The Barcelona street festival where mythical creatures roam

They may look menacing but they just want to have fun. "Fire walkers" parade through the streets of Barcelona's Gracia district. Until Sunday, numerous performances will take place here at the world-famous street festival, the Festa Major de Gracia.

At the opening of the festival, an artist dressed as a mythical creature known as Atzeries performs. The Festa begins every year on August 15 and lasts a week. In 2020 and 2021, it only took place as a scaled-down version with many restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the Festa Major de Gracia is completely back to normal. Numerous onlookers watch as members of a special group form a Diada de Castalleda, a castle tower made of people. In addition to fire shows, there are many other artistic performances like this one at the street festival.

Children are well catered to at the street festival. There are water games, a mini ferris wheel and other delights to entertain them. For the adults, there is an open-air cinema, traditional Spanish dances and a foam party.

Members of the Diabolica de Gracia light fireworks attached to sticks and then dance through the streets of their neighborhood to the traditional sound of drums. The origins of the festival go back more than two centuries. The now legendary street festival was first held in 1817.

Originally the festival was celebrated on May 15. At that time, Villa de Gracia was not yet a big city neighborhood, but a small town where farming was the main activity. It was only later on that the festival was moved to August and that it developed into such a spectacular.

Tourists flood the neighborhood during the festival, which bothers many locals. "Tourists, go home!" is spray-painted on this shutter. Elsewhere graffiti reads,"if there are more tourists than neighbors, where is the neighborhood festival?" Especially at night, when the flow of visitors increases exponentially, there are many more guests than residents.

Even during the day, the crowds are huge. People come to marvel at the mythical creatures like this one, named Gaudimus. Spanish media reported long queues in front of particularly popular streets; for example, Carrer Progres, where this year an amusement park was recreated with roller coaster tracks snaking between the houses.

Of course, the tourists are not the only ones at the festival: For the residents of Gracia, it's a highlight of the year. Residents lovingly decorate their squares and streets, often with recycled materials. These dreamcatchers were made with recyclables.The most beautifully decorated streets compete in a "best decorated" contest.