page_title: Vilanova i la Geltrú
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Vilanova i la Geltrú / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Cap-grossos during Festa Major 2012.
context_page_description: Vilanova i la Geltrú is the capital city of Garraf comarca, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona, with the more famous coastal resort of Sitges some 10 km to the north-east.
  The town has a long history, and experienced an efflorescence during the Romantic period evidenced by a wealth of opulent 19th century buildings. The atmospheric town square, the Plaça de la Vila, and many of its iconic public buildings were principally financed by Josep Tomàs Ventosa Soler a textile magnate who made his fortune in Cuba. A monument featuring a bronze statue of Ventosa stands in the center of the square. An identical monument stands in Matanzas, Cuba, where both statues were forged. Today, children play around the monument and agile climbers from castellers to protestors to carnival pranksters climb the statue and adorn it with their own symbols.
  During the dictatorship, large numbers of people fleeing poverty in Southern Spain settled in Vilanova. They are sometimes referred to by historians as "fugitives of fascism."
context_section_description: The traditional and popular festivals (festes) celebrated in Vilanova i la Geltrú are among the richest and most varied in Catalonia. Locals say that Vilanovins "always have a leg in the air" referring to their festive proclivity. And it is through participating in local festivals that Vilanovins, whether natives or recently arrived newcomers, intensify their sense of belonging to a community dedicated to active engagement between neighbors or convivència. 
  Carnaval, held in late February, culminates in a week-long debauch of dances, masquerades, social satire, mock battles, permitted disrespect, feasts, processions, and pranks all in honor of Sa Majastat el Rei Carnestoltes (His Majesty the King Carnival) also known as the "king of the senseless" celebrated for his prodigious sexual prowess and devastating satire. Up to a third of the population participates in Les Comparses, a couples dance in which rival groups hurl hard candies at one another in what is called the Sweet War. Children are given a day off school to celebrate Dijous Gras (Fat Thursday) during which they celebrate the Merengada, a day long orgy of eating and fighting with sticky sweet meringue, leaving a sticky residue throughout the town. While many of the acts of carnaval remain constant, every year there are innovations and topical satire attacking the foibles of the rich, powerful, inept and corrupt.  
  Since 1784, Vilanovins have celebrated their Festa Major in early August, dedicated to the city's patron saint, the Virgin of the Snows (Mare de Déu de les Neus). Processions begin with a correfoc of ritual devils led by the Ball de Diables de Vilanova i la Geltrú, established in 1832 and one of eight dances of devils in Catalonia with a history of one hundred years or more. 
  The processions include traditional dances by costumed figures including the dances of the Serrallonga, Ball de Bastons, Cintes, Panderos, Cap-grossos (big-headed dwarfs), Cercolets, Pastorets, Gitanes, and Valencians; imaginary beings such as Gegants (giants), Dracs (fire-breathing dragons), and Mulasses (demonic Mules), and the construction of towering human castles (castell). 
  Other festes celebrated in Vilanova include Tots Sants (November 1), Nadal (December 25), Cap d'Any (January 1), els Tres Tombs (January 17), la Diada de Sant Jordi (April 23), Nit de Sant Joan (St John's Night) and Sant Pere (St Peter's Day).  
  Of international importance is the "Festival Internacional de Música Popular Tradicional", Vilanova International World Music Festival, which has been held since 1981 and is the oldest world music festival in Spain.
  Vilanova has a museum, founded by the Catalan poet, historian and diplomat, Víctor Balaguer (1824–1901), the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer, which contains collections of Roman, Egyptian and prehistoric antiquities, as well as paintings, engravings, sculptures, coins and a large library. Vilanova also has a railway museum, the Museu del Ferrocarril de Vilanova i la Geltrú which contains one of the largest collections of historic steam engines in the world.
  Apart from traditional seafood restaurants, and cutting edge presentations of local foods at culinary destinations such as L'Oganquit and Genito, Vilanova is a recognised centre for xató, a winter salad dressed with a rich sauce made from almonds, olives, fish, oil and garlic, which forms the basis for the Festival of Xató (Xatonada) in tandem with nearby villages and towns. Other local innovations include glòries, elaborate confections of meringue presented during carnaval that may be a dying tradition, and the Mig-Mig, a refreshing summer drink invented at the gelateria Cal Llorens, is a fifty-fifty blend of orxata de xufa made from tigernuts and granissat de llimona or pulverized ice with lemon syrup.
caption: Cap-grossos during Festa Major 2012.
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