La Merce (Cultural)

One of the most cultural activities I have participated in was La Merce. This half of a week festival was one of the craziest weeks of my life. I attended a bull fight, watched the castellers, ran in el Correfoc, and saw the best fireworks of my life.

The bullfight was one of the most interesting and bloody things I’ve seen in my life. I knew that the bulls were killed, but I had no clue how brutally tortured they were too. It was interesting because people here weren’t vulgar about it, they wore very nice clothes and cheered for the matador. This could never happen in the United States because people would be out of control and throw things in the ring and start yelling at every little thing that went on. Outside the bullfighting venue were the protestors arguing against this sport. This is very similar to the organization PETA in the U.S. that protests every little time they can for animal rights. It was a very fun and cultural experience in Barcelona.

Running at El Correfoc was extremely crazy. You basically had to run and dance while people and huge dragons sprayed you with industrial sized sparklers all over. You had to be covered from head to toe so you wouldn’t get badly burned. It was so interesting because everyone participated, even little kids. In the U.S. no one would even think to have this activity because it would be considered too dangerous.

This festival shed light on the differences in celebration between Barcelona and the United States. They couldn’t have these activities over in the states because people would be too out of control. El correfoc is already chaos, but if it were in the United States, it would be a riot and people would die.