Vida Festival 2026 opened on Wednesday 2 July with El Petit de Cal Eril leading a Processó Metafísica across the central esplanade of Masia d'en Cabanyes in Vilanova i la Geltrú. For local residents and festival-goers, the opening put some of the town’s best-known festive figures, including the Mulassa Boja and the Mulassa Presumida, at the centre of one of the summer’s biggest events.
The festival drew 32,000 people over three days, according to Europa Press. The opening procession mattered locally because it folded Vilanova’s own popular culture into the festival programme, with performers from the town and the wider El Garraf area, the coastal comarca south of Barcelona, appearing before Joan Pons and his band took the stage.
- The opening event took place on Wednesday 2 July at Masia d'en Cabanyes.
- El Petit de Cal Eril was joined by local folklore groups from Vilanova i la Geltrú and El Garraf.
- Vida Festival 2026 drew 32,000 attendees over three days, according to Europa Press.
"El Petit de Cal Eril i la Processó Metafísica" will be a "collective ritual with more than a hundred participants" opening Vida 2026.Primera Fila, in its March preview of the festival opening event
Barna.News
Mulassa figures, ribbons and sticks opened the festival site
According to Diari ARA’s on-site report, the central esplanade was taken over by the Mulassa Boja and the Mulassa Presumida, alongside stick dancers, ribbon dancers, gitanes, a traditional Catalan dance group, and tambourine performers. The Mulassa is one of Vilanova i la Geltrú’s established festive figures, organised through the Agrupació de Balls Populars, the town’s association of traditional dance and procession groups.
The procession was conceived by El Petit de Cal Eril as the inaugural act for the 2026 edition of Vida. Primera Fila had previously reported that the performance would involve more than 100 participants, framing it as a collective ritual rather than a standard opening concert.
Diari ARA reported that the first part mixed popular festivity with a poetic staging, including Max Codinach reciting from above the stage area. Joan Pons’s group then moved into a set built around songs from El Petit de Cal Eril’s catalogue, in the band’s characteristically inward-looking psychedelic pop style.
Guest artists joined Joan Pons on stage
During the performance, guest appearances linked the opening directly to the rest of the Vida bill. Diari ARA reported appearances from Tarta Relena and Esperit!, as well as artists already on the 2026 line-up including Ferran Palau, Remei de Ca la Fresca, and Dan Peralbo i el Comboi.
The official Vida Festival 2026 line-up lists those artists among the acts booked for this year’s edition. That made the opening more than a one-off spectacle, tying local folklore to the wider musical programme festival ticket holders had come to see.
The event was presented as part of the festival’s opening programme rather than a separate external celebration. Readers who want the remaining schedule, access details and current ticket information can check the official Vida Festival programme on the festival website.
Why the opening resonated in Vilanova i la Geltrú
For Vilanova i la Geltrú, the significance was not only musical. The inclusion of the Mulassa figures and other local groups placed the town’s own festa traditions in front of a large audience at one of its highest-profile cultural events.
The Agrupació de Balls Populars identifies the Mulassa as part of Vilanova’s traditional festive heritage, and the Mulassa Presumida regularly appears in local processions and anniversary events. Bringing those figures into Vida’s main opening gave residents a festival launch built around recognisable local symbols, not only touring names.
Vida Festival 2026 ran at Masia d'en Cabanyes in Vilanova i la Geltrú, with the opening Processó Metafísica led by El Petit de Cal Eril on Wednesday 2 July.
Reported by Source Text Link, ballspopularsvilanova.cat, Admin, songkick.com, ticketmaster.es, europapress.es, vidafestival.com, Redacció, Gerard Casau, Enderrock.cat, viasona.cat, ACN, Biel Roura Amat, Lucas Moreno, Jaume Pi C. De Sobregrau, Alberto_AV, Diari ARA.
