When this evening, in all corners of the Catalan Countries, the fire of the Flame of Canigó arrives, the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands will still be under the governmental binomials of PP and Vox, the xenophobic arsonists will be accumulating firewood in the Principality with the intention of lighting it soon and in North Catalonia, months ago the far-right – from Perpignan to Elna – imposed themselves in the first round. Their uncontrolled fires – where everything burns, from language to country, from biodiversity to the future – are not ours. But surrounded by the global far-right wave, perhaps from up there – the walls of the monastery of Cuixà, let's say – they will be able to tell us in perspective that if we get right what needs to be done, we have come out of worse situations, when they have seen it all. For example, that only 50 years ago we still lived under a dictatorship, there was no trace of democratic elections and death sentences were signed. Perhaps they will remind us that everything goes very fast when it comes to dismantling what has been built and everything goes exasperatingly slow when it comes to moving forward. In form and substance, no news. Not a single one. That some things mutate rapidly and others never change. That the bank wins and the State wins. Almost always.Last Saturday, Marc Castellnou, from the GRAF of the Generalitat Firefighters, said that fires are very good teachers but very bad students. For decades he has also told us that fires are extinguished in winter and that our ecosystem concentrates the fourteen possible types of fires – that is, all existing options. And that after years of turning a deaf ear, we are now beginning to pay attention to what has not been done and what still remains to be done. It is quite eloquent to apply the three fire-fighting maxims of the firefighters to the accelerated devaluation of democracy in the era of global fires. Which range from the Strait of Hormuz to a nihilistic billionaire in Colombia, from a shooting on Balmes street to the mass eviction of a building in La Mina this week, from devastated Gaza to German and Japanese rearmament, from Infantino's corrupt World Cup to Musk's tweet about Belfast – or Albiol's in Badalona. Fires provoked everywhere by the scorched earth profiteers. However, it was not they who left the land barren and the undergrowth neglected. Three maxims: that we do not learn, that what needed to be done has not been done, and that anything can happen on the ultra-revell that ignites the world.

One dead and two seriously injured during the 2025 Sant Joan festival. The fatal victim is a 25-year-old man who fell from the wall of the Seu Vella in Lleida early this morning while celebrating. When emergency services arrived at the scene, the young man was still alive but seriously injured, and died during the journey at the Arnau de Vilanova Hospital. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have opened an investigation to clarify the events, although they suggest it was an accidental fall. The young man showed clear signs of intoxication, according to the police.

The San Juan festival, held on the night of June 23rd and 24th, is one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. This magical night offers a range of activities that combine tradition, festivity, and fire, celebrating the arrival of summer and the good weather. We present 10 activities spread across the region so you can enjoy this evening.