Igualada kicks off Capital of Catalan Culture celebrations with concert on February 5

Concerts, exhibitions, plays, and fairs are all coming to Igualada as part of the central Catalan town’s stint as the Capital of Catalan Culture this year.

The festival will invite reflection on the challenges Igualada and Catalonia will face in the 21st century, as well as the Petites Biblioteques Lliures initiative, which will bring library facilities and reading opportunities closer to the people of the town.

Igualada will officially inaugurate the town’s status with a concert on February 5 by Jordi Savall in the Basilica of Santa Maria at 7.30 pm. The musician, thrilled to be able to perform in his hometown ten years after his last gig there, will conduct the 'Montserrat Red Book' with the Royal Chapel of Catalonia and Hespèrion XXI.

Savall's inauguration concert will be one of the 250 events that make the first four months of the program, announced on Wednesday. 

Another highlight among the activities includes the series of lectures and discussions called 'Capital Dialogues', which will invite reflection and debate on the challenges of the 21st century. 

They will be organized once a month and will address current issues through a dialogue between local experts and national thinkers. 

Guided tours of Igualada's historical heritage sites have also been organized, such as the cemetery of Enric Miralles and Carme Pinós, and the Sant Magí fort.

The Petites Biblioteques Lliures project, kickstarted for this culture festival, aims to bring reading to different neighborhoods of Igualada where small libraries will be installed. The initiative is inspired by the 'Small Free Libraries' across the United States with the goal of bringing the pleasure of reading to different areas of the city, promoting the free exchange of books, building community bonds, and creating links among different neighborhood associations.

Coinciding with the year of the Capital of Catalan Culture, Igualada also celebrates the bicentenary of the Haulers' Guild, an association of transporters who carried cargo on animals, typically mules. The Igualada guild is one of the oldest in the country.