FESTIVALS & EVENTS Splendour, gaiety and the imagination of the nation as a whole are the basic features of the Spanish fiesta. The year’s festive highlights turn the public into active participants and passive spectators who are nevertheless aware of being both things at once. Fiestas, a phenomenon that gives expression to a peculiarly Spanish vitality, take place almost uninterruptedly in different places and at different times of the year, so that the traveller will always find an occasion to witness one of these magical, spectacular happenings that alter the daily routine of Spanish society. Carnival In February, masks, clowns, gigantes (giant pasteboard figures), grotesques and devils are the central characters in Spain’s first festivity of the year. The carnival in Lanz (Navarre) with its mythological figures (Ziripot and Zaldico) speaks of a thousand-year-old tradition, as does the fiesta in Villanueva de la Vera (Cáceres) with the burning of the effigy of Pero-Palo. The carnival assumes an air of satire and buffoonery in Cadiz, with its charangas (bands of street musicians) and explodes into a spectacle of dance and fireworks in Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which rival each other in and beauty. Fire and gunpowder take centre stage in March. Valencia celebrates its traditional fallas (from the Latin "facula" or "fax", meaning torch) during the week leading up to St. Joseph's Day, bringing to the fore all the ingenuity, hullabaloo and passion which this universally famous celebration implies, in the climactic burning of the ninots, the satirical papier mâché effigies. Religious feasts Holy Week is the religious feast par excellence, in which tradition is timeless and unshakeable. The Easter processions of the cofradías (guilds or brotherhoods) and the sublime beauty of the floats or pasos assume special relevance in places like Seville, Valladolid, Zamora, Murcia and Cuenca.

Traditional fiestas and pilgrimage excursions Spring brings an explosion of light and brilliance in festivities like the Murcia fiestas and the classically Andalusian April Fair in Seville, a week given over to the local colour of the city’s folklore and to unrestrained expression of joy and happiness. Equally spectacular and colourful is the celebration of the Moors and Christians fiesta, to be seen at its most sumptuous and authentic in the town of Alcoy, in Spain’s Levant region. Pilgrimage excursions (romerías) or country fiestas are found by the score across the length and breadth of Spain. There are those with a long tradition, such as La Caballada of Atienza (Guadalajara) and A rapa das bestas (the rounding-up and trimming of manes of wild stallions) in the La Groba hill country (Galicia), yet the romería that is without rival for noisy popular fervour and beauty is the Rocío in Almonte (Huelva) in honour of the Virgin Mary. Another religious feast of consequence is the celebration of Corpus Christi in Toledo, where the solemn splendour of the procession is movingly accompanied by the ancient guilds. Impressive Corpus Christi celebrations are also held in Camuñas (Toledo) and Berga (Barcelona). The rites of summer St. John’s Day in June brings the typical night-time festivities, known as the paso del fuego (leaping over or running a gauntlet of flames), which takes place in San Pedro Manrique (Soria), and the famed exhibition of horsemanship, Caragols, in the Menorcan town of Ciutadella. July is, above all, the month of the Sanfermines in Pamplona. The city’s famous running of the bulls (encierros) and the public’s mass participation is an image which has gone round the world. Fairs and pilgrimages, such as that of Ribarteme in Galicia and its resucitados de Santa Marta or the Asturian boda vaqueira, underscore the profusion of fiestas in Spain rooted in the rites of harvest. Elche, in the south of the Province of Alicante, provides the setting for yet another well-known fiesta in Spain, the Misteri d’Elx (Elche Mystery Play), which is staged in August and re-enacts the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Major fiestas and folklore Another typical feature of life in Spain are the Fiestas Mayores held in La Alberca (Salamanca), Vejer de la Frontera (Cadiz), Toro (Zamora), Ondarroa (Vizcaya), Logroño, and a host of other towns and villages, from August to October. Christmas signals a close to the yearly festive cycle and in Spain is given a distinctive touch with the traditional display of nativity scenes and processions to mark Epiphany (popularly called Reyes Magos in Spain, in honour of the three Magi, it is the day when gifts are exchanged in preference and, increasingly, in addition to Christmas Day). Folklore is the expression of the most cherished and deeply felt emotions and folk wisdom of the Spanish people. Almost all the different regions possess a rich store of dance and song which serves as inspiration for many a public performance. Among the best-known examples of Spanish folk-dances are the Galician muñeira, the Aragonese and Valencian jotas, the Catalonian sardana, the Basque zortziko and the Andalusian sevillanas. January/February Celebrate the CANARY ISLAND CARNIVAL in various location. It features the flavor of Spain and that of a traditional carnival all together in a exciting and hightly entertaining celebration for all. March FALLAS DE VALENCIA huge papier-mâché monuments (called "fallas") are erected on street corners and in the squares of Valencia around the 15th of March. These "fallas" are then set alight on the night of March 19th, which is St. Joseph's day (Father's day in Spain), with incredible firework displays. April MADRID MARATHON the 24th Popular Marathon of Madrid starts at 9:30 in the morning and is run on an urban course with a distance of 42,195 meters. The Pasta Dinner is on April 28th in the Sportscenter, Municipal La Chopera, in Retiro Park and is free for runners and one partner.

August/September LA TOMATINA the tomato battle is in honor of Saint Luis Beltran, the patron saint of Bunol. Residents and visitors take part in a tomato-throwing battle that decimates more than 88,000 pounds of tomatoes. This wacky event began with a serious aim as a symbolic protest against Franco. The location is in the City Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. by the last week of August. SAN SEBASTIAN MUSICAL FORTNIGHT Quincena Musical is Spain's oldest festival. It lasts for 28 days, from August to September located in Auditorio Kursaal and Convento Santa Teresa during which time visitors can see more than sixty concerts in some of San Sebastian's most beautiful settings. Ever since its inception more than half a century ago, the event has welcomed the greatest divas, the best contemporary musicians and the most renowned orchestras. FESTIVAL ROCK ALAQUAS - FRA From 1995, the Alaquàs City Council in València organizes the Festival of Rock of Alaquàs (FRA). The FRA objective is to facilitate opportunities for the cultural innovation for the young people with a free Festival. FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE FOLK DE GETXO This is one of the major music celebrations of the city in the first week of September. FIRA DE TEATRE AL CARRER Every year since 1981, in the second week in September, the Catalonian town of Tarrega hosts an around-the-clock explosion of international theater and dance performances known as Fira de Teatre. FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE GRAN PREMIO MARLBORO DE LA COMUNITANT VALENCIANA Valenciana, Spain hosts the FIM World Superbike Gran Premio Marlboro de la Comunitat Valenciana.

October SITGES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL of CATALONIA there are three competitive sections: one for fantasy films, one for all-genre films and another for animated short films. Fantasy awards are given out for best film, director, actor, actress, visual effects, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography and short film. In the Gran Angular section, four audience awards are made for best film, director, actor and actress. Located in Sitges, Spain. EUROART Euroart is an independent artist fair featuring about 80 stands. Artists personally attend to their stand and show their work to the visitors. Located in Sala Marqués de Comillas de las Drassanes Av. Drassanes s/n, Barcelona Spain. NATIONAL DAY (Dia de la Hispanidad) the Spanish use their national day to celebrate explorer Christopher Columbus's arrival in the new world. This holiday coincides with the celebration of Columbus Day in the US. Located in various place. FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE BLUES DE CERDANYOLA was created in 1988 and has become the more important blues festival of the country. Located in Ateneu de Cerdanyola del Valles and celebrates in ever third week of October. November MADRID GAY and LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL The works accepted to be shown have not been exhibited in commercial theater or seen on TV or presented in video in Spanish territory prior to the celebration of the festival. FESTIVAL DE CINE DE ALCALA This event features films and videos made in Spain exclusively and is presented by Certamen Nacional de Cortometrajes, Certamen Pantalla Abierta, and Certamen de Videocreación. December ATLANTIC RALLY for CRUISERS Sailing enthusiasts cross 2,700 miles of the Atlantic Ocean from Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay in St. Lucia. The race opens in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the fleet will start for Rodney Bay, St. Lucia from a line off Las Palmas harbor. Back | Spain Travel Info

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