Prolific Catalan writer Najat El Hachmi to give 2023 La Mercè festivities opening speech

Najat El Hachmi, a prolific Catalan writer of Moroccan origin, will be delivering the opening speech at this year's La Mercè, Barcelona's free annual festival of street music and culture that takes place in September.

The author of books including El lunes nos querrán, Mare de llet i mel, and The Last Patriarch, mayor Jaume Collboni's choice of guest speaker was made public on Tuesday in an event at the Barcelona council's Saló de Cent.

"I'm very excited because this is my city right now," El Hachmi said of her role in the festivities that will take place from September 22 to 25. "It's a place I discovered through reading before I discovered it in person."

Observatory Against Homophobia: "unacceptable" choice

The Observatory Against Homophobia (OCH) considers the choice of Najat El Hachmi to be "unacceptable," as they describe her as a "public figure openly opposed to the rights and freedoms of trans people."

The organization believes she cannot hold such an important role in the city's Festa Major and demands a "reconsideration" from mayor Jaume Collboni.

The entity added the hashtag #NoTransfobia in their tweet.

Eugeni Rodríguez, president of the OCH, added her discontent against "validating public figures with a position totally opposed to the fight for trans rights and freedoms."

1970s fanzine-inspired poster

This year's poster, designed by Barcelona-based illustrator Chamo San, was also unveiled on Tuesday.

A black and white 1970s fanzine-inspired poster, it depicts the different characters who make the festivities possible in the form of a human tower.

It includes a number of imaginary people of all ages and origins as well as some of the city's key cultural figures, such as the writer Maria Mercè Marçal, the painter Ramon Casas, or the artist Ocaña.

Kyiv, this year's guest city

Every year Barcelona invites a city to partake in the celebrations, and this year is no different.

Kyiv will be present throughout this year's festivities, starting with a presentation of two giant figures representing the saints of Olga and Volodimir taking part in the Toc d'Inici opening ceremony.

There will also be Ukrainian dances and the Kyiv Academic Theatre of Ukrainian Folklore "Berehynia" will be putting on a show and workshop, while on September 24 there will be a crafts, theater, dance, and music fair called Ucraïna Fest with Ukrainian artists exiled in Catalonia.

2023 event venues

After last year's festivities were marked by a fatal stabbing and looting near Plaça Espanya square, this year the event's organizers have decided to do away with the Avinguda Maria Cristina venue to make way, instead, for concerts on Carrer Menéndez Pelayo street in Les Corts.

There will be concerts at the Plaça Reial and Plaça Major de Nou Barris squares, Teatre Grec, and the Jardins Pla i Armengol gardens as well as Avinguda de la Catedral or Bogatell beach, while the BAM festival will take place at Moll de la Fusta, the old Estrella Damm factory, and Rambla del Raval.

A complete program with venues and activities will be unveiled in early September.