For those who are beyond the 'mainstream'

ARCHITECTURE

Barcelona is a city of architecture, and architecture also has its festival. Awaiting its 2026 World Architecture Capital, the World Architecture Congress, from mid-May to June 28, Barcelona celebratesArchitecture Weeks(barcelona.cat/semanesarquitectura) with the aim of strengthening the bond between architecture and the public. They plan countless activities, some free, others requiring prior registration, and some with a fee: exhibitions, competitions, awards, discussions, routes, guided tours, parties, and much more, for all audiences and the entire city. Seven weeks to celebrate architecture and use it as a meeting point.

CIRCUS

It's impossible to think about the circus without being directly connected to Circ Cric, the circus with a permanent creative base in Sant Esteve de Palautordera. A sort of circus reserve that hosts circus projects and is a space for rehearsal, learning, and creation, from where shows are produced and broadcast. The best part is that for the past 15 years, from mid-April to June 15th, the circus has been held.Circ Cric Festival(circcric.com) where you can take a circus and nature walk with the Montseny goblin, let yourself be amazed by the showGet drunkfrom the Roscón Poltrona or letting yourself be carried away by the music of Sound System fused with magic. Just taking a walk through the Montseny Natural Park, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, is worth it—imagine if you add everything else.

DANCE

In our country, we have great examples of summer festivals where dance takes center stage. At the beginning of July, Deltebre transforms to host a true revolution. For fifteen intense days, the movement is celebrated inDeltebre Dance(deltebredanza.com). It is the international meeting point for dance, circus and the performing arts, where the training, creation and performance areas coexist in perfect balance.Compass, from the Kampai Company, formed by dancers from urban dances, orLots of Girls, which reinterprets some universal dance myths, are two of the many offerings for the public. To celebrate this 20th edition, an exhibition is being held that compiles photographs and video footage from the festival's twenty-year history. Another new feature is theShowcase Deltebre Danza: Emerging Voices Dance, a 10-minute showcase of pieces created by participants and preselected by the festival management. A fantastic opportunity to connect with the art of movement.

In Figueres they do not want to be left out of the world of dance and on July 4 they begin a new edition, the eleventh, ofFigueres MOVES, a festival of dance and movement in the street (figueresesmou.cat). The Sant Ferran Castle, which is always worth a visit, will be where you will find Mercedes plus eu, the piece by Janet Novás and Mercedes Peón that hybridizes dance and music, or the various approaches that Yoann Bourgeois Art Company makes of The Unreachable Suspension Point, with hypnotic choreography, rotating stages and the challenge of gravity.

From July 25 to August 3, the valleys of Àneu celebrate theDancing, the 34th edition of the Pyrenees Festival of Cultures (dansaneu.cat), which connects dance with music and natural and architectural heritage, democratic memory, and popular culture. Awarded the 2021 National Culture Award, it is a project open to the public and suitable for all ages that values the heritage and natural wealth of the Àneu valleys. It's a perfect excuse to discover the region by visiting the 17 venues of this trans-Pyrenean festival. Everything is a must, but this is our choice: the tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Arsèguel accordionists' gathering with productions that blend tradition and contemporaneity; the performance by the Cor Cererols and dancer and choreographer Aleix Martínez linked to the recovery of the fragment of a Gothic altarpiece from Sant Martí de Escalarre; or the collaboration they are launching with the Aigüestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici National Park on its 70th anniversary.

A few days later, from August 18 to 24, it arrivesIt's Dance, the traditional root dance festival (esdansa.cat), in Las Presas. The festival has evolved and grown—this is its 43rd edition—and has always been a benchmark for traditional dance, inviting everyone to dance. The program is based on several pillars: the creation and production of new proposals, and training. From this, the ÉsDansa program was born, offering training sessions in traditional dance (advance registration required) for children, young people, and adults. More than fifteen spaces are filled with dance and tradition.

PHOTOGRAPH

If you like analog photography,Reveal yourself(revela-t.cat) is your festival.I've seen things I wouldn't believe. This is the central theme that will inspire the 13th edition. The Espaifoto Photography Association is responsible for organizing this pioneering festival, the first in the world dedicated exclusively to analog photography, which has inspired similar initiatives in other countries. From May 17 to June 15, head to Vilassar de Dalt, where high-quality exhibitions by renowned photographers from around the world await you, along with countless activities for photography and art lovers: conferences, workshops, screenings, markets, and much more.

GASTRONOMY

After the success of the first edition, theFeast Fest, the local gastronomic festival promoted by the newspaper ARA and organized by Fira Àpat, which will take place on October 4 and 5 at the Antigua Fábrica Estrella Damm in Barcelona. A fantastic way to discover other ways of doing things because cooking is culture. Reduced-price tickets tofestifest.cat.

MAGIC

Magic lovers also have summer ideas to surprise them. There are more experienced options such asFIMAG(fimag.cat), the Torroella de Montgrí International Magic Festival, which from June 6th to 8th features more than 25 artists, more than 70 performances for all audiences, and 10 performance spaces in the most emblematic locations of Torroella de Montgrí. Despite being the 13th edition, they're leaving aside superstitions and have dared to use a black cat as the festival's image. Do you like great magic? Are you more into singular magic or folk magic? If you're into magic, you should go to FIMAG, a classic that coexists with more recent initiatives, such as the international festivalMagic Crejo(creixellmagic.cat). The 2nd edition, which will take place from August 15th to 17th, has prepared shows for all audiences featuring national and international artists.

POETRY

If you have already been to thePoetry and +(poesiaimas.es) you know it's impossible not to attend this festival, which has filled the Maresme region with poetry every summer for 20 years. From July 3rd to 13th, Caldes d'Estrac, Arenys de Mar, Teià, Dos Rius, Alella, and Mataró will bring you closer to poetry in freedom, open to other formats and disciplines. "You can't give up on fantasy." This is the phrase by Josep Palau i Fabre that inspires this year's edition, where Gabriel Ventura and Leonardo V. Granados make their debut as directors, eager to continue supporting a free poetry that extends beyond its limits, towards other artistic disciplines and in a lively dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity.