Sitges has been celebrating its Festa Mayor de Santa Tecla since a few days ago and yesterday it moved the image of the saint from the parish to the Palau del Rei Moro, a place designated by this year's pendonista, Carmen Escolano Ávila. This Friday and Saturday, the bulk of the most traditional acts arrive, coinciding with the eve and day of Saint Tecla.

This Friday, September 22, at 2 p.m., the 21 martyrs will be cast out, to announce to everyone the beginning of the fiesta. This Santa Tecla, it will be the Colla Jove de Castellers de Sitges who will be in charge of shooting these mortars, on the beach of La Fragata, to celebrate its first 30 years of history.

The evening of the eve is marked by the entourage of the Tabernacle of Santa Tecla. This event will begin at the Palau del Rei Moro at 7 p.m., since this year's pendonist, Carmen Escolano Ávila, has decided that the figure of Santa Tecla will be displayed at this point, headquarters of the Sitges Folk Dance Association. The Sitgetan festive entourage will accompany the saint through several streets in the center of town until reaching the parish of Sant Bartomeu y Santa Tecla, where the image will be exposed. In the evening, starting at 11 p.m., the fireworks are planned and at midnight there will be concerts by Santa Tecla in the promenade and a Sardanista party in Cap de la Vila.

Santa Tecla's Day, this Saturday September 23, will begin with the traditional Children's Matinal, where all the attention is given to the children of Sitges, who will fill the streets with their creations and popular dances. To organize the various areas of this Matinal, at 6:30 a.m. the Fire Matinal (children's fire beasts and the three children's devil dances) will start from Bajada and half an hour later, at 7 a.m., the big Matinal will start, from Carrer de Bernat de Fonollar. Instead, the Matinal de los más pequeños is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Each of the 3 areas will have its route, but all three will end in La Fragata.

The Ofici de Santa Tecla will begin at 11 a.m. in the parish of Sant Bartolomeu y Santa Tecla and the Santa Tecla pendonistes will have a leading role, who will make the offering. Once this ceremony is over, the authorities will go to the Town Hall to witness the Sortida d'Ofici and the castells performance. Later, Prado and Retiro organized their vermouth concerts. The afternoon of Santa tecla will begin with the role of castellers, since at 6pm the Colla Jove de Castellers de Sitges has gathered at the Baluard to begin the descent of the pillar by the Punta stairs.

The procession of Santa Tecla is expected to start at 7 p.m. from the Plaça del Baluard and when the image of Santa Tecla returns to the parish there will be an emotional Entrada de la Santa, which will give way to the final Ball de Gegants and the Drac and the Àliga in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament. The Santa Tecla day will close with the concerts organized on the Paseo de la Ribera.

It must be said that the Santa Tecla events contain pyrotechnics, so it is necessary to take special care of pets and people with acoustic sensitivity. Just as was done for Sant Bartomeu, the concerts on the Paseo de la Ribera will have a Purple Point where you can go if you suffer or witness sexist or LGTBIQphobic aggression.

You can consult all the events of Festa Mayor at www.sitgesfestamajor.cat