There are quite a few cultural celebrations in Barcelona throughout the year. While Barcelona may not seem like a popular winter destination, there are some highlights during this time of year. In addition, the tourist crowds are smaller during the colder months.
Catalonians typically celebrate the Sant Antoni in January. It is the most important festival of Mallorca, with main celebrations on the 16th and 17th of January.
In this blog post you will learn about the history of the Sant Antoni Festival, what to expect from the event in Barcelona and my personal experience of visiting the huge celebration.
The history of Saint Anthony the Abbot/Great
Sant Antonius was a christian Egyptian monk. He lived an ascetic life in the third century. In his 20s he sold everything and moved into the desert. Sleeping in a cave, he was a hermit and was the founder of Christian monastic tradition. Although he preferred living alone instead of a community. It is said that was accompanied by a pig. And had a close connection to the animals. He cured the sow of its blindness.
Another legend says that during his hermit life he overcame many temptations of the devil. To overcome these temptations he lit a fire and walked over the embers. This was a way to distract himself from the seductions. Furthermore, due to his closeness to animals he became the patron saint of the animals.
That’s why during the celebrations, many people bring animals to the town square to have them blessed. The festivities are around the anniversary of the monk’s death, January 17th.
In France and Egypt are famous monasteries that are named after Saint Anthony.
The Sant Antoni festival in Barcelona
Sant Antoni is celebrated in Catalonia in January. Although there are in some places more and in others less events around Sant Antoni. The biggest celebrations are in Mallorca and Menorca.
In some towns, like Sa Pobla, the Saint is celebrated almost the whole month of January. At every corner a small bonfire is lit. You can find traditional dishes and beverages.
Also the streets of Barcelona turn into a festive dress. Street food vendors, animal blessings, horse carriage, handmade products to buy. A whole week of various celebrations in the city. The visitors of the festival seem to be mainly Barcelona locals. As a foreigner spending some time in the city I found the festival is hardly advertised or communicated. I only knew it from the place I stayed before, Sa Pobla. So, in order to get the information of the exact time and place the events take place you need to dig a little deeper.
A powerful Barcelona street party – the Correfoc
The Correfoc means fire run and that’s exactly what it is. A powerful energy is in the air as the parade walks down the streets. But let’s start from the beginning. It started at Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia. First, they play traditional music and the huge puppets are displayed in dances. Then it was time for the fire show. Costumed people and dragon figures spray fireworks-like sparks through the crowd.
Some of them were carrying a dragon, and they were blowing fire embers. They were quite loud firework sounds. Group after group displayed their fire show in the middle of the square. The crowd of people was pretty big, but not too overwhelming.
After the shows in the middle of the square ended, it appeared that the event was over. But it is only the start of the parade. Groups of drummers and groups of fireworks people alternated within the parade and marched through the streets with full energy. The visitors followed them in close or distant proximity.
It was incredible, the drummers had so much energy and some people danced to the beats. It was fantastic to walk through the narrow streets like this. Feeling so powerful with the noisy parade. The parade went on for quite a while through the streets of Garcia. Until it arrived at Placa de la Vila de Garcia. Here they did another fireworks show in the middle of the square.
Soon the embers of the firework shows disappeared and you could hear the drummers better. This time square was very packed with people and it turned into a dance floor. But the drummers only played for a while, then the stage for the music performer opened.
Insider tip: Make sure you don’t wear something that you really like. My hat and scarf got holes from the embers.
From Sa Pobla to Garcia – The organization of the festival
What’s also important to know is that the Sant Antoni festival is organised by people of Sa Pobla, Mallorca. That’s why it also has the name “From Sa Pobla to Garcia”. Sa Pobla organises the event in Barcelona because they do it so well in their own village. So Barcelona wants the real deal and assigns the organisation to the people of Sa Pobla. Sa Pobla is a small town in Mallorca, where the Sant Antoni is literally celebrated the whole month.
Nevertheless, if you are only visiting Barcelona at the end of January, it is truly a unique way to experience the local culture by attending the Sant Antoni festival.
The festival continues way after midnight at the Placa de la Virreina. There is a bonfire but the crowd of people makes it difficult to get close to the bonfire. The fireworks-like sparks end here. But the music continues. The crowd starts to dance to the rhythm of the drums. Later on, musicians started to perform on the stage.
The Spaniards really know how to celebrate.
The author of the blog
Lisi is an adventurous, mostly solo traveler from Austria. She likes to travel slowly, discover underrated countries/regions, and of course, learn about cultures. She has been traveling the world and creating travel content since 2016. With a degree in tourism management and a passion for travel and cultures, she wants to tell stories that inspire her readers and help them travel more consciously.
