Barcelona is seeing a fresh push to keep the Catalan porró in everyday use, with a new event called La Porronada starting in the Gràcia neighbourhood. The initiative is led by two young organisers and is aimed at bringing people together through a shared local custom.
The first La Porronada event took place on 14 June at Bar Casi in Gràcia, with challenges based on porró drinking. The organisers say they want the project to grow into La Lliga del Porró, a league that would travel through different Barcelona neighbourhoods to find the city’s porró champion.
Marc Feixas, one of the founders, said the aim is to build community through the porró and bring people together. The event is not only a drinking competition, it also includes traditional Catalan food and music, such as fideus a la cassola and torró soaked in ratafia.
Eduard Bigorra, the other co-founder, described the idea as a cultural response to brunch culture. The first event sold out quickly, and the organisers expect another gathering in autumn, with seasonal foods such as chestnuts and sweet potatoes, alongside the porró.
The porró is still served in some Barcelona bars and bodegas, but the founders say younger people often do not ask for it because they see it as something for another generation. At Bar Casi, Esteve Cañas said younger customers need to improve their technique, while older people are already used to it. The Cañas-Prat family has been serving breakfast with a porró for the past 18 months, and Cañas said one table using it often leads to others asking for one too.
Other venues in Barcelona also keep the tradition going, including Bodega Bartolí in Sants and Bodegueta d'en Miquel. The porró has even reached Disfrutar, where a designer flask with three spouts is filled with Campari, vermouth and soda. Other Barcelona venues named as continuing the custom include Bar Restaurant Veracruz, Bar Dijous, Haddock, La Taverne Canaille, Tapas 24, Los Caracoles, Cal Boter, Bitxo, Bar Bodega Gol, Glop and L'Andreuenc. Related porró events have also been held at Bar Haití and Bodega Massana, which has run the Horta Porró Drinking Competition for the Horta Festa Major for a decade.
The organisers say they want La Porronada to be more than a passing trend. Future editions of the Porró League could include a cultural element, with more on the history and types of porró, including the porró nevera, the porró de taverna and the doble canó.
