Living nativity scenes from around Catalonia, in El Poble Espanyol
From the 21st of December to the 4th of January four regions of Catalonia will offer morning and evening theatrical representations of nativity scenes
The series of Living Nativity Scenes in El Poble Espanyol includes the participation of four towns from around Catalonia and performances range from typical biblical scenes to pagan scenes and other scenes characteristic of their place of origin.
The series opens on Saturday the 21st with the Linyola Nativity Scene which was created some fifteen years ago and includes a cast of about a hundred people. Around thirty different scenes are represented and performances also include a curious and entertaining competition open to the public: The “Caganers” casting (“Caganer” is a typical figurine found in nativity scenes from Catalonia and surrounding areas and depicts a person semi seated shitting).
Sunday the 22nd sees the turn of Prats de Rei, whose characteristic element is the music. Composed by Father Valentí Miserachs in 1978, the Pessebre Vivent dels Prats de Rei (Living Nativity Scene of Prats de Rei) is a symphonic choral poem for soprano, chorus and orchestra and is represented in conjunction with an impressive sound and light display.
The third representation is offered by the locality of Jesús on Saturday the 28th. This is a spoken representation which includes folkloric scenes from Tortosa (“The olive folders”, “The spinners”, “The coal shovelers”...) and terminates with songs encouraging the “Tió” (a Christmas log that shits presents) to defecate.
Finally, on the 4th of January, the Sant Feliu del Racó living nativity scene will set up in the squares and streets of Poble Espanyol. This representation was created in 2010 and includes simulations of typical village scenes of the era with their traditional crafts (basket makers, fishermen, wood cutters...) as well as re-enactments of religious scenes.