{"id":1478,"date":"2015-03-16T18:02:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T17:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/blog\/?page_id=1478"},"modified":"2016-09-15T15:43:46","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T14:43:46","slug":"spanish-local-festivals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/activities\/spanish-local-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish local festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local festivals in Spain<\/h2>\n

Besides the local festivals in Elche and Alcal\u00e1 de Henares, there are many other internationally renowned fiestas <\/em>that our students can enjoy, should they wish to. Here is a compilation of the most important ones. Should any of our students wish to take part in one of these festivals, we can provide all the relevant information so that their visit is as enjoyable as can be.<\/p>\n

The Festival of “San Ferm\u00edn”\u00a0(6th<\/sub><\/sup> – 14th<\/sub><\/sup> July)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Quite possibly the most popular of all the festivals celebrated in Spain, the Sanfermines run from 6th<\/sub><\/sup> to 14th<\/sub><\/sup> July in Pamplona, a city in the North of Spain. The fiesta begins with the launching of a large rocket-style firework (el chupinazo) from the top of the Town Hall. However, the most important act of this week-long celebration is the world-famous “encierro”, the Running of the Bulls. Here, pamploneses <\/em>and visitors run an 849-metre race to the bullring, the bulls chasing behind them. It achieved international fame thanks to the American writer, Ernest Hemingway, who spread the news all over the world through his book “The Sun Also Rises”.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fallas Festival (15th<\/sup><\/sub> – 19th<\/sup><\/sub> March)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Valencia’s annual Fallas festival, the most important in the city, runs from 15th<\/sup><\/sub> – 19th<\/sup><\/sub> March. The streets are alive with light and colour thanks to the traditional fallero <\/em>monuments, which are made from papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 and can reach heights of up to 30 metres. Artists and craftspeople work the whole year round in preparation for the Fallas, whose character creations often criticise and ridicule Spanish celebrities or condemn social injustice. On the night of 19th<\/sup> March, the “Crem\u00e0” (a ritualistic burning of the Fallas) is celebrated, and work immediately begins on preparing the following year’s statues.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

San Juan Bonfires Festival (20th<\/sub><\/sup> – 24th<\/sup><\/sub>\u00a0June)<\/span><\/h3>\n

From the 20th<\/sup><\/sub> to the 24th<\/sup><\/sub> June, Alicante celebrates San Juan and its famous bonfires. The fiestas here are very similar to the Fallas in Valencia, since papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 statues are erected and placed in the city’s main streets. They are often caricatures of famous Spaniards or take a critical view of the country’s current plight. On the night of 24th<\/sup> June, Alicante is illuminated with the light of the bonfires (hoguera in Spanish). Furthermore, on every day of the festival, you can enjoy the masclet\u00e1s, <\/em>a pyrotechnical sound display, and firework shows.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Moors and Christians Festival\u00a0(April, September)<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Moors and Christians Festival (“Moros y Cristianos” as it is popularly known in Spain) are a real tradition here in the Valencian Community, as well as in Andalusia and Murcia. In fact, Alicante is the Spanish province where it is celebrated most, with Villena’s and Alcoy’s fiestas leading the way. These festivals commemorate the battle between Moorish and Christian troops in their conquest of Spain. The streets are full of music and majestic parades, where those who take part wear the traditional attire, colourful, golden and elegant in its appearance.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Seville April Festival\u00a0(April)<\/span><\/h3>\n

15 days after Holy Week, Seville hangs up its fairy lights around the city to celebrate its famous fair, la Feria de Abril. In the Remedios neighbourhood, the streets are packed with stalls, rides and horse-drawn carriages to welcome the beginning of spring. This is Seville’s main festival, an important one for not just the city but all of Andalusia, and its women wear the Flamencan dress, typical in this area, to dance, sing, eat and drink for days on end!<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

C\u00e1diz Carnival (February)<\/span><\/h3>\n

C\u00e1diz hosts one of the most famous carnivals in Spain during the month of February. You only need a costume and plenty of desire to have a good time to enjoy this party, which is especially popular for its chirigota<\/em> (<\/a>group that sings humorous and satirical songs during Carnival) competitions. The Falla Theatre is the stage to which more than 100 groups take to sing these famous songs, which often have social criticism as their centre point. This is a festival full of laughter, costumes and tonnes of humour.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Tomatina” Festival (August)<\/span><\/h3>\n

La Tomatina is the main festival of Bu\u00f1ol, a small town in the Valencian region. On the last Wednesday in August, the streets are turned the colour red as an epic tomato battle commences. It lasts for one hour, and last year, some 150,000 tomatoes handed out amongst 20,000 participants from all over the world were used. It is a fun festival, where safety is guaranteed, due to there being a series of rules which all participants must abide by.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Further information<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local festivals in Spain Besides the local festivals in Elche and Alcal\u00e1 de Henares, there are many other internationally renowned fiestas that our students can enjoy, should they wish to. Here is a compilation of the most important ones. Should any of our students wish to take part in one of these festivals, we can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1083,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"g1_template_page_sidebar_right.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-1478","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"g1_relation_tag-accredited-centre","6":"g1_relation_tag-alcala-henares","7":"g1_relation_tag-alicante","8":"g1_relation_tag-cervantes-institute","9":"g1_relation_tag-elche","10":"g1_relation_tag-learn-spanish","11":"g1_relation_tag-madrid","12":"g1_relation_tag-spain","13":"g1_relation_tag-spanish-courses","14":"g1_relation_tag-spanish-in-spain","15":"g1_relation_tag-spanish-school","16":"g1_relation_tag-top-school","17":"wpautop"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1478\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topschoolinspain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}