Well it wasn’t the best weather we have ever seen in Barcelona. As the various Colles gathered around the streets of Gracia yesterday morning they were doing so under grey skies and a steady drizzle. But for these hardy sweet throwers a little rain wasn’t about to dampen the spirits, just the confectionary.
The people waiting in the rain however had a small dilemma to solve. Keep your brolly upright and stay dry or turn it upside down and increase your sweet gathering capacity!
During the morning, the various Colles picked random routes to follow around the streets of Gracia, being led by one of the local constabulary on a moped. They criss-crossed the barrio flinging their sweets to people and generally causing chaos to the delivery lorries and unsuspecting drivers who had no option than to sit in long lines waving their arms about and beeping their horns.
At one o’clock each group made for their ‘parking space’, handily situated outside a local restaurant and disappeared inside for a well earned lunch. It is also the time for selected members to either make the journey up to the little hermitage in the Collserola park or to the San Juan church for a mass dedicated to Sant Medir.
With the weather still misbehaving, the evening parade started at 8pm. The Colles had gathered along Carrer de Sant Salvador and L’Escoriala in preparation to follow the route along Carrer de Nil Fabra and then down Gran de Gracia. The streets were packed with people, armed with an array of plastic bags and umbrellas and some serious sweet collecting began!
It took about an hour for all the horses, carriages, lorries and bands to go past, but despite the cold, the enthusiasm and excitement of the crowd was infectious and for sure a few children were squashed in the clamour to bag a sweetie!
A big thank you to everyone who helped organise this fabulous event and for the record we at the kmatourism office managed an all time collecting best this year, thanks to the efforts of Gracia local, Carmen, 8 kilos of sweets!
I bet the patron saint of Dentists and Diets is rubbing his hands.
