Meet Cervera, your 2019 Catalan Culture Capital

The central town of Cervera kicked off its time to shine as the new 2019 Capital of Catalan Culture – and, as the smallest municipality ever with the distinction. Despite its modest size, Cervera has hosted and promoted various activities before, such as ones for city-wide literature, festivals of history and lore, music, and more.

And this year, it plans to roll out close to 200 interdisciplinary activities across 25 locations, with the participation of over 260 artists and creators – all to highlight the richness and value of this town in the county of Segarra. They’re appropriate for all ages and include several ideas such as the contemporary gaze, new publics, transformative culture, and more, and the show – or rather, shows – start on January 19 with the inaugural and self-produced performance ‘MEM.’  

A “more dynamic” cultural agenda

On Thursday, Cervera presented its new role to the tune of a concert by band La Terrasseta de Preixens, which also presented its song ‘Surt el Sol,’ or ‘The Sun Comes Out,’ a song commissioned by the organizing committee of the act. The town mayor Ramon Royes highlighted that one of the main goals of the town is to make its cultural agenda “more dynamic” and to “work directly with local entities to foster its participation and representation values.”

De-centralizing culture

In Catalonia, a different place is chosen each year as the Capital of Catalan Culture. This spot will then host performances, exhibits, gastronomy, and as many cultural proposals as possible. In 2017, the chosen place was the town of Reus, while in 2018 the honor went to Manresa. Cervera is already known for hosting both one-off and regular cultural activities, such as the Aquelarre (witches’ Sabbath), the music Festival de Pasqua, and more.