Somewhere in Barcelona

The Christian Science Monitor has a trio of articles on Spain, beginning with a peek into what happens in Barcelona on 23 April, Sant Jordi's Day:

When spring is at its full power, the Barcelonans and visitors head outside to celebrate a cultural festival that merges a noble dragon slayer with the deaths of two literary lions. The day also offers a potpourri of bookish events and the chance to dance like a Catalan. [...]

More than 300 bookstalls, festooned with the red and yellow of the Catalan flag, honor Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. Both authors died on the same day, April 23, 1616. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of "Don Quixote," and portions of that classic are set in Barcelona. [...]

UNESCO has designated April 23 as International Book Day, and 400,000 books will be purchased in Barcelona, according to local officials, so there's a lot for booksellers and book buyers to love. [...]

In addition to the open-air bookstalls, the city's publishers and bookstores will host 200 authors and illustrators, many of them available to autograph their work.

If autographs aren't sufficient inducement, many buyers will be lured by discount prices. And street performances will be in abundance. Notable among the many plays, concerts, and lectures is a photographic exhibit, "Who's Who in Catalan Letters." To see it at the Palace Moja, just step off Las Ramblas at Carrer Portaferrissa.

See also:
Columbus in Seville? and a lovely one on "Madrid's majestic Royal Botanical Garden".