THE Irish love affair with Spain hit an all-time high last year with a record-breaking 1.2 million passengers flying from Ireland to Spanish airports between January and August 2015.
The Canary Islands, Andaluciia, Catalunia, Valencia Region and the Balearic Islands account for 90 per cent of Irish tourism to Spain but what many visitors miss out on is the fantastic Spanish festivals.
Nobody does fiesta like Spaniards and over the coming weeks and months there’s plenty of fun festivals around to provide a great alternative to lazing around on the country’s wonderful beaches.
Not only that, but this year San Sebastian has been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2016 so there’s a lot happening in the northern Basque Capital of Gipuzkoa region and plenty to enjoy no matter what time of the year you visit.
There’s literally dozens of colourful, regional celebrations of culture all around Spain, a direct result of the varied regional histories of this historic country.
It seems that if there’s one thing Spaniards all know how to do, it’s party. And visitors are always welcome to join in.
Let’s take a look at six of Spain’s fantastic fiestas.
Feria de Abril:
Taking place in Seville from April 12-17 this annual event is a huge gathering of Andalusians who put on their finery and come together to meet, talk, dance and have fun.
This is a very Spanish affair with no imported rock music or demented DJs. It’s all about tradition, with daily processions featuring high-stepping horses and carriages carrying beautiful senoritas in stunning flamenco costumes.
The ‘Real de la Feria’, where the action takes place, covers 1.2 sq km and includes the amusement park, called ‘Calle de Infierno’ (Hell Street). The area is filled with 1,000, casetas, or canvas tent pavilions, of varying sizes arranged along 12 streets.
They belong to local families, groups of friends, businesses, clubs, trade associations and political parties and many are private but there’s also seven huge public casetas.
Expect lots of traditional costumes, huge quantities of food, flamenco dancing and loud music. The party always ends with an amazing midnight firework display.
Cruces de Mayo:
The Festival of the May Crosses will be celebrated this year throughout AndalucÌa from April 27 to May 1 and the main action takes place in Granada and Cordoba.
Huge crucifixes decorated in flowers adorn the streets, plazas, balconies, pavements and railings and become focal points for dancing, singing and general merriment.
In the true spirit of Spanish fiestas a temporary bar is built in the same square as the cross. This is where the locals congregate each evening for a few drinks and tapas, which inevitably leads to spontaneous flamenco style dancing well into the early hours.
Fiesta de los Patios:
This takes place immediately after the Festival of May Crosses in Cordoba, AndalucÌa, from May 2-15 so it might be worth hanging around for. This world famous annual event is centered around a contest to find the city’s most beautiful flower-covered patio, and a traditional pilgrimage of the Virgen Conquistadora to her sanctuary of Linares.
Individual courtyard patios are judged with prestigious prizes offered for the best ones. The beauty of the flowers and plants is highlighted wonderfully by the freshly whitewashed walls of the houses.
The locals diligently renew this whitewash each year to keep their homes looking pristine and fresh – and the whiteness, of course, reflects the heat of the sun away from the houses.
Fiesta de Sant Joan:
This extraordinary festival takes place in late June and dates back to the 14th century so it really does provide a genuine slice of Spanish history. Many towns, cities and villages celebrate this summer fiesta but it’s most popular in the Balearic Islands and particularly Ciutadella in Minorca.
It follows strictly defined rituals and everybody wears traditional formal dress. The celebrations begin on the Sunday before St Joan’s Day – the Day of the Lamb – when costume attired locals parade around Ciutadella’s ancient streets accompanied by the Homo des Be, a countryman dressed in sheepskins carrying a live lamb which represents St John the Baptist.
In the evening a hazelnut party is held with the local band playing until the parade arrives to be greeted.
Highlight of the festival is the games, which include an amazing, crazy spectacle in which horsemen gallop full-tilt in all directions.
Fiesta de San Fermin:
The world’s most dangerous running race takes place during Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona, which begins on July 6 and ends on July 14.
This is perhaps Spain’s most famous festival, the one that grabs the headlines when one of the participants – usually a visitor – is gouged or stampeded by a herd of angry bulls.
The Running Of The Bulls is certainly not for the faint hearted, but there’s a lot more to enjoy at Fiesta de San Fermin.
Pamplona prides itself on welcoming outsiders to their party and anything – as long as its legal – goes. Health and safety sticklers should stay away.
The festival begins at noon on July 6 with an elaborate ceremony complete with music and fireworks.
The following day a procession featuring carnival giants, dancers and street entertainers accompanies the effigy of St Fermin through the streets.
There’s lots of traditional rituals throughout the festival including one in which the city fathers parade through the town backed by energetic dancing youths.
But of course it’s the daily bull runs that everybody wants to see with white-clad runners wearing red handkerchiefs being chased through the streets. If you’re mad enough to join in it’s worth remembering to watch out for the sharp Mercaderes turn, where more runners are injured on slippery cobbles after colliding with fellow participants than by the bulls themselves.
La Tomatina:
The town of Bunol in Valencia literally turns red on the last Wednesday of August when millions of tomatoes are wantonly destroyed in the name of entertainment. And indeed, it’s really as much fun as you could possibly imagine.
The Battle of the Tomatoes rages on the last Wednesday in August but the festival begins a few days beforehand, creating a real party atmosphere in the run up to the big day.
There are street parades, music, dancing and fireworks and the night before the main event there’s a serious paella cooking contest.
The town’s valuables are covered in plastic sheeting for the battle and lorry loads of over ripe tomatoes driven into the town’s main square, Plaza del Pueblo.
Brave locals then try to climb a slippery pole to claim a prize ham at the top and a water cannon fires to mark the beginning of mayhem. Health and safety rules say goggles and gloves have to worn and tomatoes squashed before thrown, but these are almost totally ignored. It’s every man, woman and child for themselves.
