Progrés Street reclaims its crown. Its spectacular homage to the fire run took first prize in this year's Gràcia festival decoration competition, repeating the triumph it achieved in 2023. It did so in direct competition with last year's winner, Mozart Street, which this year was used as the legend of Saint George. Jesús completed the podium, repeating last year's third place with his vindication of popular culture.

There was a scare this morning at the Gràcia Festival. Around 5:45 a.m., a fire burned through the entrance to the Verdi street set. Sources from Barcelona City Council explain that the fire accidentally started in an electrical panel and destroyed part of the wiring and the set that led to the street. A large Mayan mask welcomed people into the jungle that festival-goers had been preparing for months. The fire consumed this entire section of the set, one of the most photographed during these first days of the Festival.

Nostalgia often acts as a refuge from the uncertainties of the present, something that can also be seen starting this Friday in the decorations of the Gràcia festival, where examples of some of the major crises we are facing coexist with multiple references to times when it wasn't so hot and the world seemed a little less warm. The clearest can be seen in the Plaça de la Vila, where, with the explicit title The Grace we long for, You can travel back in time and return, for a while, to walk past the city's historic shops that have since disappeared, such as the Olla de Torrent or the Caspolino attractions.

Once again this year, the Vila de Gràcia neighborhood is divided these days between residents who flee the neighborhood to avoid the hustle and bustle of the festival and those who are deeply involved to prevent the depersonalization of a tradition also threatened by overcrowding. The latter welcomed the festivities with the opening speech this Thursday night. In a very protest-filled square in the Vila de Gràcia, writer and art historian Maria Garganté emphasized the importance of the festival reinforcing the sense of community and becoming a "trench" against overcrowding.