The new breeding ground of humor in Catalan that is making its way outside of Barcelona

GironaThe stand-up comedy is in fashion. And not only in Spanish, which at the beginning was the hegemonic language of this comedy genre, but also in Catalan. In Barcelona, more and more venues are choosing to invite stand-up comedians who, standing up and with a microphone, seek to make people laugh with their stories and jokes. Outside the Catalan capital, in Girona, this format has also been on the rise, especially after the pandemic. And one of the agents that has contributed most to this is the El Foment Cultural Foundation, which, from its headquarters in the Old Town, regularly organizes open mics, comedy clubs, and shows by famous comedians, as well as courses and competitions for amateur stand-up comedians. And always exclusively in Catalan. All this has contributed to professionalizing a group of new generations of comedians and has grown the interest in the art of jokes and wit in the city.

This 2026, during the autumn, from October to December, the comedy proposals of El Foment are brought together under the new festival No És Conya!, which concentrates various activities that have been running for years. Like the monologue course, which reaches its third edition and consists of ten sessions led by Aleix Cabarrocas, comedian and screenwriter for 3Cat. Cabarrocas, in fact, is also in charge of hosting, together with Ester Bertran, the monthly night of the Manicòmics, at the Bar del Teatre in Salt, another stage that evidences the growing interest in comedy in the Girona regions.

The sessions of the El Foment course are not masterclasses, but very practical work on the techniques to build jokes and master the stage, based on different books and examples from renowned comedians. 10 students participate, who at the end of the course perform their own show within the El Foment programming. "Most do not believe that with ten sessions you will be able to write your own text. People leave very happy and some former students have already been finding their way: they set up their own open mics, work on radio programs... They are very different profiles, from young people to older people, but the fact is that stand-up allows you to do humor in very different ways and express yourself just as you are", explains Aleix Cabarrocas.

Beyond different techniques and specific resources, a key element for performing monologues, according to Cabarrocas, is knowing how to laugh at oneself. "It is difficult to laugh at circumstances and people if you have not first performed the exercise of laughing at your own way of thinking. One of the first exercises is a certain humility: laugh at whatever you want, but passing first through self-criticism, through your insecurities and your shames," comments the comedian.

Technique, beyond the gift

One of the students who took the course two years ago is Núria Camp, a scientific communicator who is gradually making a name for herself in the world of comedy. Regarding Cabarrocas' classes, she comments: "You realize that behind something that seems to consist only of having the gift of making people laugh, there is a technique." And she continues: "One of the things I remember most is that we had to learn to maintain the audience's attention. It is the most important thing and it is a very useful tool; it has also served me at work or in other areas."

With other former students of the course, Camp has opened an open mic in Girona, in a venue in Pou Rodó, one Wednesday a month in the evening. She also regularly goes down to perform at the legendary Barcelona venue El Medi and collaborates with RAC1. Within El Foment's proposals, after the course, she has also participated in open mics, in the contest, or in some paid performances. Her style is agile and approachable, with constant references to everyday life and the problems of young people, and she also draws juice from topics she knows well, such as the rise of pseudoscience.

Monologists in Girona who switch languages

Within the extensive cultural programming of El Foment, the commitment to comedy represents an important branch. And Ramon Aymerich, cultural manager and also a stand-up comedian, is responsible for it. "The first initiative was the open mic. People came who had a knack for it, but didn't have comedy as a profession. And from there we started the idea of doing a course to professionalize it," he recalls.

And always with Catalan as a standard. "We come from a history in which comedy in Catalan is poor and despised. It was associated with variety shows. But, thanks to initiatives such as those of El Soterrani, it has been making a place for itself in the industry. At El Foment we have managed to get artists who usually perform their monologue in Spanish, such as Xavi Daura or Asaari Bibang, to perform it here for the first time in Catalan. In a world where everything is going wrong, we need to laugh and be able to do so in Catalan," concludes Aymerich.