Last night, writer Xavier Gimeno offered us a sensational Festa Major opening address, deeply moving us once again. Xavier’s words and his journey through the ins and outs of the Festa, added to the atmosphere of Sitgetanism and civic-mindedness experienced at Town Hall Square, all made it a magnificent welcome to Festa Major 2013.
For Sitgetans these are unique days. Our Festa Major, with a patrimonial wealth and a spirit of participation like none other anywhere else in our country, is possible. We live it, we feel it and we love it. That is why I invite you to live it to the fullest, intensely and responsibly, with joy and respect, pride and emotions.
“When the gralles head for Sant Francesc Street playing the Toc de Matinades or Morning Call song, following the entrance the musicians have always made every August 23rd, there’s no stopping Festa Major, our main festival.
Whether it’s more or less muggy out, sunny or cloudy, there’s more or less joy, the midday vigil announces a new and, at the same time, old Saint Bartholomew’s Day. After that everything will be a frenetic race: the firing of mortars, ringing of the bells, traditional dances, verses, the civilian procession, the fireworks display, descending the parish church stairs, open-air dancing, the matinal early morning performances, solemn mass, the procession from mass, human towers, concerts, the religious procession, the final ball ... And we’ll do what we do every year: run from one place to another, to watch, to make things a reality, to feel, to enjoy everything that is so much a part of us, of all the men and women, boys and girls.
The history of the Festa Major is cyclic, just like our personal year is cyclic, from Saint Bartholomew’s Day to Saint Bartholomew’s Day. And that’s how we have to experience it. We will honor tradition, we will express our feeling of possession, and we will celebrate that we are Sitges yet another year.
My thanks to the Festa Major and Santa Tecla Commission for their zealous work. Thanks to all the collaborating institutions, companies and people. Thanks to the dancers, gralla players, bands, instrumental groups, orchestras, the flag bearer, the cordonistes (assistants) and the reader of the proclamation. A thousand thanks go out to all the Sitgetans for this, for being what they are and for feeling it.
To celebrate it properly, with no detriment to the laws in force, the Sitges Town Council recommends all businesses and other establishments to remain closed throughout the entire day of August 24th, and to not park any vehicles along the routes used by the traditional parades and processions. The Town Council is not responsible for any damage that might occur to vehicles, awnings and housings as a consequence of the progress of the festival events in public thoroughfares between August 20th and the 25th. The necessary prevention and safety measures should be taken.
Sitgetans, we are living out these special days with the family, friends and visitors. Let’s relive tradition and the legacy of our ancestors, a heritage that belongs to all of us, with our gaze placed on the difficult present, but also on a future that is looking better for Sitges and the country.
Let’s keep our five senses awake, as well as a sixth sense of hope, and allow ourselves to be transported by the charms of our Festa Major, because it is starting soon and in a just a blink of the eye it will have gone by.
Glorious Saint Bartholomew, patron saint of Sitges, long live Festa Major!”.
