Santa Tecla Fiesta. Tarragona

Giants, music, fire and popular traditions.

This celebration brings together some of Catalonia’s most emblematic festive traditions. On these days, everyone comes out onto the streets and squares of Tarragona. The central axis of the celebrations is the traditional parade, made up of “big-head” carnival figures and characters who dance to music played on different traditional instruments. One of the most popular events is the Correfoc or fire-running, which is also the closing event of the fiesta. The people run and jump over characters dressed up as devils and dragons, carrying fire. Another much-awaited moment is the spectacular exhibition of castellers or human castles, which reach up to nine tiers high.