Patum i Mam

The minute that Manel told me abut the Patum in Berga, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss! Once a year around the Corpus Christie processions the quiet Catalonian village of Berga is transformed by crowds, fire and a wealth of cultural celebrations.

I stayed with Manel, a couch-surfing friend, in his beautiful converted farmhouse just a few minutes drive from Berga. It was wonderful to get away from Barcelona and be surrounded by nature for a few days. Manel is an industrial pig farmer and he kindly let me follow him around of his rounds- a fascinating, but utterly shocking experience. I had naively expected happy pigs in green fields and was confronted with the cold reality of small crowded pens in a huge rancid smelling building full of flies. I have always proudly called myself a carnivore and insisted on eating meat regularly but this experience certainly put my values into question. Although I understand the need for this type of farming on an economics level, it is hard to come to terms with the reality of it and my intake of meat has since reduced dramatically.

 

Once again clean and content, suitably dressed and armed with our hats and scarves we headed to Berga for a night of madness. Each night has different celebrations with different elements and on Saturday we let ourselves be swept away by the crowds through the narrow medieval streets, jumping along to traditional music played by bands. I was amazed at the age range in the crowd, from old grannies, to young children on their parents shoulders, including teenagers, each enjoying themselves as much as each other. It reflected the sense of community and togetherness a cultural event such as this can bring. Amongst the crowds there were “Gigantes”, big models carried dancing through the crowd, “Mazas” devils carrying firecrackers on the end of sticks, who dance amongst the crowd until they explode and the devils “die”, and “Guitas”, two dragons with firecrackers in their mouths who run around chasing the crowd. This is the reason for the hat and scarves as the fire can be dangerous! It was a thrilling experience to live and be part of and the lack of health and safety was refreshing. (Although I did notice the presence of the emergency services- to my relief!!)

Video with more Info

Throughout the celebrations, Manel, his friends and I drunk the traditional drink, called Barreja, a mix of anis and muscatel, chanting the toast" Patum i Mam!" (Patum and Drink!)The village definitely takes partying seriously as alongside the procession, there is a huge fair full of food, games and rides and Catalan bands play songs until the early hours of the morning. Being a Catalan village, and fiesta, I found myself speaking Catalan the whole time (Castilian wouldn’t have been appreciate!) I loved being able to participate in a fiesta that is so important to the people of Berga, and Manel was the perfect guide, as he knew absolutely everything about it, and talked about it with infectious enthusiasm. I only wish Surbiton had something similar...