Festival C will once again take over the streets of Compostela from August 4 to 28. The seventh edition brings nearly thirty free events for all audiences to various city venues, featuring circus, dance, street theatre, poetry, music, storytelling, magic, and cinema with performances by Galician and visiting companies and artists, filling summer afternoons and evenings with creativity.

The main venues for this edition are Plaza da Quintana, Bonaval Park, Galeras Park, Casa das Máquinas, and Concepción Arenal street.

As every year, the Bonaval cemetery transforms into an exceptional venue for many dance performances every Monday at 8 pm, hosted by Festival C. The first show will be on August 4 by renowned creator Alberto Velasco. Mover montañas, a dance-theatre piece nominated for Best Street Show at the Max Awards 2025 and awarded the Jury Prize for Most Innovative Show at the 25th Valladolid International Festival, is an irreverent work that rebels against fatphobia and normative bodies in dance. It explores the essence of folklore, presenting it as a meeting point between tradition and modernity. The show was developed via the National Dance Company residency programme and co‑produced by Festival TAC Valladolid and Festival Danseu.

On Monday the 11th, Trïade by Colectivo Glovo takes the stage. This piece stems from the need to gather, connect, and dance through care and listening, in a setting exploring feminine genealogy, a personal and independent symbolic order inspired by lunar triads and the concept of eternal return—life, death, and rebirth. It carries a strong ritual character in homage to ancestors and cultural roots. It is also part of the INAEM Danza a Escena circuit.

Colectivo DeXeito will present 77.000 on Monday the 18th, referencing the tons of oil spilled by the Prestige tanker on Galician coasts in 2002. Using dance and movement, the piece depicts the incident and its consequences. It invites viewers to reflect on environmental fragility and the importance of collective action in emergencies.

The final Bonaval performance will be on Monday the 25th by Fran Sieira’s dance company. Un baile ceibe en comunidade is a contemporary dance piece reflecting traditional music and dance. It explores the relationship between gender and tradition, examining how stereotypes shape cultural forms like dance. It encourages distancing from norms and moving toward the margins to build new ways of understanding body and movement in community dialogue.

Meanwhile, from August 11 to 14, Festival C will host a creative and movement laboratory led by Colectivo RPM and featuring Portuguese choreographer and dancer Tánia Carvalho. Under the title Tecer o corpo, habitar a sombra, it will result in a collective creation premiered on Thursday, August 14 at 8:30 pm at Casa das Máquinas.

For younger audiences, the Contos no parque sessions by the Apego programme will take place every Tuesday at 6 pm near the arches of Bonaval Park. The first, on August 5, will be offered by Xarope Tulú with Lingoreteira, an homage to the “falangueiriño” inside each person, inviting playfulness and keeping oral storytelling alive.

On Tuesday the 12th, Tropa de Trapo brings Stories for big and small girls, a live storytelling and music show featuring stories about diverse women, love, memory, good relationships, and gender equality.

On Tuesday the 19th, Fran Rei and Feli Rodríguez present Máis Saaabor! in the Apego cycle—a mix of live music, magic, humor, rhythm, and gastronomy offering a juicy, varied menu.

The cycle closes on Tuesday the 26th with Ledicias by Magician Paco—a fun, participatory magic show designed to sharpen imagination and create memorable moments.

On Wednesday evenings, the Por que non cantades todas? series brings together female singers and pandeireteiras from traditional Galician groups at Alameda’s Paseo da Ferradura to highlight women’s roles in the development and preservation of Galician oral poetry and musical expression. On August 6, Ultreia’s group performs; on the 13th, Brincadeira’s; and on the 20th, Cantigas e Agarimos.

Festival C also dedicates a central role to circus, with morning workshops and afternoon family sessions. Circonove will run around ten circus workshops in Bonaval Park: eight for children aged 3 to 14 (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays), and two for ages 3 to 5 on August 5 and 19. Starting at 11:30 am at Casa das Máquinas, the group will move outdoors (weather permitting) to practice acrobatics, juggling, balance, dance, clown, theatre, rhythm, and games adapted for each level. Spots are limited to 25 participants per group, registered via email to circonoveoficina@gmail.com with full name, age, and contact details of accompanying adult.

Additionally, the programme includes four circus and street theatre spectacles on Thursday afternoons at Plaza da Quintana. On August 7, the irreverent Basque company Trapu Zaharra opens with Dale Ramón!, an uproarious parody awarded Best Show in the Basque Country at the Umore Azoka fair, blending comedy and satire against collective hysteria.

On August 14, Duo Laos presents the acrobatic comedy Ovella Negra, using humor and spectacular flips to reflect on difference and pay tribute to those overcoming misunderstanding through self-expression.

On August 21, Mute by Orain Bi company performs breathtaking acrobatics in Quintana, exploring change and evolution—encouraging mutation to grow and move forward.

Finally, on August 28, Olympics by Nacho Vilar Producciones and Yllana presents a surreal, absurdly humorous show inspired by Olympic sports, creating a humorous competition full of astonishment and laughter.

Towards month’s end, Festival C’s summer nights feature open-air cinema. On Tuesday the 26th at 9:45 pm, Concepción Arenal Street—leading to NUMAX venue—screens Daguerrotipos (Daguerréotypes, 80 min, 1976, VOSE) by Agnès Varda, a heartfelt documentary depicting businesses along Paris’s rue Daguerre, as a tribute to community life and local work.

On Wednesday the 27th, the festival screens Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (120 min, 1989, VOSE), a cult film exploring racial tensions in U.S. society with a style that is both dialectical and deeply impactful.

The film selection thus dialogues between urban realities rooted in neighborhood stories, collective identity, and human relationships.

Detailed information on all Festival C activities is available on compostelacultura.gal.