The Passió d’Esparraguera (the Passion of Esparraguera) is a great theatrical spectacle capable of conveying the essence of characters from two thousand years ago to nearly 15,000 spectators each year. It shares the honour of being one of the most important Passions in Catalonia with that of Olesa de Montserrat.
This performance is possible thanks to the participation of all the people of Esparraguera. There are a huge number of actors and extras who take part, plus those who work backstage and the members of the orchestra and the choir. In total, close to a thousand people work in the Teatre de la Passió, the setting for this show since 1969.
The result of all this effort is a dozen performances that are noted for their dramatic and technical complexity, with rapid changes of stage sets and special effects.
The first reports of the performance of the Passió d’Esparreguera date back to the beginning of the 17th century. It is a theatrical evolution of the mysteries, dramatic representations of medieval origin. However, the current version of the Passió d’Esparreguera is the one written by the local poet Ramon Torruella in 1960, while the original music is by Josep Borràs. The structure has been maintained, with 4 acts and up to 35 scenes.
Since 1988, the Museu de la Vida Rural (Museum of Rural life, MVR) has been showing visitors the characteristics of traditional life in Catalonia, concentrating in particular on the peasantry. It is one of the leading centres of conservation and ethnological research in the country, with a varied collection which allows you to explore the history of the Catalan rural world through a modern and innovative museum project.
The permanent exhibition displays objects related to the peasantry, the arts and artisanal crafts: pieces that represent an authentic cultural basis of our society. The tour is organised by areas of work: those of agriculture, the trades of the village (priest, teacher, cafe owner, pastry chef, spinner, apothecary, barber ...) and the domestic.
The centre, integrated into the Network of Ethnological Museums, forms part of the Lluís Carulla Foundation and is housed in the ancestral home of the Carulla family in L'Espluga de Francolí. The old building was restored and remodelled to accommodate the collection of the Museu de la Vida Rural. In 2010 a new annex building was constructed and the whole of the museum was renovated to accommodate its exhibition scheme in order to facilitate understanding of the rural world from a contemporary perspective.
