Escaldàrium of Caldes de Montbui

The Escaldàrium was born to give the population a summer party in homage to the two elements that make up thermal water, fire and water.

In 1994, the Ball de Diables was already two years old and had enough experience to add another activity to its annual calendar and, at the same time, provide Caldes de Montbui with a new popular festival.

For some time now, youth organizations and the City Council have organized fun days in summer, with quite a lot of success. Thus, for a few years, the Roman Festival was celebrated: an activity that lasted a whole day, throughout which the origins of the town were evoked through role-playing games, open-air dinners, dances, and even a bath in the Roman baths.

After several years, the Roman Festival was stopped and the Ball de Diables wanted to help Caldes continue to have a summer Festival.

Thus, gathering ideas from here and there, the concept arose: a party that should mix "correfocs", " correaigua" and live music and where the two elements that, in a mythological sense, make up the thermal water, the fire and water.

The act takes place in the Font del Lleó square in Caldes de Montbui on the second weekend of July and consists of nine alternate dances, six of fire and three of water.

In those of fire, people dance and jump under the sparks of the devils, who in each dance use several specifically designed pyrotechnic montages; in those of water, the participants dance under the stream of large hoses.

All this is enlivened by music performed live by an orchestra of local musicians, and composed expressly for the party. Before and after each water dance, the devil drummers blast their instruments throughout the plaza.

The celebration offers participants an hour of frenetic rhythms, danceable melodies and a truly impressive visual spectacle and collective euphoria.

The Escaldàrium - the Fiesta del Fuego y el Agua - is fully consolidated and continues to be unique and exclusive to Caldes de Montbui and there is no other similar festival in the country's cultural scene.