As every April 23rd, the streets were filled with roses and books to celebrate Sant Jordi, and the FC Barcelona penyes movement once again took an active part in dressing this special festivity in blaugrana across the entire Catalan territory. With the support of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes and the respective territorial federations, many Barça entities set up their own stands in their towns and cities.
Among many others, this was the case of PB “La Pulga” de Castelldefels, PB Viladecans, PB Castellbisbal and PB Gavanenca (Fed. Baix Llobregat); PB Premià de Dalt and PB Mataró (Fed. Maresme); PB Les Corts (Fed. Barcelonès Oest); PB Almogàvers Empordà, PB La Bisbal de l’Empordà and PB Alt Empordà (Fed. Gironès, Selva, Garrotxa i Pla de l’Estany); and PB Som un Sentiment (Fed. Lleida Sud i La Franja). All of them proudly displayed the Barça colours and offered books, roses and other Barça-themed items. They also handed out gifts and provided information to visitors interested in joining the movement.
7th Short Story Contest of PB Villabalter
Beyond Catalan territory, PB Villabalter (Fed. Castilla y León) didn’t miss its annual appointment, once again celebrating Sant Jordi with its Short Story Contest. The 7th edition of this initiative has already announced its winners: David Moreno Sierra, who won 1st prize, and Jorge Moreno, who took 2nd prize. They received an FC Barcelona shirt and a PB Villabalter shirt, respectively. Both participants told a story of just 100 words related to FC Barcelona teams. Through this well-established initiative, PB Villabalter aims to encourage writing and inspire its members.
Sant Jordi around the world thanks to the penyes
Once again, thousands of kilometres have not been an obstacle for penyes from the FCB World Federation to export this celebration to their respective countries. One of them was PB Santiago de Xile, which took part in a special edition of the event organised by Catalans living in Chile along with various entities. The celebration included a book and rose stand, a poetry recital, the telling of the Sant Jordi legend to introduce it to younger audiences, and an exhibition of blaugrana shirts organised by PB Santiago de Xile. Also noteworthy was the performance of the Castellers de Lo Prado, a Chilean group that promotes the Catalan tradition of human towers.
Meanwhile, PB São Paulo has announced an agreement with a Brazilian publishing house to mark Sant Jordi by offering discounts to its members on books about Lamine Yamal and Barça, thereby encouraging blaugrana reading. Finally, in the United States, PB Austin will repeat this Saturday its annual initiative: a book exchange among its members and a donation to the Austin public library. In this way, the penyes demonstrate their strong roots in Catalan culture, closely linked to FC Barcelona.
