How to see the Flama del Canigó and understand why in Catalonia all the bonfires are lit with the same flame that comes from the Pyrenees.

The festival of Sant Joan marks, for many, the beginning of the summer season. This festival is characterized, above all, by the bonfires that burn around the city, but did you know that they are all lit with the same flame?

In the Castellet de Perpinyà there is a fire that burns all year round. When Sant Joan approaches, its flame is taken to the top of Canigó, where a bonfire is lit, which in turn serves to light dozens of candles that will carry the flame through the Catalan-speaking territories to light their Sant Joan bonfires.
Editorial credit Pep Herrero. Barcelona City Council.
It is a tradition started in 1955 by a resident of Catalunya Nord (France), inspired by the poem Canigó by Jacint Verdaguer, and quickly spread throughout the Catalan territories.

Barcelona officially receives the Flame of Canigó on June 23rd in the afternoon, accompanied by performances of popular culture. There, the representatives of each neighborhood will light their own flame with it to take it around the city and make the 50 bonfires and festivals that are authorized this year.

We tell you everything you need to know about the origin of this tradition and how it is celebrated in Barcelona.

Barcelona welcomes the Flame with popular culture

Editorial credit Pep Herrero. Barcelona City Council.
On June 23 at 4:30 p.m. the Flama del Canigó will arrive in Barcelona through Camp Nou. From there, dozens of volunteers will relay throughout the city to take it to Plaça Sant Jaume . They will pass through emblematic streets of the city such as Gran Vía, Plaça Espanya or Via Laietana.

At 17:45 h. is scheduled in the Plaça Sant Jaume the celebration of the flame, with the departure of the Eagle, accompanied by the capgrossos de Marcers and els gegants de la Ciutat to the sound of the Cobla de Sant Jordi- Ciutat de Barcelona.

Just 15 minutes later, at 6 pm, the flame is expected to reach Sant Jaume and the ceremony of lighting the cauldron will take place, after which the Castellers of Barcelona will make a pillar in his honor, several colles of popular culture will perform and representatives of each neighborhood will go up to the stage to catch the fire that will light the bonfires of the whole city.

You can consult the route of the Flame in its passage through Barcelona and the details of the acts of reception of the Flama del Canigó on the website of the City Council.

A tradition that comes from a poem

Lighting of flames in the bonfire of the Canigó. Photo: Commons.wikimedia
As explained by the Barcelona City Council, in 1955 Francesc Pujades, a resident of North Catalonia (France), inspired by the poem Canigó, by Jacint Verdaguer, had the idea of lighting the fires of San Juan at the top of the mountain and spread the flame everywhere.

The custom spread quickly, and in 1966 the fire passed through customs for the first time and reached Vic. Despite Franco’s dictatorship, the tradition spread throughout the Catalan-speaking territories as a symbol of the survival of the country’s culture.
Editorial credit Pep Herrero. Barcelona City Council.

Since then, every morning from June 22 to 23, the Flama del Canigó leaves the Castellet de Perpinyà, climbs to the top of Canigó and lights a bonfire that serves to illuminate a bonfire with which volunteers will light lanterns that will spread the flame throughout the Catalan territory.

Walking, running, by bicycle, by boat, on horseback… the Flama travels in a thousand different ways to arrive on time to the squares of the different Catalan towns and light the bonfires of San Juan, thus mixing two traditions to celebrate the solstice and the union of the Catalan people.