Resulting from a partnership with the municipality of Barcelona, Spain, Imaginarius – Festival of Performing Arts in Public Space brings to the streets of Santa Maria da Feira one of the strongest expressions of Catalan urban popular culture. Two decades after celebrating major European festivals in an edition that evoked the 500th anniversary of the Fogaceiras Feast in 2005, Imaginarius now recovers popular and participatory artistic practices, involving a Catalan group and an association from Feira who will reinterpret the ancestral tradition of Correfoc in the contemporary context of the festival.
The partnership between Imaginarius and the municipality of Barcelona began with a joint curatorial effort and institutional coordination to identify the Catalan group that will bring the Correfoc tradition to the streets of the historic centre of Santa Maria da Feira. Through the Associació de Festes de la Plaça Nova, Correfoc arrives at Imaginarius through the group Diables del Barri Gòtic, which will join the Feira-based association Forum Ambiente e Cidadania – groups A Rua’Da (percussion) and Saltarellus (fire) – to promote an artistic and cultural exchange on the eve of the festival, culminating in two unique performances on the nights of 22 and 23 May, integrated into the main Imaginarius programme.
The diables are the human protagonists of the Correfoc, a tradition closely associated with the Fiestas de La Mercè in Barcelona, and they will be present at Imaginarius. They represent demonic, satirical, and provocative figures, dressed in fireproof costumes, usually decorated with infernal symbols, flames, or traditional motifs. Beyond the impact of fire, they carry a strong symbolic and political dimension, historically associated with social criticism, the inversion of order, and freedom of expression within the festive space.
The collaborative work between the Catalan group and the groups from Feira will allow for the exchange of experiences in distinct urban contexts and reflection on the permanence of traditions in public spaces and their adaptation to the contemporary context. The objective is for this dialogue to contribute to rethinking the role of collective manifestations, urban rituals, and the festive occupation of the city as structuring dimensions of cultural identity, but also as active territories for artistic creation and reinvention.
At Imaginarius, Correfoc will present itself to the public as a collective action that traverses the city, crossing the streets and squares of the historic centre. The Catalan group Diables del Barri Gòtic and the Feira-based groups A Rua’Da and Saltarellus will be protagonists in an encounter transcends a mere performance, taking the form of an artistic and cultural exchange. Days before the festival, artists from Feira and Catalonia will explore artistic practices to define a common language. This preparatory work will be crucial for the intersection of artistic practices to be truly incorporated and materialized in a joint creation to be presented in the public space.
Each of the two moments presented at Imaginarius takes on a unique and unrepeatable character, characteristic of Correfoc, respecting tradition and integrating contemporaneity through difference, adaptation to the territory and context of the festival, and the intensity of the shared experience. More than a recreation, this moment of popular art asserts itself as a living practice, where the public is invited to participate actively, occupying the city with proximity, presence, and awareness.
Celebrating 25 years of resistance, Imaginarius returns to the streets of the historic centre of Santa Maria da Feira between 21 and 23 May, when the city welcomes hundreds of artists and audiences from different regions. For three days, 42 companies from 16 countries will present 39 shows, totaling 125 performances with completely free access.
