MAYTE COMES BACK TO DISCOVER 'LES FESTES DE GRÀCIA'

Today, The Grandma has received news from Mayte, who has visited Gràcia, one of the most popular neighbourhoods of Barcelona, and has shared her memories and photos with The Grandma.

Gràcia is a district of the city of Barcelona, Catalonia. 

It comprises the neighbourhoods of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova.

Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west and Horta-Guinardó to the east. A vibrant and diverse enclave of Catalan life, Gràcia was an independent municipality for centuries before being formally annexed by Barcelona in 1897 as a part of the city's expansion.

Gràcia was established in 1626, by a Novitiate of Carmelites, who established a convent there, called Nostra Senyora de Gràcia.

Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Gràcia remained an independent municipality in the direction of the Serra de Collserola mountains (north/northwest) from central Barcelona.

Passeig de Gràcia, the street which is today home to the most high-end international fashion brands and posh hotels , was back then a country road linking the town to the larger city, through the plain of Barcelona.

During the mid-1800s, Barcelona was rapidly industrialising and significantly expanding its borders from those of the Roman walls and old city. The advent of new industry was drawing Catalans by the thousands to abandon their farms and move to the city, spurring a shift from an agriculturally based, rural economy to an urban economy focused on manufacturing and trade.

In 1897, Barcelona formally annexed the town of Gràcia, and it has existed since as a neighborhood of the Catalan capital. Although no longer independent, Gràcia has long maintained a distinct identity as a unique district of the diverse, larger metropolis to which it belongs.

More information: Meet Barcelona

Gràcia is both the smallest district by area, at 4.2 km2, and the second most densely populated neighbourhood in Barcelona. One of the hippest, most cosmopolitan areas in the city, Gràcia's intimate, close-packed streets and predominately low-rise, Mediterranean architecture give it a distinct feel. Its old, one-way streets are organized around a series of plazas, including Plaça de Vila de Gràcia, Plaça del Sol and Plaça de la Virreina. Old-world charm abounds.

To the northern end of Gràcia on El Carmel mountain lies Park Güell, arguably the most famous work of Catalonia's most famous architect, Antoni Gaudí.

On Carrer de les Carolines, between Plaça Lesseps and Fontana, lies Casa Vicens, Gaudí's first major work of architecture and a staple in his canon of modernist design. An occupied house for decades, Casa Vicens only recently became a tourist attraction on November 15, 2017. The building was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Casa Fuster, a fabled, grand modernist-style hotel that lies at the edge of Gràcia's southern end on the Plaça de Nicolás Salmerón. Designed by Catalan master architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner between 1908 and 1910, the ornate house was converted to a hotel in 2004.

In the Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, the bell tower marks the old administrative centre of the former independent municipality. The tower, a 33-meter-high octagonal figure, was built by Rovira i Trias between 1862 and 1864. A legend describes the Campana de Gràcia and its role in local conflicts from 1870.

Mercè Rodoreda's most important novel, La Plaça del Diamant, is set mainly in Gràcia at the time of the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War.

The Gràcia population is a mix of young professionals and artists and a growing elderly population, with a significant portion of older Catalans who came of age as Franco came to power. Catalan flags adorn many a Gràcia window or terrace, symbols of the neighbourhood's fiercely pro-independence politics.

The most notable event in Gràcia is the Festes de Gràcia, which goes on for eight days every August. 

The largest neighbourhood festival in Barcelona, the Festa Major de Gràcia began in 1817 as a celebration of the neighbourhood itself, at the time still an independent town.

Gràcia's residents compete for the crown of best street or square, selecting distinct themes and extensively decorating in Spanish carnival style, and organised by a number of local associations. The selected themes range from scenes of nature, to wild animals and creatures, to characters from popular culture.

More information: Barcelona Tourist Guide

 Popular culture is one of the sites
where this struggle for and against a culture
of the powerful is engaged:
it is also the stake to be won or lost in that struggle.
It is the arena of consent and resistance.

Stuart Hall