Rebuda del Foc at the Serrallo

Night of Sant Joan at Tarragona – Rebud del Foc at the Serrallo

Every year, on June 22, a group of hikers will  ascend  the Canigó in Catalonia; there a symbolic flame  is lit and taken down in to the valleys to every village and town for the lighting bonfires on the night of Sant Juan, Summer Solstice.

Night of Sant Joan at Tarraona – arrival of the Canigó flame

At 8pm the flame arrived at the Serrallo, the fishing  port of  Tarragona, carried by a group of exhausted runners; here, after an official speech which accompanied the rising of the Catalan flag, the flame was taken to the large pile of wood which was set alight to mark the onset of the Night of Sant Joan.

The celebration were opened by the Colla Diables Voramar del Serrallo with their apocalyptic display of pyrotechnic fire dancing and the League of Devils Voramar carrying the Vibria, a medieval figure of a brested dragon, part of the local Bestiary and folklore.

But this was only the start of what was to continue later on along the medieval streets of Tarragona.