Mataró celebrates the Catalan festival of books and roses with a handful of events around 23 April, Sant Jordi’s Day, which the city celebrates all day long. Various associations, groups and schools organise activities for young and old, centred around books and encouraging reading, such as poetry recitals, storytelling, concerts and book presentations.
One of the most iconic parts of Sant Jordi is an event involving around fifty giant figures and capgrossos, meaning “big-heads”: enormous papier-mâché heads carried on the participants’ shoulders. The festival of books and roses ends with La Fogonada, the most authentic activity of the day, where the Dragon of Mataró stars in an adapted version of the legend of Sant Jordi, followed by a concert.
