on the 2nd and 3rd of October the great aviation festival will be taking place on the beaches of Barcelona.
Amongst the other activities and performances lined up in the BAM such as Belle & Sebastian and Goldfrapp, there is a complete programme of artists that will be performing to suit all music tastes and which will make this festival of Mercé an unforgettable one.
