Lina López (Caracas, 1977) is the president of the Festa Major de Gràcia Foundation. She arrived in Barcelona twenty years ago and explains that getting involved in the festival – she is part of the Lluís Vives street commission – helped her overcome her most difficult moment. This year she is leaving the position, after a term that began in 2022.

Only Antònia Font's Batiscafo Katiuscas could find the way through the unfathomable waters that the decorated streets competition of the Gràcia festival often turns into. Plaça Rovira has this time won first prize in the competition with its precious tribute to one of the emblematic songs of the Mallorcan band. The jury has recognized the work of this square in Gràcia, which, beyond the underwater tribute to Antònia Font, had one of the best details of this edition of the competition: an exhibition that allowed to see sketches of the decorations from other years. Brillen ses estrelles, therefore, in Plaça Rovira, which has beaten other streets that were ahead in the predictions in a very disputed edition.

Above the noise, the main festival. La Vila de Gràcia this Friday unveiled this year's festival with an opening speech by journalist and historian Vicenç Sanclemente, who highlighted the event's ability to create networks among neighbors despite the crowds. "It's not just a week of music or a competition for decorated streets," stressed Sanclemente, who in an extensive speech argued that this break from the daily frenzy that the main festival represents is a perfect opportunity to create "bond," to build "fabric."

More than 900 activities and 23 decorated spaces will adorn Gràcia between August 15 and 21 for the main festival. This year, the journalist and Gràcia historian Vicenç Sanclemente will kick off the festivitieswith an opening speech in Plaça de la Vila. The festivities also come with a certain mystery – the theme of the decorations will not be announced until July 25, at the Vigílies Supper, to preserve the magic of the festival.

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.