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Eixample will have 16 free shows with Festival Tangent
Eixample will once again fill squares, courtyards and streets with culture this summer through the tenth Festival Tangent. From 30 June to 23 July, the district will host 16 free music, dance, theatre, circus and performance shows, a programme designed to experience art without leaving the neighbourhood.
The event comes under the slogan “10 anys enamorant l’Eixample” and maintains a simple idea: bringing performing arts proposals to everyday spaces, close to home and without price barriers. For many residents, it will be a way to discover performances in places they pass through every day.
The district's six civic centres are taking part in this edition, with activities spread across squares, streets, inner blocks and courtyards. This distribution means that the festival is not concentrated in a single place and that different Eixample neighbourhoods feel the cultural activity for several weeks.
The programme brings together very diverse names and proposals, with artists such as Aleta, Guillem Roma, Triplette, Lima Negra, Lorena Álvarez, Extraño Weys Orquesta and Renaldo Clara, among others. There will also be stage works such as I trust you, Caiguda lliure per a persones amb vertigen, NO Pieza Corta and Cafè de Copla.
Tangent arose from collaboration between the Eixample civic centres, which previously organised activities under the name Eixample a la Fresca. Since 2017, the festival has operated with its own identity and a shared artistic direction, committed to contemporary formats and proposals that engage with urban space.
Although many performances are held outdoors and at night, Tangent is not presented merely as a street festival. Its appeal lies in occupying familiar corners of the district and turning them into open stages for a few hours, without entirely disrupting neighbourhood daily life.
Free admission is one of its keys. It allows families, older residents, young people and visitors to approach disciplines they might not seek out in a conventional venue. It also gives visibility to new talent and keeps alive the link between public facilities and artistic creation.
For Eixample, Tangent means more than a summer programme. For almost a month, the district gains local cultural activity, distributes audiences across its spaces and reminds us that squares and courtyards can also be places to watch, listen and stay for a while.