This statue, located on a municipal building, is of the patron saint of Catalonia, Sant Jordi.
The kids celebrated La Diada de Sant Jordi (St. George's Day, April 23) at school by writing a book and making a red rose. St. George's Day is the Spanish equivalent of Valentine's Day, though celebrated differently.

The Catalan version of the Sant Jordi story says that, as a knight, he slayed a dragon to save a (beautiful, of course) princess. A rose bush sprouted where a drop of the dragon's blood fell and the knight picked the most beautiful rose to give to the princess.

So, since the middle ages, it has been tradition to celebrate this holiday by men giving women a red rose. Nowadays, the holiday is celebrated with the exchange of roses and also books. In the early 20th century the holiday morphed to include World Book Day, since both Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quixote) both died on April 23, the same day as St. George's Day.