Barcelona lets the devils loose during the annual La Merce Correfoc “Fire Run”.

La Merce is Barcelona’s largest annual street festival. Held in honor of Mare de Deu de la Merce, the Patron Saint of Barcelona, it’s an amazing five days of parades, performances, and fireworks, taking place at countless venues across the city. Possibly the most adrenaline-inducing event is the Correfoc, or Fire Run, where “The Devils” are let loose..

The Fire Run

Around dusk, a huge crowd assembled around a giant flame-painted King Kong’esque doorway at Placa d’Antoni Maura on Via Laietana.  Opening ceremonies include a Correfoc for children, but things become more ominous as evening fades into darkness and the air fills with tribal drumline concussions on medieval walls.  As if on cue, the drums stop, and red flares ignite along the facade of “King Kong’s” gates, followed by explosions and screaming rockets shot high into the air.  The gates opened, and the first of several “fire-breathing dragons” stepped out, stopping directly in front of the crowd.  A pause for the dramatic and the monster burst into a hundred simultaneous explosions, dividing the crowd into half and starting the procession of dragons, devils, and drummers down Via Laitana.