The Festa de Sant Medir is a Barcelona tradition that turns devotion into a shower of sweets. Each year on 3 March, the neighbourhoods of Gràcia, Sarrià and La Bordeta fill with horses, decorated floats and open bags as sweets rain down from all directions. In the morning, the colles – groups of local residents – process in pilgrimage to the Sant Medir chapel in the Collserola hills. In the afternoon, the streets come alive with colour and music, as tradition and festivity ride side by side. A living, communal celebration, deeply cherished by the city.
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Today it is sweets that are thrown, but the original offering was broad beans, in tribute to the saint’s miracle.
The colles compete amicably to see who distributes the most treats and puts on the most eye-catching parade.