These are the Diables d’Igualada, who put on an exciting and colorful daytime fireworks display in the Catalan section of the festival. They were quite entertaining, so I’ll be posting a number of pictures of their performance.

About this kind of group from Wiki: The correfocs, in which "devils" play with fire close to the onlookers, is one of the most striking of the Catalan festive events. The devils are not considered the incarnation of evil; they are sprightly and festive characters, dancing to the sound of drums and the traditional gralla, while they set off their fireworks."

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This year's Folklife Festival on the National Mall, sponsored annually by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., presented Catalonia and Armenia as the guests of honor. Usually a US state is also showcased, but this year, oddly enough, there was none, perhaps due to the tension between “red” and “blue” states dividing the country.

The National Mall, venue of the Folklife Festival, posted earlier: