¨La Tomatina¨ - Valencia Tomato
Fight Festival
August. Bunol. Valencia.
Every year
around 30,00 people descend on the Spanish town of Bunol (in the Valencia
region of Spain) to throw more than 240,000 pounds of tomatoes at each other as
part of the La Tomatina festival.
Tamborrada de San
Sebastian/The San Sebastian Drum Festival.
January. San Sebastian,
Basque Country.
A march to the deafening sounds of drums, as groups of
drummers parade through the city on the night of the first day of the year. The
next morning, the "Tamborrada Infantil" (Child Drummer's Ceremony) is
celebrated.
La Endiablada/The
Disguised Devils
February. Cuenca, Castilla y La Mancha.
People of
this village celebrate disguised as devils in this festival of prehistoric
origin. The young boys of the town dressed as devils - wearing pants and
jackets painted in bright designs, with large cowbells tied to their waists,
and multicolored paper hats, which are replaced later on with cardboard bishop
mitres - run through the streets, dance at the entrance and inside the church,
pretend to wash the statue of San Blas, and march in procession with it to the
uninterrupted sound of the cowbells.
Fallas de San
Jose
March. Valencia.
This Fiesta dates from the Middle Ages, but it
did not acquire the personality we know today until the middle of the last
century. The festivites include a nighttime parade; a procession of the old
towns of Valencia; the offerings of flowers to Nuestra Senora de los
Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken), patroness of the city; and the famous
"Nit del Foc" (Night of the Fire), on which all the "fallas" (grotesque and
humorous scenes made up of carboard figures) are burned.
Feria de Abril/April
Fair
April. Sevilla, Andalucia.
Shortly after Holy Week, the Seville
Fair opens, brimming over with joy and full of spectacularity. Morning, evening
and night - the height being at midday during the long cavalcade of riders, and
late at night when the spirit takes over the thousand throats of the
"cantaores" (flamenco singers) and the legs and arms of the "bailaoras"
(dancers) with their four sevillanas - the Real de la Feria blazes with
multicolored tents, wreaths and paper lanterns outlined against the sky.
Fiesta de Moros y
Cristianos (Moors and Christians)
April 22 to April 24. Alicante,
Valencia.
Starting with the feast of the Holy Christ, in Valverde del Jucar
(Cuenca) in January and ending with the "Moorish King" in Agost (Alicante) in
December, almost one hundred and fifty celebrations of "Moors and Christians"
take place over the length and breadth of the country. The majority are found
in Alicante where the festivities become livelier and more numerous as the days
pass. As early as the 17th century, groups of Moors and Christians drove
through the town accompanied by noisy bands, after which a "battle" ensues,
ending with the triumph of the followers of the Cross, who surround the Moors
and defeat them. Everything goes on amidst the noise of fireworks and the
ringing of bells.
Festival de los Patios
Cordobeses/The Cordoba Patio Festival.
May. Cordoba, Andalucia.
This centuries-old festival includes the pilgrimage of the conquering
Virgin of the Linares Sanctuary across the countryside with horsemen and richly
decorated coaches, a competition of Mary Crosses and a Patio, Iron Grille and
Balcony Contest in which the patios, small side street and plazas so typical of
the city are filled with flowers.
Corpus
Christi
May
29. Toledo, Castilla y La Mancha.
The nun Juliana of Liege used to have a
strange vision every time she began to pray, in which a full moon appeared with
its center darkened by shadow. Finally, Jesus himself told her of the
significance of the vision: the bright circle signified all liturgical
celebrations and these were only darkened by the absence of a feast day
dedicated to the exaltation of the actual presence of Christ in the Eucharist
(which was debated at the time). Official recognition of the feast day was
given in 1246. The new feast day arrived in Spain sometime during the 14th
century. In the procession, the main feature is the Host, housed in magnificent
masterpieces of silverwork.
Hogueras de San
Juan
June 20 to June 29. Alicante, Valencia.
A series of ancient
rituals which were followed on this, the shortest night of the year, when light
triumphs over darkness, have been studied in minute detail in the work of
Baroja. In these rituals, the essential features are the sun, fire and water.
Around the feast of San Juan the streets are often decorated with branches and
leaves, especially the balconies of young girls in love, who are serenaded;
pines and poplars are planted; pilgrimages ('romerias') are undertaken; straw
effiges are burnt; the herb thyme is blessed; and 'sanjuanera' songs are sung.
Fiestas de
Haro
Summer. Haro, La Rioja.
Festivities are strung out through the
summer, but the most famous Festival in the city is celebrated on the 29th June
- the day of San Pedro. During this Festival the famous "Wine Battle" takes
place in the Riscos de Bilibio.
Dia de Santiago
July 25. Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.
Celebration of the patron
Saint of Spain. Fireworks, parades, televised mass. National holiday.
Romeria
Vikinga
August 3. Pontevedra, Galicia.
An splendid simulation of the
Viking invasion of the "Torres de Oeste," which are defended by the Christian
natives. After the 'battle'" everybody drinks red wine from the Ulla River and
eats seafood, all for free. The feast is followed by folkloric dancing, in
which everyone participates.
El Coso
August. Felanitx, Balearic Islands.
Felanitx celebrates its local
fiesta on August 28th, Saint Augustine's day. To tell the truth, it's a bit of
an exotic patron saint, given that most Majorcan towns and villages celebrate
Saint John, Saint Anthony, Saint Joseph or Saint Sebastian. The Town Hall
organizes a whole week of activities: sports, theatre, a children's festival,
etc., including four or five outdoors music and dance night festivals, called
"verbenes."
Fiesta de
Verano
August. Malaga, Andalucia.
This festival usually starts the
second Friday of August with spectacular fireworks. Then, the feria takes place
in the centre of Malaga during the afternoon. People wear traditional Spanish
costumes and dance "sevillanas" and "malaguenas" in the street; eat fish,
cheese and ham and drink a delicious, sweet, red wine. The fair takes place
during bullfighting season, so one can see a magnificent contest in the
afternoon.
Fiestas Patronales de
La Virgen de Gracia
September. Albacete, Castilla y La Mancha.
With
more than 400 years of tradition behind them, the Fiestas of Caudete are
celebrated every year to honour its Virgin, La Virgen de Gracia. The main
components are the fireworks, gunpowder, music, procession, and flower offering
to the Virgin.
Fiestas de
la Vendimia Riojana/ La Rioja Wine Festival
September (around the 21st,
the Day of San Mateo). Logrono, La Rioja.
Harvesting festivities of one of
the most renown wine regions in Spain. The Rioja is the center of a very
important wine culture.
Fight Festival
August. Bunol. Valencia.
Every year
around 30,00 people descend on the Spanish town of Bunol (in the Valencia
region of Spain) to throw more than 240,000 pounds of tomatoes at each other as
part of the La Tomatina festival.
Tamborrada de San
Sebastian/The San Sebastian Drum Festival.
January. San Sebastian,
Basque Country.
A march to the deafening sounds of drums, as groups of
drummers parade through the city on the night of the first day of the year. The
next morning, the "Tamborrada Infantil" (Child Drummer's Ceremony) is
celebrated.
La Endiablada/The
Disguised Devils
February. Cuenca, Castilla y La Mancha.
People of
this village celebrate disguised as devils in this festival of prehistoric
origin. The young boys of the town dressed as devils - wearing pants and
jackets painted in bright designs, with large cowbells tied to their waists,
and multicolored paper hats, which are replaced later on with cardboard bishop
mitres - run through the streets, dance at the entrance and inside the church,
pretend to wash the statue of San Blas, and march in procession with it to the
uninterrupted sound of the cowbells.
Fallas de San
Jose
March. Valencia.
This Fiesta dates from the Middle Ages, but it
did not acquire the personality we know today until the middle of the last
century. The festivites include a nighttime parade; a procession of the old
towns of Valencia; the offerings of flowers to Nuestra Senora de los
Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken), patroness of the city; and the famous
"Nit del Foc" (Night of the Fire), on which all the "fallas" (grotesque and
humorous scenes made up of carboard figures) are burned.
Feria de Abril/April
Fair
April. Sevilla, Andalucia.
Shortly after Holy Week, the Seville
Fair opens, brimming over with joy and full of spectacularity. Morning, evening
and night - the height being at midday during the long cavalcade of riders, and
late at night when the spirit takes over the thousand throats of the
"cantaores" (flamenco singers) and the legs and arms of the "bailaoras"
(dancers) with their four sevillanas - the Real de la Feria blazes with
multicolored tents, wreaths and paper lanterns outlined against the sky.
Fiesta de Moros y
Cristianos (Moors and Christians)
April 22 to April 24. Alicante,
Valencia.
Starting with the feast of the Holy Christ, in Valverde del Jucar
(Cuenca) in January and ending with the "Moorish King" in Agost (Alicante) in
December, almost one hundred and fifty celebrations of "Moors and Christians"
take place over the length and breadth of the country. The majority are found
in Alicante where the festivities become livelier and more numerous as the days
pass. As early as the 17th century, groups of Moors and Christians drove
through the town accompanied by noisy bands, after which a "battle" ensues,
ending with the triumph of the followers of the Cross, who surround the Moors
and defeat them. Everything goes on amidst the noise of fireworks and the
ringing of bells.
Festival de los Patios
Cordobeses/The Cordoba Patio Festival.
May. Cordoba, Andalucia.
This centuries-old festival includes the pilgrimage of the conquering
Virgin of the Linares Sanctuary across the countryside with horsemen and richly
decorated coaches, a competition of Mary Crosses and a Patio, Iron Grille and
Balcony Contest in which the patios, small side street and plazas so typical of
the city are filled with flowers.
Corpus
Christi
May
29. Toledo, Castilla y La Mancha.
The nun Juliana of Liege used to have a
strange vision every time she began to pray, in which a full moon appeared with
its center darkened by shadow. Finally, Jesus himself told her of the
significance of the vision: the bright circle signified all liturgical
celebrations and these were only darkened by the absence of a feast day
dedicated to the exaltation of the actual presence of Christ in the Eucharist
(which was debated at the time). Official recognition of the feast day was
given in 1246. The new feast day arrived in Spain sometime during the 14th
century. In the procession, the main feature is the Host, housed in magnificent
masterpieces of silverwork.
Hogueras de San
Juan
June 20 to June 29. Alicante, Valencia.
A series of ancient
rituals which were followed on this, the shortest night of the year, when light
triumphs over darkness, have been studied in minute detail in the work of
Baroja. In these rituals, the essential features are the sun, fire and water.
Around the feast of San Juan the streets are often decorated with branches and
leaves, especially the balconies of young girls in love, who are serenaded;
pines and poplars are planted; pilgrimages ('romerias') are undertaken; straw
effiges are burnt; the herb thyme is blessed; and 'sanjuanera' songs are sung.
Fiestas de
Haro
Summer. Haro, La Rioja.
Festivities are strung out through the
summer, but the most famous Festival in the city is celebrated on the 29th June
- the day of San Pedro. During this Festival the famous "Wine Battle" takes
place in the Riscos de Bilibio.
Dia de Santiago
July 25. Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.
Celebration of the patron
Saint of Spain. Fireworks, parades, televised mass. National holiday.
Romeria
Vikinga
August 3. Pontevedra, Galicia.
An splendid simulation of the
Viking invasion of the "Torres de Oeste," which are defended by the Christian
natives. After the 'battle'" everybody drinks red wine from the Ulla River and
eats seafood, all for free. The feast is followed by folkloric dancing, in
which everyone participates.
El Coso
August. Felanitx, Balearic Islands.
Felanitx celebrates its local
fiesta on August 28th, Saint Augustine's day. To tell the truth, it's a bit of
an exotic patron saint, given that most Majorcan towns and villages celebrate
Saint John, Saint Anthony, Saint Joseph or Saint Sebastian. The Town Hall
organizes a whole week of activities: sports, theatre, a children's festival,
etc., including four or five outdoors music and dance night festivals, called
"verbenes."
Fiesta de
Verano
August. Malaga, Andalucia.
This festival usually starts the
second Friday of August with spectacular fireworks. Then, the feria takes place
in the centre of Malaga during the afternoon. People wear traditional Spanish
costumes and dance "sevillanas" and "malaguenas" in the street; eat fish,
cheese and ham and drink a delicious, sweet, red wine. The fair takes place
during bullfighting season, so one can see a magnificent contest in the
afternoon.
Fiestas Patronales de
La Virgen de Gracia
September. Albacete, Castilla y La Mancha.
With
more than 400 years of tradition behind them, the Fiestas of Caudete are
celebrated every year to honour its Virgin, La Virgen de Gracia. The main
components are the fireworks, gunpowder, music, procession, and flower offering
to the Virgin.
Fiestas de
la Vendimia Riojana/ La Rioja Wine Festival
September (around the 21st,
the Day of San Mateo). Logrono, La Rioja.
Harvesting festivities of one of
the most renown wine regions in Spain. The Rioja is the center of a very
important wine culture.