The Corpus de Sitges is officially now a ‘Heritage Festival of National Interest’. On Tuesday, the Catalan government bestowed the great festival of flowers in Sitges with this honour, just as the town’s Festa Major has been since 2016.
The status of Heritage Festival of National Interest (Festa Patrimonial d’Interès Nacional in Catalan) was created in 2008 and, so far, there are around 30 of them from all over Catalonia that have received this status. These are festivals characterised by rituals based on customs with symbolic displays or processions, that also have an identity and projection at national level. The Sitges Corpus, known throughout Catalonia, has been documented since 1358 and has been celebrated continuously for more than 300 years.
Sitges becomes the only municipality in Catalonia, besides Barcelona, that has two such awards. The festivals that have received this honour are included in the Catalogue of Festival Heritage of the Generalitat.
The announcement was enthusiastically celebrated by the Corpus Commission of Sitges, who stated that ‘it is a distinction that fills us with pride and that values, once again, the festive and cultural richness of our town’.
The Sitges mayor, Aurora Carbonell, said that it is a ‘recognition of relevance, roots and tradition … and to all the people of Sitges who take care of it and make it so special’, while the local councillor for traditions and festivals, David Martínez, highlighted that it is ‘magnificent news for Sitges, the people of Sitges, and for our popular culture’.
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