With the planted this weekend of the demon “No smoke!†on Dels Pescadors beach, where it will shine from Monday May 1 until its ‘Cremada’ on May 10, during the night of Sant Anastasi, Badalona thus begins to enjoy the first acts of the May 2023 Fiestas.
This year’s figure of the devil, inspired by the pollution of vehicle fumes, has been designed by Àgata Gil, a graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona and a graduate in Illustration and Advertising Graphics from the School of Art and Superior of Design Pau Gargallo of Badalona. The construction and assembly of the Demon is the work of the artist Ramón de los Heros.
Before the planting of the Dimoni on the Dels Pescadors beach, the mayor of Badalona, ​​Rubén Guijarro, and the City Councilor for Culture, Anna Maria Lara, have made the usual visit to the workshop where the final touches are being made on the construction of the Devil. During the visit, they had a meeting with the designer and the builder, who explained the details of the construction process of this 14-meter-tall wooden figure, divided into several pieces, which will be transported to the beach on Friday for assembly. definitive.
The hors d’oeuvres of the Fiestas de Mayo will carry out an open rehearsal in the Plaza de la Vila this Friday, April 28 at 8:00 p.m. With the musical accompaniment by the EMMB Traditional Music Classroom, they will prepare the dances for the Fiestas. On Saturday, April 29, at 6:00 p.m., the traditional offering of a basket of eggs to the Clarisas nuns will take place. The brotherhood of San Anastasio, with the participation of dances, once the basket is blessed in the church of Santa Maria, will go to the convent of Divine Providence.
To commemorate its 40th anniversary, Badalona Bèsties de Foc will present on Sunday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m., on the ground floor of Casa de la Vila, the restoration of the new Drac Trempat. In charge of the entity, the figure will be exposed and an explanation will be made of the changes that have been made and the significance of the recovery of this bestiary element in Badalona.
On Sunday, April 30, at 9:00 p.m. in the Plaza de la Vila, the old giants of Badalona, ​​Anastasi and Maria, will celebrate their 165th anniversary with a renewed image. They have been restored and, after twenty-three years wearing the same dress, they will debut a new wardrobe that evokes their origins, as a baroque counselor, Anastasi, and as an 18th century lady, Maria. The giants will make their appearance to the sound of the new march, premiered for the occasion, the work of Adrià Abellán from Badalona. There will be no lack of their most emblematic dance, La Coqueta, and they will exceptionally recover the 150th Anniversary Dance, a composition created expressly for the giants during their anniversary, in 2008. At the end of the show there will be a small parade through the streets of Badalona.
From Saturday April 29 to May 14, on the ground floor of the Casa de la Villa, citizens will be able to enjoy a sample of the city’s festive imagery. Until May 27, in the Josep Ucles hall of the El Carme Cultural Center (carrer de Francesc Layret 78-82), you can visit the Forjadors de la Fiesta exhibition, which focuses on the ritual around the May festivities that honor Sant Anastasi, co-patron of Badalona. It reviews the origin of the devotion to the Saint in Badalona and the beginnings of the Quemada del Demonio, as well as the sequence of acts and hors d’oeuvres that accompany the Night of Saint Anastasis.
To whet your appetite at the events of the May festivities, starting this week registration for the Badalona Game is now available, which will take place from May 8 to 28, an online game that tests the knowledge of the people of Badalona and their city with the formulation of questions on the game website.
