The first major event of 2013 took off last night with the arrival of the Three Kings in to the Tarragona for the onset of Epiphany. It started at the Serrallo where, at 6.15 pm flares exploded in the night sky, the harbor bridge opened and Melcior, Gaspar and Baltasar arrived transported by ferry.
In true local tradition the Homes dels Nassos, the ‘Man of Noses’, a mythological Catalan character, makes his appearance at 12 o’clock on the last day of the year ready to take the old year away.
Montsant and Priorat are unashamedly, one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in Europe, yet their fantastic output is largely unknown to the wider wine squaffing confraternities.
The Revetlla Remullada is now an established feature of the San Magi festivities and takes place in Plaça del Rei in the old part of town on the Saturday night set of events.
With share energy bursting through the arteries of the old city, here comes the music at Sant Magi. There are several focus point dotted around the city each taking turn to make Tarragona burst through its seams!
Sant Roc is a local festival celebrated at the heart in the Carrer de Cos de Bou, located in the Part Alta of Tarragona.
August may be the hottest month of the year but Tarragona never sleeps and the main events to look out for are the Festes of Sant Roc and Sant Magi – Sant Roc starts a few days earlier and runs from the 10th to the 16th, intertwining with Sant Magi which runs from the 14th to the 19th . Sant Magi is packed with things to see, concerts, human towers, parades, exhibitions, and the famous remullada (essentially a gigantic water party). You can download the full Sant Magi program (in Catalan) from here.
Also, do not miss the tapas hopping experience of the TapAlta, taking place every Thursday evening (from 20:00 t0 22:00 hrs) in the Gothic part of town. Each superlative tapa comes with complementary drink and costs 2.50 Euros – 18 eateries are taking part and you can pick up the menu from the Tourist Bureau before deciding which one to visit.
And if you get a bit hot looking around Tarragona (currently steaming in 30 degrees heat) jump on bus no. 9 , which you can get from the bus stop at the far end of the Rambla Vella, and head for one of the many surrounding beaches. The most accessible, aside from Miracle beach at the foot of the city, is the beautiful, flue flag and not too busy Arrabassada beach, only a 5 minutes drive down the hill.
As a prelude to the festival of Sant Magi we have Sant Roc and you can tell something is afoot by the share number of Tarragona flags spun across opposite balconies of the narrow streets of the Part Alta.
If you are here at the beginning of July watch out for three nights of spellbinding fireworks on the nights of the5,6,7 of July which you can watch from Platja del Miracle (that’s the city beach at the feet of Tarragona) or the Mediterranean Balcony if you are the classy type and don’t like sand between your toes. The fireworks will start at 22.30 and last aproximately 15/20 minutes each evening.
TapAlta, which takes place every Thursday evening (from 20:00 t0 22:00 hrs) in the Gothic part of town, has a brand new menu of superlatives Tapas for July in place which include classics like Salmorejo (a type of gazpacho) with cured ham croutons from Pa i Oli. Each tapa with complementary drink is 2..50 Euros and 21 eateries are taking part.
July is also when the season of open air musical events start and that includes the 12th International Festival of Music in Tarragona which includes musical workshops and free concerts.
More of this is provided by the ETC – Summer Cultural Agenda which kicks off the second week of this month with ‘L’home del paraigua ‘ by oan Martínez Colás, an opera with over 500 performers filling up the state of the Theatre and Auditorium of the Camp de Marts, near the old city walls and you can book your tickets here.
Last of the Tarragona Fireworks 2012 which felt a bit like the last night on earth. Designed by Patxi Igual Masalles the display was punctuated by moments of silent astonishment by the thousands of people gathered on Miracle beach.
Day two of stunning fireworks displays by the beach and this time it was the turn of Marco Antonio Toste from the Canary island to put the night of Tarragona under his spell.
Last night was the first highly anticipated evening of the three nights of fireworks display in Tarragona, an event which is now in its 23rd edition. Despite the financial cuts which have diminished the size of the event it was still an amazing spectacle which drew thousand of people to the edge of the Mediterranean Balcony and on the beach below.
