The 2026 human tower season has already kicked off with a momentum not seen in a long time. For weeks now, rehearsal spaces have been buzzing with activity and that typical early-season excitement: new faces, reunions, shirts ready, and the shared feeling that this could be a special year. And it's no coincidence. As happens every even year, the calendar is marked by the Concurs de Castells, the major biennial event that ends up conditioning the objectives, rhythms, and strategies of all the human tower groups.

Laura Grau (Blanes, 1995) has established herself in recent years as one of the most prominent Catalan-language communicators and content creators on social media. After working for RAC105, Catalunya Ràdio, and iCat, she has created her own platform from which she addresses social issues that concern her and also discusses popular culture, with a particular focus on the world of castles. Hours after the interview, Grau got in touch to add a detail she had forgotten to mention: she loves the summer red wine, although its name in Catalan – black summer cocktail – hasn't quite convinced him.

The significance of Catalonia-Palestine match next TuesdayDestined to become a cry against the genocide in Gaza, it also has a historical thread that links it to the People's Olympiad of 1936The spirit of those anti-fascist games, thwarted by the outbreak of the Civil War, will resonate in the very arena where the competition was to be held: the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium. And the parallel between the two initiatives will also take shape off the field: one of the popular culture groups participating in the pre-match festivities, the Joves Xiquets de Valls, will symbolically complete the performance that bombs stopped almost ninety years ago. Moreover, they will do so with a Palestinian casteller (human tower builder).