Festivities
Las Fallas of Valencia
Valencia – decorated with thousands of light bulbs, with all the splendour and yearning for merriment and revelry – organises the most spectacular fiesta: the great pantomime of life, where current events are satirised: the Fallas…
The figures are ephemeral and satirical catafalques representing human figures, animals and plants, etc. exhibited in the streets and plazas to “comment upon” current events, controversies, or a naughty neighbourhood story in a humorous way. All of these elements, materials and satires form the firewood for the gigantic and purifying bonfires that flare up at midnight on March 19, the night of Saint Joseph.
700 monuments must be installed in the streets and plazas. There are various activities held throuhout the week; despertás, fireworks etc..
The most spectacular and frequented celebration is the Ofrenda de flores (offering of flowers. The falleras have a chance to show off their colourful and attractive regional dresses, as they carry bouquets of flowers through the streets which lead to their Patron Saint.
On the 19th, at midnight, all the Fallas are burnt except for the prizewinning ninot (small Falla).
San Fermin Pamplona – Running with the bulls
Pamplona, situated in the Northern Spanish province of Navarra, attracts thousands of visitors annually from the 6th to the 14th. Of July. They come to enjoy the celebrations for San Fermin, the patron saint of the city, but mostly they come to see the Running of the Bulls or “Encierro” made world famous by avid visitor and adopted Pamplonica, the writer Ernest Hemingway.
Feria de Abril in Seville
Every year Sevilla celebrates La Feria de Abril or April Fair with round-the-clock flamenco parties. The fair runs for around a week and hosts an enticing programme of typically Andalucian cultural events. Flamenco lovers and anyone up for a good party might find this event a good time to visit Sevilla. Dancing often goes on until dawn and as well as that there are the bull fights, a horse fair and hundreds of hospitality tents that make this the highlight of not only the Sevillian social calender, but also the whole of Spain.
At night, make sure you seek out some of the many flamenco events on offer. The majority run up until 9am the next morning so time is not an issue. Some sevillanos choose to turn up clad head-to-toe in flamenco costume and find no problem dancing all night. Try learning a trick or two from them.
Horses and beautifully-decorated carriages parade in shining colours throughout the city, with their occupants in fantastic flamenco dress. Some of the best bullfights of the year take place at the Plaza de Toros de Maestranza de Caballería.
Semana Santa in Seville
Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in Sevilla the capital of Andalucia, allows the visitor a precious glimpse into the soul of Spain. Thousands of people, young and old, male and female, religious and secular, pour onto the winding streets of this ancient city to remember the events of The Passion. Seville is renowned for staging perhaps the most overwhelming pageant of The Passion to be found anywhere in the world. Religious and community groups from all over the city spend weeks in preparation to ensure that the celebrations do justice to what can be considered the commanding highlight of the Christian calendar.
Processions leave from the cathedral at noon every day. A wealth of images of the Martyr and the Virgin Mary are paraded through the streets of the city to an almighty turn out. It is difficult for the onlooker to remain impassive as they witness the passing of this elaborate train of litters, The images are adorned in the finest of robes and semi-precious stones, and their passing is met with awe-struck expressions and cries of “Ay! Qué linda!” (“how beautiful”) from the crowds.
This is a huge event. The procession can take up to eight hours, as there are over 100 pasos, or litters, representing different districts of the town. An absolute must-see.
San Isidro of Madrid
San Isidro is the patron saint of the peasants and laborers and is also the patron saint of Madrid. Tradition has it that on May 15th the people of Madrid are to make a pilgrimage to San Isidro’s meadow to celebrate his day and to drink the holy water of his fountain in his hermitage’s patio. Many revelers still dress up in the traditional garb of the period called “Chulapo or Chulapa” which is Madrid’s national dress.
Carnaval in Cadiz
The most important Carnival is celebrated in Cadiz. Cadiz is a quiet and serene city on the Andalucian coast, except when it plays host to Spain’s ultimate party.
Cadiz is famous for the sense of humour of its citizens and Carnival is a festival in which authority, politicians, celebrities and the church are parodied and ridiculed. The central figures here are the choirs, agrupaciones, groups of between three and forty singers. Current events or personalities are mocked in comic song. The Falla´s Contest is a Music festival held in the Gran Teatro Falla before Carnival itself and, to a certain extent, it is a relatively serious competition.
The most popular type of group is the “chirigotas”, choirs normally of ten unison or close-harmony singers, accompanied by bombo, caja (drum, box – used as a percussion instrument), and guitar. Their repertoire is the most satirical of the different types of groups and the literary quality of the songs can be very high, as they may be written by local authors.
Carnival Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosts the largest, most impressive and most spectacular carnival. The festival begins a week before Ash Wednesday with the election of the carnival queen and continues with a cabalgata (horse parade). This begins a whole weekend of mad street partying and revelry.
Visitors from all around the globe flock to the town to partake in the cross-dressing event of the year. There isn’t a single face in the crowd who isn’t dressed as their opposite sex.
Shrove Tuesday is marked with a great parade and the celebrations finally end with the entierro de la sardina on Ash Wednesday. The “burial of the sardine”, where a gigantic effigy of a sardine is buried, represents the end of carnival madness.
La Tomatina” in Valencia / Bunyol
Bunyol in Valencia hosts the largest tomato war on the planet. Every year the 9000 people who live in the tiny village find their population has quadrupled overnight as a multitude of frolicsome tomato enthusiasts turn up for the opportunity of a lifetime ready to unleash hell. By 11am the 30,000-strong army are well breakfasted on pancetta, chorizo and lots of rosé and have been prepared for action by copious soakings. The tomato wars are about to begin.
Fires of San Juan (Alicante)
The ‘Fogueres de Sant Joan’ have incorporated Valencia’s tradition of the Fallas, which are called ‘Hogueras’ (Bonfires) here.
Before Sunday, 20 June, the Fire Beauty is elected from among the beauties representing each Bonfire Commission. The Bonfires of St. John is one of the many fiestas celebrated during the summer solstice. The bonfires, music, gunpowder and parades are a few of the defining characteristic of a fiesta that, today, extends throughout the city and transforms the look of Alicante. 24 June This is the climax of the fiesta, the so-called ‘Nit del foc’, or Night of the Fire, when the ‘Bonfires’ that were placed on the streets and in the squares during the ‘Cremá’ are burned. Before midnight, the ‘Palmera’, a spectacular pyrotechnics show, takes place on Mount Benacantil.