It's already festival time in Sant Gervasi, the neighborhood of the twin martyrs
Sant Gervasi is today another piece of the Barcelona puzzle. Officially, it is Sant Gervasi – la Bonanova, one of the 73 neighborhoods into which the Catalan capital is divided, on paper, and one of the six that the municipal administration groups within the district of Sarrià – Sant Gervasi, on its western edge. And it is —it remains— the town of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, an independent municipality from the parish of Sarrià since 1714 and, as is well known, annexed by royal decree to the county city in 1897 along with five others.
San Gervasio Festival Committee, 1947 (photo by Emili Godes)
Even today, despite everything, Sant Gervasi remains that village and the bourgeois summer resort area developed throughout the 19th century. And its main festival is, of course, one of the clear demonstrations of its own identity. It is celebrated every second fortnight of June, around the 19th, the feast day of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, the twin martyrs to whom the chapel or church that gave the place its name was dedicated, already documented in the 10th century. The festival committee prepares a program full of activities for all tastes; this year, between the 10th and 19th.
Today, Wednesday, the main festival of Sant Gervasi resumes the activities that were interrupted last Sunday and offers a dance for the elderly (5:30 PM), games and stories for the little ones (5:30 PM), an interactive magic show (6 PM), and the Botifarra – Jazz Festival (starting at 8:30 PM). Until Sunday, the program offers daily activities suitable for all tastes and ages. A chocolate drinking event (10:30 AM), a circus workshop (from 11 AM to 2 PM), and a basketball and table tennis tournament (11 AM) will bid farewell to the event until next year.
