During the days of the Fairs in Figueres, the city has been filled with activities, turning the street into a central hub. This effervescence has led to encounters with people not seen for a long time, generating brief interactions and fleeting comments before everyone went their separate ways.
This festive dynamic is perceived as an "augmented reality" that contrasts with a more prosaic daily life, where social ties have become weaker over the years. Often, daily life is characterized by a tendency to reject difference and to focus exclusively on what is familiar and constant.
This repetition of patterns leads to less openness to new experiences and knowledge, under the belief that all necessary knowledge is already possessed or, even worse, that there is no need to learn anything else. A loss of curiosity is observed, replaced by a "sought-after ignorance" that is fiercely defended.
We have settled into the comfort of a sought-after ignorance that we have worked hard to find and defend tooth and nail.
Despite this general trend, it is highlighted that events like the Santa Creu Fairs and Festivals offer an opportunity to step out of this comfort zone. They allow for encounters with others, the mixing of people, and the feeling that everything and everyone is different, acting as a social balm in a context where such spaces are increasingly scarce.
This "augmented reality" of the festival is not a fiction, but a reminder. It represents an opportunity to reduce egocentrism and listen to the collective voice again. If society is capable of recognizing and connecting in the crowd of the Fairs, there is still time to rediscover the empathy that routine has slowly eroded.
