There will be a bicycle tamer, which is missing (he says, of course, the RACC) in this city. He calls himself Yldor Llach and faith that he succeeds. There will also be no shortage of blackjack punches, which every child should see at least a couple of times in their childhood, so that fewer inexperienced adults arrive, for example, in the Twitter ring. That lesson will be given by some masters of the genre, Romans, the San Carlino Theater company. To parody tourism, if fiction can still surpass reality, a Basque company, Trapu Zaharra, will be in charge. Well that. The Mercè is back or, rather, in the plural, the ‘Mercès’because it is the musicalthat of the traditions and, thirdly, the one that in this chronicle as a menu we will try to review, something not easy because the MAC, that is, Mercè Street Arts2022 arrives with a hundred companies on stage.
In the journalism of the past, apprentices of the trade were recommended never to forget to answer the five W’s, the first letter in English of what, who, when, where and why, but a more difficult one is still worth adding a W more, that of ‘weather’, because for yet another year it seems that the two patron saints dethroned by Mercè, Santa Eulàlia and Santa Madrona, will join forces in cruel revenge. Remember, Santa Madrona, who was also the patron saint, was visited when there was a drought, that is, she has experience in raising cumulonimbus clouds. For what it’s worth, Every morning of the festival, non-rain dances will be danced at the access gates to Montjuïc castle.. We will see. But in case it is possible, here are some must-sees of the program.
CIUTADELLA PARK
MAC was born here 15 years ago and unforgettable shows have been enjoyed here ever since. The company ‘Puppets with guts’, faithful to that tradition of surprising and falling in love, will bring out its giant lips at 10 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to sing and, with it, to incite the public to dance. It could even be said that they are the best tribute that this year, the 60th anniversary of his death, will be paid to Marilyn Monroe.
Second ‘ciutadelian’ recommendation, ‘Future Cargo‘, quite the opposite of the simplicity of means of the singing lips. The English company Requardt and Rosenberg uses a truck with a trailer that seems to come from the future. Dance and science fiction in perfect balance. They are such a highlight of the party that they will perform twice every night from Friday to Sunday.
Third, they say it leaves your jaw open. They call it inclusive dance. It is starred by members of Yurdancethat their show has been named ‘The sound of the void‘. Going on stage with what at first seems like a limitation (the lack of one leg, two, the need to move on the wheels of a chair) is not really a limitation to show the public a dance of seductive plasticity.
MONTJUÏC CASTELL
Once again it will be dedicated to circus shows, a formula, seen in previous editions, with a loyal audience, but the plus this 2022 is that according to the organization practically all possible disciplines that fit under a circus tent will be present (animals not , of course), but outdoors. It will be in the castle where the bicycle tamer will act, Yldor Llachwith that number that he has baptized as ‘The desire to fly‘. Its number is defined as a Brossa and Duchamp cocktailwhich is not a small thing, but having seen an appetizer of what he does, the least that can be said is that he does things with a bicycle that are not even seen on the streets of Barcelona, which is already difficult.
To the Mercè circus de Montjuïc several ukrainian artists who will participate in a choral show that has been baptized as ‘Circus Cabaret‘. Marta Almirall, head of the MAC, says that they will not be there because they are Ukrainian, but because of their exquisite execution technique.
JOAN MIRÓ PARK
What was once the large site of the Barcelona municipal slaughterhouse became part of the great stages of La Mercè in 2020, that is, at the worst time. It was intended to be a magnet for the public like the Ciutadella, for that of fluffing up, but the pandemic prevented it. If the rain does not prevent it, the Mercè 2022 is your selectivity exam to check whether or not you enter to be part of the university of the festival.
The programming of the Joan Miró park is designed for families with ‘little ones’, an important stage of life to initiate a taste for the performing arts. From Rome, the guest city this year, comes this year the San Carlino Theater, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with no less than three showings, 12:45, 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. His thing is the punch-holes and, within that genre, the blackjack ones, perfect because they work the magic of involving the public.
PALAUET ALBENIZ
It is not a space that is accessible on a daily basis, and that is already an incentive to go. Street shows have been programmed there that do not need large stages or facilities and that, despite this, promise not to disappoint. As in the rest of the spaces, the best thing to do is to immerse yourself in the program (the Mercès ‘app’ is an excellent compass for this), but if you want to highlight one show, and thus unintentionally disdain the rest, the organizers recommend ‘Faune’, an augmented reality adventure through the mansion’s forests which has been lit by the company Adrien M & Claire B and Brest Brest Brest.
TRINITAT PARK
Marta Almirall assures that the minimum common denominator of all the Mercè spaces is never lack humorWhat is missing for this city and the rest of the world if you look back. In that unusual place that is the Parque de la Trinitat (an oasis surrounded by a desert of asphalt) they will perform on Saturday and Sunday, at 12:15 and 5:00 p.m., the apparently very crazy Basque company Trapu Zaharra, with a title that is not even nickel-plated for this city, ‘Turisteando’.
The protagonist, without revealing anything inopportune here, is the lucky winner of a vacation aboard a cruise ship, albeit virtual. It is worth noting that idea.
PARC DE L’AQÜEDUCTE
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Barcelona is barely 99 square kilometers, a figure that does not impress, come on, much less than Teruel (440), which is not even supposed to exist. The strange thing is how little many Barcelonans know about some neighborhoods in their own city and this has been achieved by La Mercè in previous editions, not even partially. Added to this policy of amendments this year is the Parc de l’Aqüeducte, in Ciutat Meridiana, where the Barcelona Institute of Culture has decided to transfer this year the programming it sponsors Pallassos sense Borders. It will only be on Sunday, a pity, because among the participating companies there is a local benchmark, such as Circ Cric, we are talking about Tortell Poltrona, laughter guaranteed.
The Parc de l’Aqüeducte will also be the place to audition a very unusual anthem, the song that the members of Els Xiula have composed with children from six schools in the neighborhoods with the most evictions in Barcelona. ‘Stop desnonaments’. That’s the title of the topic. La Mercè is never neutral.