By: Mike McDougall

Spaniards seem rarely to need much of a reason for a fiesta or festival of some sort and you can pretty much guarantee that wherever you are in Spain there will be some merrymaking going on somewhere in honour of a patron saint – I’ve decided to look at some of Spain’s quirkier, slightly less known festivals and enlighten readers as to some of the stranger practices which take place at various times around the country.

Tomatina

Our journey begins in the east of the country in the town of Bunol in the Valencia region where a week long festival in honour of the town’s patron saint, San Luis Bertran, ends in the famous “Tomatina”, a two hour tomato fight where lorries bring in 120,000 kg of tomatoes for the locals to pelt each other with. It’s all a bit of a free-for-all and it’s usually girls pitted against boys for two hours of madness from 11am to 1pm. Participants can expect to get extremely messy and it’s advisable to wear something old, and preferably red, if you don’t want the stains to show up. Despite the “Tomatina” clearly being the highlight, there are many other facets of the festival to be enjoyed throughout the week with fireworks, parades and a paella cook-off amongst the most notable.

Las Fallas

Not so far away in the city of Valencia, townsfolk revel for a week in the festivities of “Las Fallas”, another one of Spain’s more unique festivals. The raucous week of celebration takes place in March and is most notable for “Las Fallas” which are huge papier-mâché figures up to 60 feet in height. Built in the streets, the figures often have a satirical edge; Tony Blair and George Bush’s effigies graced last year’s festival. The culmination of the merry-making comes on the “Night of Fire” when all 700 of “Las fallas” are burnt to a cinder turning many of the city’s streets into huge bonfires. Undoubtedly the local fire services busiest evening of the year and certainly one not to be missed by visitors to the region.

Calcotada

Next stop is Catalonia and the town of Valls located about 100km south west of Barcelona, where every year townsfolk gather for the legendary “Calcotada”. A celebration of food and in particular the “calcot” (similar to a spring onion) with road side bbq’s char grilling piles of them for locals to eat. There’s even a hug pot of dipping sauce on hand to spice things up a bit. The main event is the eating competition as burly local champions from all over the region line up to see how many onions they can put away in 45 minutes, apparently it’s not uncommon for the victor to eat in excess of 300! After a winner has been decided the town decamps to huge local cafeterias where for a small fee the “calcots” are served in plentiful numbers alongside grilled meats and washed down with as much red wine as you can drink. It’s certainly off the beaten track a little bit and for that reason you won’t see many tourists but expect a warm welcome from the locals who will, undoubtedly, be in high spirits.

Batalla de Vino

29th June, the day of San Pedro and we’re deep in Spain’s wine producing heartland, La Rioja, where for one day every year the medieval town of Haro is host to the famous “Batalla de Vino” (literally “Wine Battle”). Apparently the battle’s origins lie in an ancient dispute with between Haro and its neighbours. These days the fight is pretty good natured with thousands of gallons of wine being hurled around the battleground (a hillside overlooking Haro). Like the Tomatina, this is going to be a messy one and I’d suggest coming prepared with some ammunition of your own, the locals have been doing this for years so expect to take a few shots early on.

About The Author:

Mike McDougall has been commissioned by Babylon Idiomas to write a number of articles about Spanish culture. Babylon Idiomas is a Spanish language institute with schools in Spain [Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia], Argentina [Buenos Aires] and Costa Rica.

Visit Babylon Idiomas to learn more about Spanish courses.

 
More About Valencia Festivals  

More Spanish Festivals

By: Mike McDougall

Tamborrada, San Sebastián

Every year on the 19th and 20th of January, the Basque city of San Sebastian prepares for the noisiest festival in the whole of Spain. From midnight to midnight the city is alive to the sound of drumming as groups of marching bands parade through the streets in honour of the city’s patron saint, pounding out rhythms on their drums and barrels. The origins of the festival are a little bit unclear but legend has it that in 1720 a local baker was filling his water barrels and started to sing and a group of passing girls began to bang on the barrels to accompany him. A crowd soon gathered and the festival was born.

The festival starts with the raising of the flag at midnight on the 19 th and 24 hours of marching, drumming and revelry send the city into a frenzy until the festival is brought to a close by the drummers of the “Union Artesana” on midnight the following day.

Cava Week, Sant Sadurni d’Anoia

In the heart of Cava country in the Penedes region of north east Catalonia , the first Thursday of September heralds the start of Cava Week, a seven day celebration of Spain ’s answer to champagne. The Catalonian town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is the undisputed home of Cava; the town produces 85% of Spain ’s output of the famous sparkling wine.

The festivities begin with the crowning of the Cava queen at the start of the week; once crowned, she is given a glass of the first pressing of the year’s crop – then begins a week of wine, food and concerts and events. Indeed it’s not all about the Cava, gourmet food, music and a 300 man cycle race all add to the merriment. Possibly the most famous event of the week is the arrival of the Cava train from Barcelona . 1,000 revellers from the Catalan capital arrive in the sleepy village with much pomp and fanfare as they are escorted to the Cava houses and the town hall – the day out includes tastings, cellar tours and a gourmet lunch before the revellers get back on the train and return to Barcelona.

Moros y Cristianos, Alcoy

Celebrated in venues all around Spain the Moros y Cristianos festival (literally “Moors and Christians”) commemorate the many battles fought between the two sides in the “Reconquista” period of Spanish history. The most famous of these events takes place in the Valencian town of Alcoy around Saint George’s day in April. Legend asserts that Saint George himself miraculously appeared at such a battle as Alcoy and turned the tide in favour of the Christians. These days the festival is the highlight of the year for the townsfolk of Alcoy with no less than 28 separate Moorish and Christian armies parading around in full medieval, military attire. The proceedings are taken very seriously by the Alcoyanos as they march in their companies all day accompanied by bands. Mock battles also take place at various points throughout the festival culminating in a huge simulated battle around Alcoy ’s castle.

Feria de Abril, Seville

Originally a cattle trading fair in the 19 th century, Seville ’s Abril Feria (April Fair) is a week long festival which takes place in the Andalucian city every year, attracting over 1 million visitors. A seven day celebration of bullfighting, flamenco and horsemanship that grips the city just two weeks after the culmination of the more solemn proceedings of Semana Santa (Holy Week). Locals are dressed in traditional Andalucian clothing with the women stealing the show with their magnificent and colourful flamenco dresses; the men wear wide brimmed “bolero” hats and short cut jackets. The main focal point of the festival is the city of “Caletas” (large temporary tents) that is set up every year – these tents are usually assigned to a political group or society with a dance floor and a bar where young and old dance the night away to the strains of flamenco.

About The Author:

Mike McDougall has been commissioned by Babylon Idiomas to write a number of articles about Spanish culture. Babylon Idiomas is a Spanish language institute with schools in Spain [Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia], Argentina [Buenos Aires] and Costa Rica.

Visit Babylon Idiomas to learn more about Spanish courses.
 
More About Seville Festivals  
 
Travel Destinations

© 2005-2009 www.GrabYourPassport.com Online Travel Guides