The recent history of the Giants of Barcelona

At the end of the eighteenth century, Charles III, with the aim of protecting the sanctity of Corpus Christi, forbade giant puppets and monsters entrance into churches and participating in processions. This decision was also taken as a result of numerous accidents caused by sudden movements of the beasts and wild dancing giants. During the nineteenth century these figures returned to popular public festivals and became a symbol of the town. In the following century, especially after the return to democracy, in Barcelona there has been an exponential increase of the giant figures. Today, the Barcelona repertoire consists of old and new giants, monsters, ancient and modern, with historical characters and puppets who impersonate socio- economic issues of our time.