The concerts not to be missed at La Mercè

After the limitations due to the pandemic, this year there will be no type of restriction in the wide musical offer of the Mercè festivities.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
26 September 2022 Monday 01:10
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The concerts not to be missed at La Mercè

After the limitations due to the pandemic, this year there will be no type of restriction in the wide musical offer of the Mercè festivities. A return to normality that will have its three well-known pillars in Música Mercè, BAM and Acció Cultura Viva, and in this edition Rome will be the guest city (Vinicio Capossela, Paolo Angeli, Mannarino or the female choir led by Rachele Andrioli).

The widest offer in all its senses is Música Mercè (BAM is committed to current, inclusive and experimental proposals while Acció Cultura Viva focuses on cultural democracy as a programmatic axis) which will have eight decentralized stages, including a new one in the Ronda de Sant Antoni, in the university area of ​​Pedralbes, the Doctor Pla i Armengol gardens or the recovered Avenida Maria Cristina where the proposals of the radio stations will meet.

Another remarkable novelty is the premiere of Gisela Sais, journalist and cultural manager, as the new artistic director of Música Mercè, that is, the backbone of the sound festivals. She acknowledges that this is her debut in these tasks and that “the most important thing when it comes to programming is that every person who lives in Barcelona finds her concert at La Mercè. And that also reflects the social diversity of the city; it is something that is always taken into account but not always achieved”.

Musically, Sais has opted to give a lot of importance "to dance music, which reflects the idea of ​​celebration and festival, and that takes into account where we come from after the pandemic and the pleasure of meeting again". That is why “all the stages end with a dance concert, and there is a new stage, the one in Ronda. Sant Antoni dedicated only to that type of music”.

He was also very aware of "paying tribute to very important musicians, that is, not forgetting the teachers", as in this case to Pau Riba or Tete Montoliu, on the 25th anniversary of his death. The latter will take place at the Teatre Grec, "a stage that this year we still have as embers of the pandemic but that next year surely will not because it is not very profitable for large productions." And another significant novelty is that “the Bogatell stage is programming a day of urban music with Alizzz, 31 FAM and Santa Salut, because “I have really tried to look at what young people like, starting with teenagers”.