Introduction to celebrations

Fogueres de Sant Joan
The Fogueres de Sant Joan represent the very essence of the citizens of Alicante's open and passionate Mediterranean character. This character reaches its maximum expression in the ritual Nit de Sant Joan, 24th June. This is an ancestral rite which today is more lavish than ever in its manifestations and forms yet it has not lost an iota of its popular roots. For a few days, a party atmosphere invades the streets. People take a break from their everyday lives and take to the open and versatile space provided by the city's streets, a gathering place for the whole city.

Besides the impressive ephemeral art of the papier mâché effigies whose fate is to be burnt in the Fogueres or bonfires, and which, for a few fleeting days, are the symbol of the celebrations, the barraca (fenced-off areas in the street with tables, chairs and a stage) is the meeting point where all of the celebration's official events, both social and gastronomic, take place. These halls boast colourful displays of bacores (early figs) and coca amb tonyina (tuna pie).

Since this is a celebration that commemorates fertility, Woman, both visually and spiritually, is another key element in the celebrations. The Bellea del Foc (Fire Beauty Queen) represents Alicante womanhood for a whole year, and she becomes a popular character, adored and known to everybody, old and young alike. The spirit of friendliness is evident in the processions too, where the spectators greet Belleas effusively.

The bonfire, the celebration's key element can trace its origins back to ancient fire festivals, later becoming bonfires and then pyres formed by unwanted, broken household furniture burnt in the streets to honour local monuments. Today's bonfire effigies are a cause of both economic anxiety and collective pride in each and every member of the more than 80 participating committees, their effigies scattered throughout the whole city. As well as the effigies, there are two other important elements: music, and the fireworks of la mascletà (a series of smoke bombs and firecrackers). Within the celebrations, there is also a week of bullfights. The whole culminates with the burning of the effigies, la Cremà (the burning). This is a magical night that ends with yet another ancient ritual, bathing in the sea while watching the sun rise. The final touch is the fireworks display at Postiguet beach, where thousands of people gather to enjoy the displays that take place on five consecutive nights where national and international firework companies compete to outshine each other, literally.

The central element of the festival, the bonfires, deserve closer examination. Labelled by makers and artists as "an ephemeral art", the effigies are made of highly inflammable, perishable materials such as papier-mâché, wood, paper and paint. These magnificent works, painstakingly created over a period of months, are conceived to be consumed by the flames becoming nothing more than ash and embers, in a fleeting moment.

However, this is not a cause for grief; quite the reverse. The very aim of the celebrations is that the lovely and impressive effigies, the raison d'être of the celebrations, burn properly, thereby fulfilling their purpose. The effigy, a combination of architecture, sculpture and painting, has its own rules as regards its formal composition, and are the basis around which the artist expresses his creativity. As a counterpoint to this stylistic convention, are the ninots, grotesque figures which are both ornamental and provocative, giving vent to social and political criticism, giving expression to the vox populi in caricatures of social archetypes or famous personalities. Thousands of people, captivated by the lure of fire and the celebrations, come from all four corners of the earth, making Alicante a truly international city.

Easter
Easter, Semana Santa, in Alicante has, besides the quality of its beauty, a distinctive touch of its own. The rich combination of saeta singing (Flamenco laments on Christ's passion), the presence of manolas (women wearing a back comb and mantilla), brass bands where the bugle and drum instil a solemn gravity to the scene and stylish and sombre banners accompany and enhance the visual impact of the embellished floats which sway impressively thanks to the skill of the costaleros (bearers). Each brotherhoods' procession of floats, banners and musicians are escorted by lines of penitents in robes with their own particular solemn colours of pain.

The different acts announcing the coming of Easter such as the via crucis (Stations of the Cross), concerts, exhibitions or rehearsals with the floats, give way to the solemn celebration with the Pregón (opening speech) held at the city's Principal Theatre. This is the beginning of Alicante's Holy Week, in which twenty-five processions and more than thirty sculptural groups decked with flowers mingle and crowd the districts, squares and avenues. The acts of Easter Wednesday and Thursday undoubtedly take pride of place in all of the rich elements that make up Alicante's Easter Week. On the first day, La Procesión de la Santa Cruz (the Procession of the Holy Cross), takes place in the eponymous district, located on the slope of Mount Benacantil. The floats of El Cristo Gitano (the Gipsy Christ) and El Descendimiento (the Descent) wind through the Old Quarter's narrow and twisting streets towards the centre. In this descent, the bearers have to make extraordinary efforts and show great skill in their handling of the float. Afterwards, they will have to ascend, with the same devotion, to return the images to the Santa Cruz District Chapel. On the night of Easter Thursday, the prelude to the Crucifixion, the main event is the imposing Procesión del Silencio (Procession of Silence), whose two main figures are dramatic images of incalculable artistic value: Nicolás de Bussi's 17th-Century carving of Our Lord, El Cristo de la Buena Muerte by and the 18th-Century Our Lady, La Virgen de las Angustias by Francisco Salzillo. These images are accompanied by flickering candlelight, the forceful solemnity of bugles and kettledrums, the silence occasionally ripped asunder by a saeta, and the strong smell of incense, flowers and burnt wax. Similarly remarkable are the processions of Easter Tuesday, or Good Friday morning , when an array of figures depicting Christ's Passion are borne along the Explanada. Among them Saint Veronica, covered in a precious gold-embroidered robe is worthy of special mention. This procession touches the deepest roots of the Alicante people's emotional understanding of the Passion. This then is the Explanada during Easter Week, with its sparkling Mediterranean light and swaying palm trees, the backdrop to the procession of Our Lady, La Virgen de la Alegría which is brought out on Easter Sunday together with the image of Christ Resurrected, after their encounter at the Town Hall Square. In spite of its solemnity, Easter in Alicante allows visitors to alternate moments of rapture with those of amusement and quiet contemplation. Moreover visitors can also enjoy all of the city's other amenities in the warm and friendly atmosphere that characterises the city all the year round.

Santa Faz
The romería (pilgrimage) to the Santa Faz Monastery , almost five centuries old, is the other major celebration in Alicante. More intimate and peaceful than the Fogueres de Sant Joan, it allows visitors to engage in conversation with the people of Alicante in almost a family situation. However, this tranquillity is shared by almost 300,000 people setting off on the eight kilometres that separate the starting point of the romería, the San Nicolás Co-Cathedral, from the monastery where the relic, the object of the romeros' (pilgrims') veneration, of supplications and wishes is kept.

The date of the pilgrimage varies since it is usually held on the second Thursday after Easter and, depending on the calendar, the variation can be as much as one month. People are advised to get up early because it is both a long distance and even though thousands of sprigs of rosemary (romero, hence the word for pilgrimage) are given away by the Town Hall, many of the romeros are left without them. At dawn, the representatives of the social, religious and political classes are already assembled. Almost all of them are wearing a black smock with a cravat around their necks, the latter bearing the city's colours of white and sky blue. The walk follows a via crucis (Stations of the Cross) along the N-340, which is closed to traffic that day. At traditionally marked spots, people observe the paraetas (stops), one of the most crowded is the municipal stop where local wine and home-made anisette rolls are given away free. The arrival at the Santa Faz shrine turns into a struggle to get the best place to witness the opening of the niche where the Sudarium, made of fine gauze, is kept. According to tradition, the image of Christ's face was imprinted on the cloth when Saint Veronica wiped His face with it as He made His way to Calvary. After this religious act, the monastery is filled with prayers, whispers, lighted candles and votive offerings donated by the faithful who ask for favours, generally for some relative. Outside, the festive atmosphere continues with picnics, with hundreds of market stalls set out for the occasion. The purchase of handicraft objects is part of the whole ritual. At dusk, the constant flow of romeros wending their way back to the city goes on until well after dusk, putting the finishing touches to the pilgrimage for another year. The night of Saint John is now close at hand.

Moors and Christians
The Moors and Christians celebration has become one of the most representative elements of life in Alicante, combining an attractive mixture of religiosity, strict etiquette and controlled street festivals. Such is the case of San Blas, Villafranqueza, Altozano and José Antonio, where neighbours and acquaintances take to the streets and share a few joyous days of music, parades and fireworks.

For many of the families who have to pay to take part in the filà, or parade, this means making a great financial sacrifice - even more so if the head of the household assumes the captaincy. However, the wonderful atmosphere, the result of careful preparation, is well worth the amount of time and money invested throughout the year. Friendship is an essential element in the Moors and Christians celebration. Indeed, it could not exist without the spirit of comradeship. Almost everything is shared in the "military"quarters, or kábilas, where everybody meets and has something to eat and drink. If you are lucky enough to be invited into a kábila, you will be treated like a long-lost friend. But, to avoid embarrassment, a few rules, not lightly broken, must be observed: first of all, the outfit is by no means fancy dress - the celebration has nothing to do with carnivals- and secondly, the celebration, in spite of its enjoyable nature, is a very serious affair with its own rules and conventions. Generally, the celebration in Alicante takes the following pattern: the Avís de festa (notice of celebration ) is a parade where both sides -Christians and Moors- wear the full dress to draw the crowds. The celebration in the kábilas begins with the Nit de l'Olla, when a speech is delivered. From then on, no participant will leave unless there is a dire emergency. Every morning, after reveille is sounded, the participants wake their neighbours with an informal parade full of music and despertàs (wake-up calls) accompanied by the discharge of harquebuses. Apart from these acts, almost private in nature, the most colourful displays are reserved for the enjoyment of the public. During these Entradas (entrances), the captains, in their role as the most important figures, lead their side accompanied most of the time by corporals and standard bearers; next, the Embajadas (embassies) represents the fight to storm the square followed by a harquebus battle or Alardo. The grand finale is marked by the Retreta (retreat), a humorous close to the celebrations, with an almost carnival-like air, where the participants, after the protocol requirements, are free to have fun. March 16th - 19th: Villafranqueza District June 9th - 12th: San Blas District August 12th - 16th: Altozano District August 24th - 28th: José Antonio District

Carnival
As a prelude to the strict Easter observances, with Lent in between, Carnival allows us to disregard the social order in a celebration characterised by excess, although never chaos. Everybody wears fancy dress and everyone else is an accomplice to the disguise. Thus we become what we have always fantasised about being but never dared tell. Even the city's most representative places and spaces participate in this masquerade which re-emerged spontaneously after many years. Indeed, several of them are chosen every year to take part in the celebration as silent guests in stone.

Besides the above display, groups of people dress up to a theme of their choice so that they can participate in a frenzy where joy (more than originality) is the common motive for all who join in. Thus, year after year, the large carnival family has expanded, to the point of turning those short days into an unmissable date in the diary full of excess, laughter and grotesque transformation and colour. The frenetic festival begins with the customary performance of Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma Plays, and continues with the now traditional Sábado Ramblero when one of the main city thoroughfares and nearby streets becomes a compulsory meeting point for people in disguise, swapping jokes and trading criticisms. It is a place where people either become current popular fictional or real-life characters or they give free reign to their own fantasies, revealing our various realities and natures. The press of people is so great that it is almost impossible to get in or out of El Barrio or La Rambla. Music is not only an accompanying background noise, but also an essential part of this dance of illusions and masks. After its brief, frenzied life, Carnival dies and, after exhausting its fleeting existence whose life-force is authenticity, masks and make-up, colour and deformity, is buried until the following year in the transcendental Velatorio (funeral wake) and Entierro de la sardina (burial of the sardine), suitably accompanied at its cremation by the wailing of mourners. In this final act, everybody wears black, tearfully carrying candles as a sign of mourning, and bid adieu to those days where prejudice and rules were held in abeyance. However, rolls are served, easing the sorrow of those present at the heartfelt funeral. Children, too, have their own carnival. The Domingo de piñata (Piñata Sunday) is their very own day; a day of games organised by entertainers, where central to the celebration are the piñatas (bags filled with presents, won in fun competitions).

Summer celebrations
Soon after Fogueres de Sant Joan, come the more relaxed July-to-August summer celebrations when musical shows and cultural activities blossom. The streets are their stage, and the modern Plaza del Puerto (Port Square) turns into the main venue of the International Music, Theatre and Dance Festival. In those midsummer nights, when sleep does not come easily, both the people of Alicante and visitors of all ages and tastes get some fresh air while listening to a concert -be it classical music, jazz or blues, attending a ballet, or enjoying a play. The growing prestige of these cultural and musical performances is thanks to the high quality of the participating artists. So much so, that in just a few years they have already achieved international recognition.
If performance is the most important feature in these cultural celebrations, music is the common thread that binds most of them together. One of the most long-established traditions is the traditional Alborada, held on the evening of August 3rd. The Alicante Municipal Symphony Band fills the warm night air with the sound of classical music from eleven until the small hours. Yet another example of the importance of music as one of the most evidently characteristic traits of Alicante's identity.

The only religious act, among such a vast lay culture, a throwback to the ancient celebrations in honour of the city's patroness is the procession that, every August 5th, departs from the San Nicolás Co-Cathedral and winds its way through the Old Quarter's streets. For further information visit La Virgen del Remedio's official web site.

District celebrations Santa Cruz - Raval Roig - San Antón - Tabarca
These four districts are representative of the affectionate, traditional, family, neon invasion-resistant and evocative traditional Alicante. The district of Santa Cruz is located in the highest part of Alicante, nestling on Mount Benacantil, and kissing the sky. This then is the setting for the celebration of the Cruz de Mayo (May Cross), a colourful, emotional display of religious belief. Women decorate a number of the crosses dotting the district with flowers, and the district itself assumes an air of quiet joy. On the other side of Mount Benacantil, Raval Roig is the city's traditional balcony on the sea. The rhythm of life in this district changes pace in September due to the celebration in honour of Our Lady, Virgen del Socorro. Popular games, cucañas (greasy poles), gastronomic contests and dances evoke a recent past full of the grace inherent in a tradition handed down from generation to generation.
Also, on Mount Benacantil, but overlooking the city, is the district of San Antón. Every January 17th, the Porrate de San Antón is celebrated with the blessing of animals and the presence of porrate street stalls, full of handmade sweetmeats and nuts.

Tabarca is a singular place and visiting it is a must, if only to admire its landscape, sample its gastronomy and meet its people. In July, at the height of the tourist season, la romería marítima (the maritime pilgrimage) in honour of Our Lady, Virgen del Carmen gives a touch of solemnity among the excesses of sun and sangria. In a moving ceremony, the image of the Virgin is taken out to sea accompanied by a flotilla of small boats and defunct mariners are remembered by casting flowers over the waves amid chants and salves marianos (praises to the virgin).