Explosion of light and optimism: quick guide to enjoy the Grec

Summer is already felt in our bodies and in the environment, and with the arrival of the new season, the quintessential festival that sets the rhythm of Barcelona returns: the Grec. This year, its commitment is to extend towards the city, without losing the centrality of Montjuïc, thus offering its support to local venues, companies, talent and creation, authorship, contemporary dramaturgy and new languages, and pays special attention to projects led by women.

This edition will be marked by a hundred proposals for 40 spaces in the city and the reprogramming of some shows from 2020, in addition to 28 parallel activities for 20 more places, in what will be the longest of those held so far.

Each year, the festival seeks to be inspired by artistic and cultural collectives that would otherwise not reach the general public, and since it became a journey to the east in 2017, the most distant and exotic cultures have marked its lineup. But in a perfect twist, with the African continent as inspiration, the aim has been to focus attention on both the collective of Africans residing in Catalonia and Afro-descendants. And it is Carrer Robadors, the theatrical play that inaugurates the festival and is directed by Julio Manrique, the synthesis of what this Grec 2021 aims to be: a sample of the cultural diversity of our city.

The festival seeks to be inspired by artistic and cultural collectives that would otherwise not reach the general public

As a guide, we highlight the most interesting productions from each circuit.

ENTERTAINMENT GUARANTEED

In this itinerary, we will find all the shows that are a winning bet, those that can hardly disappoint us, many of which are known to the public in Barcelona, having successfully visited the city. Internationally, it is worth highlighting the voices of the Malian Fatoumata Diawara with her mix of Wassoulou folk and jazz, and the great Cuban son singer Omara Portuondo who at 90 years old continues to take the stage; the fantastic Buika and The Sey Sisters nationally, as well as Sopa de Cabra and Love of Lesbian who are touring again. We will have the opportunity to watch award-winning films such as City of God and Intouchables, reflecting extreme realities, and theatrical productions by authors such as Aina Tur and her Una galaxia de luciérnagas, Virginia Sanchez and her El temps que conta. Or contemporary dance by the great Sol Picó with her Malditas plumas.

UNMISSABLE AND RENOWNED

Here we will find the big names, the heavyweights of the festival, in what could be the most important itinerary of the five. Three great essential theatrical productions, such as the adaptation of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits by Carme Portaceli, the Pedro Páramo directed by Mario Gas or the free version that Àlex Rigola will carry out of Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull, as the backbone of this block.

The multifaceted Sílvia Pérez Cruz also takes the stage to transform her latest album Farsa (género imposible) from a musical show into a multidisciplinary artistic experience, and the multi-award-winning playwright, director, actress and set designer Angélica Liddell, together with her company Atra Bilis Teatro, presents her cathartic Liebestod (The smell of blood does not leave my eyes Juan Belmonte), with the figure of the bullfighter Juan Belmonte as the protagonist of a classical tragedy. No less important are the shows that come from abroad, such as that of choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly and his company Faso Danse Théâtre, with a proposal that speaks to us of the fear of "the others", or that of Germaine Acogny, the mother of African contemporary dance, who brings us a possible dialogue between Africa and classical Western culture.

And regarding music, essential Imany and her string version of pop classics, and the ensemble Musica Reservata from Barcelona that will transition from the Renaissance and Baroque to our days, with the premiere of a work by the renowned Catalan composer Joan Magrané.

STIMULATING AND INNOVATIVE

This is the itinerary for those who want to be surprised, for those who bet on novelty and risks, for those who want to jump into the void of emotions and let themselves go. In this block, the performative installation Urban Nature stands out, which we can be part of, thanks to Rimini Protokoll, at the CCCB, or the Lorem Ipsum cycle organized by MACBA, which seeks to show us the other side of the dance floor, the sound experimentation that inhabits the cracks and folds of music and the playful universe.

More performance by Steven Cohen and his transparent ball, or the one we will find directed by Ferran Utzet at the Picasso Museum, which reflects on the desire to be and communicate in times of confinement. Also from the Auditori, the Escenes cycle is organized, which this year bears the title Women and Creation, with three very powerful proposals by Marina Herlop, Tanit Plana and Alba Pujol that explore creation from a woman's perspective. But it is worth highlighting Fenomen, the ice show by Quim Girón and Moon Ribas, where they explore the uncontrollable force of nature and ask how those scientific processes develop that, though everyday, are no less surprising.

We do not want to close this selection without mentioning the intimate and poetic project presented by Enric Montefusco in his Journey to the Center of an Idiot, at Sala Hiroshima.

AS A FAMILY

Also for those of us who have offspring, the Grec has designed a circuit that allows us to enjoy with the youngest members of our families. Starting with the reggae brought to us by The Penguins or La Petita Malumaluga and their show Bob Marley for Babies, followed by the group Xiula and their proposal for parents and children. In the theater section, the adaptation of the story Sóc una nou brought to us by Zum-Zum Teatre, is presented as especially suggestive. But the show that can make us enjoy the most is the one offered by the Groupe Acrobatique de Tánger, a company that updates the Moroccan acrobatic tradition, formed by about fifteen young people who seek to combine tradition and contemporary creation.

THIS YEAR'S JOURNEY

The last itinerary is the one that focuses most on the country of inspiration, Africa, and we will find the shows with the deepest roots of the entire festival. We begin by highlighting Dear Winnie, a multidisciplinary tribute to the fighting spirit of Winnie Mandela, which goes further to emphasize what we can learn today from an indefatigable character like her; or the more than attractive Annobón, the play that brings us back the book Arde el monte de noche, the novel written by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, the most translated writer from Equatorial Guinea, which is out of print in Spanish, the language in which it was written. We will also find powerful musical performances and in the dance block. This is the case of El percusionista, by Gorsy Edú, or the concert by Trio da Kali after their artistic residency at Fabra i Coats, within the Afrodescendientes cycle; and the choreographies that Nadia Beugré will present from Ivory Coast, or the ensemble Qudus Onikeku and their revival of Fela Kuti's afrobeat, which today draws on the influence of new urban rhythms. And a final mention to the staged word, starring migrant voices. P.A.U. (Paisatges als ulls) by Carolina Llacher, Dale recuerdos XXXVI (Je pensé à vous) by Didier Ruiz, and Parole Due by Odile Sankara.

As every year, the Grec proposals are impressive in terms of artistic substance and quantity. For this reason, the festival organization offers us the possibility of buying packs with a 30% discount if we choose up to 4 shows and 50% if we choose more than 5, in addition to the classic ones for family groups ---more than four members, large family or single-parent family---, those for under 30s or over 65s, pink card or library card holders. And this year, as a novelty, we also have the possibility of using the Bonus Cultura discount in some areas of Grec Ciudad. All information is available on the official festival website www.barcelona.cat/grec

Although we propose this selection of shows, we leave many others for you to discover. Enjoy the Grec and let's raise culture together.