On the third of march a wonderful event in Barcelona for families with sweet-toothed children takes place in Barcelona, Sant Medir 2014. Also known by the name of the Fiesta de San Emeterio, this annual festival takes place in March in the Gracia area of Barcelona. A third name by which it is known is “la festa més dolça” which is Catalan for “the sweetest festival”. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand this, as some 60 tons of sweets that are given away every year during the parade. An added attraction is the 120 horses taking part in the highly colourful parade.
The route of the parade is easily accessed as it runs through the heart of the city. Some 26 parade groups (called colles) gather throughout the “Vila de Gracia” area, part of Gracia, and then congregate on Carrer de Sant Salvador to form a procession of horses, carts and lorries that then parade down the street Gran de Gracia to finish at the “Jardinets de Gracia” – the little Grácia gardens. The evening finishes with a fireworks. Find parade information links further down this page.
The flamboyant Festa de Sant Medir has humbles origins. It all started back in 1830 when baker Josep Vidal i Granés fell very ill. Though he lived on newly opened Gran de Gracia street he was originally from Sant Cugat del Vallès and he vowed that if God cured him, he would make a annual pilgrimage to the chapel of Sant Medir there.
Well he did get better and being a man of faith, he made the first pilgrimage from Gracia. To spread the word he banged a drum and handed out sweets from his bakery to local children. The following year word grew, and with each successive year that passed, more and more friends and neighbours joined in. Eventually this led to the establishment of the first “colla” of the Sant Medir festival (a “colla” is the Catalan name for a group or club).
