Spain Tales: Barcelona Burning

By Orato Editor Heather Wallace , Barcelona
Date Posted: 09/21/08 Reader Rating:

This time around Barcelona will go down as the place I had fireworks inside my shirt...literally. This fin de semana marked the beginning of the city´s La Merce festival. As I was photographing the revellers and drummers in the middle of the Via Laietana, I wondered why they were all wearing goggles and protective clothing. I made sure to stay close to the action, quite taken up by the rhythm of the dozens of drum circles.

Bangs and booms started to sound ahead of me, and the air filled with a blue smoke. Where there´s smoke, there´s fire, so I followed my nose to get some shots of the fireworks, one of which landed inside my shirt. Talk about Hot Tamales. The last thing I needed was a burnt eyeball, so I made my way back to the streets, leaving the close ups to the professionals.

If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy Spain Tales: Room With A View, Spain Tales: Gastro, Sevilla: City Of Bicycles, Spain Tales: The Rough Patch, and The Godfather Of Granada. La Merce festival ends Sunday, September 28.