Escaldes-Engordany restages Living Nativity in tribute to Esteve Albert

This weekend Escaldes-Engordany staged four performances of its Living Nativity at the Prat del Roure, presented this year as a tribute to Esteve Albert on the 30th anniversary of his death. The production uses Albert’s text and a character portraying him as the linking thread between scenes as it reimagines the original 1955 presentation.

Organisers adopted a more “theatricalised” format to increase capacity and avoid leaving people outside: the venue’s bleachers now seat over 300 people, up from about 100 last year. Advance sales were strong — the first Saturday performance sold around 270 tickets (roughly 90% capacity) — and the remaining shows were about half sold before box-office purchases, according to the organisers. Valentí Closa, the parish culture councillor, said the change was intended to preserve the event’s essence while allowing many more residents and visitors to see it.

Directed by Irina Robles and Juanma Casero, the staging aims to transport the audience to 1955 by combining period costume, historical photographs, audiovisual projections, live music and spoken narration. The directors say the edition sought to reimagine how the first Living Nativity came together, emphasising the original spirit of neighbours offering gifts and labour to create the tableaux that became the tradition.

Some 100–120 participants appear onstage this year — actors, dancers from the Esbart Santa Anna, musicians and volunteers — supported by roughly 50 technicians and backstage staff. The production’s technical demands require tight coordination of scenery, projections, lighting, live sound and more than a dozen microphones; cast members report intense rehearsal schedules in the weeks leading up to the performances. The actor playing Esteve Albert was taking part for the first time, a role assigned in October and shaped through concentrated rehearsals.

The show preserves the traditional Nativity characters — Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, shepherds, angels and the devil — while adding dance, movement and musical interludes to maintain pace and theatrical interest. It also foregrounds local trades and produce as offerings: honey, tupí cheese, cured meats, quince allioli and other regional foods appear as part of the tableaux, alongside references to lost occupations and even the parish’s historic contrabandistas. A staged confrontation in which young shepherds repel the devil ends in communal celebration, underscoring the work’s recurring theme of good prevailing over evil.

Organisers stress the communal nature of the project: most participants are volunteers drawn from across generations, and the event is presented as an activity “of the parish, by the parish.” This is the third consecutive year the show has been held at Prat del Roure; historically it took place around Plaça Santa Anna. Closa said a return to the outdoor setting is not ruled out but would require further planning because of cold weather, traffic and other logistical challenges.

The weekend’s presentations combined homage to Esteve Albert with an effort to keep the Living Nativity both rooted in local memory and accessible to a larger audience.