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Monica Grau Seto | @monmislilith
This weekend another edition of the WITCH MARKET festival was held in Barcelona. On this occasion, the chosen theme has been that of “Villains”; We wouldn’t have heroes or heroines without them!, and that dark side was perfectly reflected in the poster created by Patcas illustrationshowing a kind of portal, which is actually the Arc de Triomphe of Barcelona, framed between fog and an enchanted forest full of gloomy creatures. Behind the artistic name is Patricia Casarrubias Carreras, a young artist from Madrid who offers a fusion between beauty, realism, fantasy and darkness.
The Witch Market revolves around fantasy literature phenomena, with followers of sagas such as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, and which also gains more readers year after year, especially with phenomena such as Romantasy. For this reason, we are faced with an event that unites different generations with a common point, the love for literature and fantasy and magic films.
With a format similar to the English “flea market”, which would be a street market or flea market, each stand selling crafts, decoration products, clothing or magical gadgets maintains an aesthetic that has been carefully cared for in detail, with candles, touches of wood, vegetation… and the artisans themselves dress like wizards, witches or other magical beings.
Background:
In 2016, the “BCN Potter Walk” was held from the Arc de Triomphe to the Estación de Francia, with that station charm that perfectly recalls the atmosphere of platform 9 and ¾ in London. Magical events were also held at the Espai Jove la Fontana and with this the Barcelona PotterCon was born, being an event dedicated to the magical world created by JK Rowling. In 2017, the location was moved to the historic Building of the University of Barcelona, and with the idea of recreating the mythical Diagon Alley, the Witch Market was included.
Behind the Witch Market are Mara Antón, also founder of Fandocracia, Sofía Guerrero and Víctor Fernández. For the organization, one of the main strengths is the immersion of the event with architectural elements full of history, which is why it could not have a better location than the University of Barcelona building.located at Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes 585.
A building so peculiar that it becomes an enchanted castle for two days:
The person in charge of the construction project of the Literary University was the architect Elias Rogent in 1859, under the expressive idea he managed to show different historical styles such as Romanesque, Mudejar, Gothic… allowing visitors to the event to travel to the past with the peculiar distribution, The center is the auditorium with a majestic room surrounded by cabinetmaking and large paintings. Furthermore, the first thing that visitors discover is the main entrance of the building and its majestic lobby with high ceilings, columns and that gives the feeling of entering a religious temple. The axis of the building has two symmetrical parts with large galleries and arches, and in the center there are interior patios surrounded by porches. In addition, it has a tower, a clock and an iron bell tower (1881). One of the most charming spaces is the garden and greenhouse area, in the outdoor space is the event’s catering area, full of potions, butter beer and lots of pastries. All of this makes visitors feel like they are in the Hogwarts magic school or in Camelot Castle itself.
The event also had its summer version in June, and was moved to a royal castle very close to Barcelona, Castelledefels.
The Witch Market is much more than a space for selling artisanal products, it is also an enlivened cultural proposal that demonstrates that fantasy reading knows no age and is more alive than ever. These two days have offered numerous activities morning and afternoon, from workshops, talks, screenings, photocalls, recognized cosplayers such as vampisaurus, starcosplayxperience, beethth_, Ladytarantulaesmala, mirandavany…, along with book signings, magic sessions, role-playing games. tarot, concerts and performances for both children and adults.
Furthermore, this year a new section called Chimera has been inaugurated, expanding the literary space of previous editions, in the impressive Aula Magna and Paraninfo with literary workshops such as “Creating a villain” taught by Concepción Perea, “Use of magic in fantasy novels”, “Field guide to fairies and fairy beings”, “Morgoth, Sauron’s master” with Sara Martín, “Villains of the Harry Potter saga” with Patronus Unplugged, in addition to several editorial panels on the fantasy genre in Catalan, vampires, humor in fantasy…
One of the most anticipated moments was the meeting with writers, many fans had the opportunity to attend the signing and meet several authors of the genre, on the one hand, Monica Gutierrez / Alice Lovelace author of The darkest winterand also presenting A Scottish Christmas, Ines Galiano with Chronicle of two nights without summer and Adrianne May Strickland author of The Immortal Courts.
In the musical section, the performance of Corocrux, a choir specialized in soundtracks from the different Harry Potter films, the violin concert with Álvar Llusá-Damiani“Albus. The Musical” with Mesa Roja theater, the sweet and almost elfin voice of Sandra Hunter.
The little ones were able to participate in workshops such as making magic wands, Dobby ears, a headband with a witch hat, and also enjoy a magic show by Anahi Trebolfrom Clover’s Magic School 3.
Another of the key moments was the cosplayers’ catwalk, you could participate individually or in a group, and they were also walking and interacting with the public throughout the day.
The magic enveloped Barcelona and surprised many tourists and Barcelonans who were walking through the area, due to the quality of the costumes and props of most of the attendees.
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