BarcelonaThe night of Sant Joan is the inauguration of the mental summer. Tonight, with the lighting of bonfires throughout the Catalan geography, the traditional fallas of the Pyrenees and the firecrackers and coke, the summer season is definitely inaugurated, which does not mean temperatures but rather traditions and parties. There is no city or town that, at this time, does not have the bonfires ready, the stages for the dance orchestra to experience the most magical night of the year, full of legends and rituals that remain in the collective imagination almost intact.
In the demarcation of Lleida, the falls are the protagonists of the night of Sant Joan, especially in the Pyrenees. In Isil (Pallars Sobirà), the fallaires go up to the Lighthouse and from ten o’clock at night they descend forming a path of fire to the town. In Alins (Pallars Sobirà), the fallaires will leave during the evening in the direction of the Botanal and the hermitage of Sant Quirc. In these two places, they will ignite the faults and begin the descent from a quarter past twelve at night. In Alta Ribagorça, the torches will illuminate Boí, Vilaller, the Pont de Suert and Casós.
As this tradition marks, the Canigó flame marks the beginning of the party. The night before, from June 22 to 23, the descent of the flame begins from the top of the emblematic mountain of Conflent, to later be distributed along several organized routes and light the countless bonfires that have been planted in Salses in Guardamar and Fraga in Maó in a celebration shared by the Catalan Countries.
In Barcelona, the President of the Parliament, Josep Rull, presided this Sunday at the reception of the Canigó Flame, as is tradition, carried by representatives of Òmnium Cultural, in an event that is repeated every June 23 from 1980
As the forest grows, fires will be lit in the bonfires that have been set up in squares and street intersections in villages, towns and cities. The bonfire is the center of the celebrations, the most genuine symbol, with the permission of firecrackers and coke, and around it traditionally dances were organized and bad omens and memories were burned. The fire that purifies everything. Today, the strict safety measures to avoid incidents have reduced both the number of bonfires planted and the interaction with the fire. But the spirit remains the same and Sant Joan is a good occasion to make a list of good wishes to continue in good tune the rest of the year.
All along the coast, towns concentrate much of tonight’s festive agenda on the beaches, where thousands of people will celebrate the solstice and those who endure the longest will be rewarded with seeing the sunrise and – the first bath. As in the city of Barcelona, many other councils are currently preparing special security and cleaning devices.
Firecracker restrictions
In the regions of Girona, several municipalities apply restrictions for the carnival. In Figueres, only F3 firecrackers (rockets, fountains, flying firecrackers or similar) may be launched in the designated space in Plaza Europa. The night of Sant Joan and the revetlla of Sant Pere (June 28) until two in the morning. The rest of the days until nine at night. The mayor, Jordi Masquef, says that “the campaign is agreed upon with residents and entities, and it wants to raise public awareness of the effects of noise”, reports ACN. In Manresa, in addition, the 25th children’s carnival without firecrackers will be held.
More diversity in cakes
The pastry chefs’ new Saint John cake creations are also a hit with consumers: “People take three or four, but smaller ones.” This is what the president of the Barcelona Pastry Chefs’ Guild, Antoni Bellart, told ACN and said that these are novelties such as lemon pie, matcha tea or filled with truffle, raspberry jam or cream, and this makes customers take more. Bellart, however, has pointed out that “the best seller is still the brioche one”, followed by the lardons one and the cream one, “which is rising a lot”, he concluded. The head of the association estimates that sales will rise by 5%, touching the two million artisan cakes and prices will be maintained, between 18 and 22 euros.
The pastry chefs face the St. John’s festival with “good forecasts”, which also helps the calendar “with a long weekend”, Bellart emphasizes. This will make customers buy the product to celebrate this popular holiday and also on Monday to commemorate Saint John. “It will be three intense days of coke”, admitted the president of the guild.
The expectation to increase sales is marked by the “change in habits” of the public, as explained by Bellart, because “30 years ago they bought the very thick cake of brioche or lardons” and nowadays “a people like to try.” For this reason, the pastry chef indicated, customers take away different types and instead of a kilo they are “half a kilo or three quarters”, although the star of the table remains the brioche with candied fruit .
2024-06-23 12:08:13
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