Spain – Cultural Scenery And Fiestas All The Way

From Navarre to Seville from Valencia to the Canary Islands, the zest for festivity is spread all around the country, far and wide. Here’s a guide through Spain’s burgeoning cultural scene and the raucous local festivals every avid traveller should bookmark…

From throwing tomatoes at one another to running with the bulls. A day-long wine fight to celebrating seafood and partying around bonfires. Spain hosts some of the most out-of-the ordinary festivals, around the year. Arrive. Celebrate. And then leave with memories that’ll last a lifetime.

In many ways, a festival is the ultimate holiday. A life-changing experience, crammed into a few days, which transforms you from a jaded, itinerary-bound commuter into a free spirit, opening your mind through art, music, performance, food and culture. This is what travel is all about, after all. And when you come to a destination as diverse, exciting and stunning as Spain, with fiestas steeped in tradition, history and meaning, you know you’re in for a real treat – the very embodiment of viva la vida, if you may. Here is a peek inside some of the fiestas you can indulge in, but there are many more to explore as well.

VALENCIA – It’s got sunny weather, culture, history, gastronomy, parties, sport and safaris, plus the best paella in the world, the Valencian Region offers a spectrum of experiences. And when you attend any one of their many mind-blowing festivals, you will feel at one with the destination.

Las Fallas – A 7-day invasion of art, music, fireworks, gunpowder, smoke, explosions and emotions. Las Fallas literally means “the fires”, and focuses on the creation and destruction of ninots, huge lifelike paper-mache statues, usually depicting satirical scenes and current events. The origins of the festival credit the fires as an evolution of pagan rituals that celebrated the onset of spring. The ninots are displayed until La Crema (the burning day), when crowds chant, streetlights are turned off, and all of the ninots are set ablaze at midnight. Besides the town literally being on fire, during these days, you can also enjoy an extensive roster of bullfights, parades, paella contests and beauty pageants.

Moors & Christians Festival – For three days in summer, the Valencia Region becomes a veritable explosion of joy, colours, music, costumes, parades and theatre. History, legend and spectacle come together in a celebration full of sparkle and fantasy to commemorate the events that took place in the 13th century. While the festivities are celebrated in many parts of this region, the most famous one takes place in Alcoy. Thousands of white pennants with the cross of Saint George or the Islamic crescent moon decorate the whole town. Scenes are recreated, representing the capture of the castle by the Moors and how the Christians recaptured it. The din of drums, trumpets, volleys of muskets in the thick of battle – it is truly impressive.

La Tomatina – This is the world’s largest food fight. Every year, during La Tomatina, the charming town of Bunol erupts into a fiery blaze of tomato-hurling revellers. The origins of this mass tomato battle dates back to a fight between children in 1945, and has been celebrated every year since then. More than 20,000 people from around the world come together in an hour-long epic battle, which starts at 11 am. On the backs of trucks, people unload the tomatoes and pelt them at anything they see moving. Within seconds, everything turns red. The streets are awash in seeds, pulp and tomato guts that will shortly leave the cobblestoned streets spotless – thanks to the acidity of the tomatoes—after being hosed down with water.

ANDALUSIA – Gypsies, flamenco, horses, bulls – Andalusia in the south, is the Spain of story and song. A melange of landscapes and views, this region has maritime provinces, snow-capped mountains, ski resorts,  wildlife-filled wetlands and highland pine and oak forests, and several fiestas full of splendour. It also has cities like Seville that combine all this with creativity and cosmopolitanism, and where the most popular festival in all of Andalusia is celebrated – the April Fair of Seville.

April Fair of Seville – A fabulous experience, created as a commercial fair by the middle of the 19th century, locals arrive – some on horseback – garbed in typical Andalusian dress for celebrations at casetas, or private canvas tents, spread across the fairground. The week-long fair is inaugurated at midnight in the so-called Alumbrado (Lighting Test) – an ephemeral architecture adorned with thousands of bulbs, bringing together the crowds around the Gateway.

Undoubtedly Spain’s best kept secret, Asturias, sprawled across 345km of the northern coastline is a fairy-tale, a place unchanged by time and unaffected by the outside world. It is maritime, but also mountains. A natural paradise, but also a charming countryside.

The Canoe Festival – What started off as a recreational trip down the river amongst friends back in 1929, today is a world-renowned canoe festival attracting participants from around the world. Paddles in hand, thousands of kayakists and canoeists run to the water, as spectators high on adrenalin, cheer along the 20km Sella River course, from the village of Arriondas to the finish line at the seaside resort of Ribadesella.

GALICIA – Rolling hills draped with patchwork fields of green. Granite cliffs looming over vacant beaches. Rich vegetation. Frequent rainbows. And the occasional bagpiper (one of the Celts most visible legacies). Galicia, the damp, verdant, almost mystical corner of the country, with its Celtic roots, is page out of a fairy-tale.

Bon Fires of San Juan – A bonfire to celebrate the arrival of summer, may sound like something out of a Game of Thrones episode, but it is an actual occurrence in A Coruna, a region of the Galicia. Witness euphoric parades and street performances, bagpipers and traditional dancers, people eating sardines and drinking beer. As night falls, hundreds of bonfires are lit to ward off witches, evil spirits or bad vibes that may be hanging around.

Sea Food Fiesta – Since 1963, O’ Grove, Galicia has been hosting this cultural-gastronomic event to highlight: fishing and tourism. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attend this fiesta. It features stands overflowing with the finest shellfish and fish, prepared and served by town locals. There is also traditional Spanish music concerts, cultural activities, sporting events, cook-offs and much more, making it one of the happiest events to attend in Spain.

CANARY ISLANDS – The sunniest place in Europe, these Atlantic islands with long cloudless days are blessed with the best climate in the world. Featuring some of the most beautiful beaches in the world – with golden and white sand, remote and virgin or lively, tiny coves or extensive coastlines surrounded by dunes, with calm waters or stronger swells—they beckon you 365 days of the year.

The Carnival – This is the carnival of all carnivals and one of the biggest outdoor parties in the world. Crowds throng this fiesta where everything is allowed, and you have only one obligation: to have fun. Streets come alive with joie de vivre, freedom and extravagance for 15 days. Carnival is a Latin word that literally means ‘‘farewell to the flesh” and describes the Catholic practice of giving up meat during Lent. Important festivities, like electing a Queen and Junior Queen through a televised beauty pageant, street band competitions, processions for adults and kids are held.

LA RIOJA – Tucked away in the north, La Rioja is a little region that packs a big punch. Synonymous with wine, you may be tempted to bring out your copas (wine glasses) to savour the world’s finest reds. But there, wine is not just a drink, it is a culture.

The Battle of Wine – Where else in the world can you have a wine battle? Every year in June, faithful riojanos, clad in white with water guns, buckets and wineskins brimming with cheap red wine, make their way out to Haro to participate in a giant wine war. The party kicks off at sunrise and goes on till about lunchtime. Hiking out to the mountains, singing and dancing with marching bands, everyone drinks and makes merry in honour of a local saint. After mass, the battle begins. It’s every man to himself.

NAVARRE – A piece of Spain that few seek, and fewer find, Navarre is an unspoiled kingdom, where life is still lived at a drowsy pace. Embrace the craggy green silhouette of the Pyrenees Mountains. Take in the ancient traditions along the Way of Saint James and indulge in the finest reds, whites and roses in the region.

San Fermin Fiestas – Held annually in Pamplona, the largest, most vibrant city in the province, this 9-day fiesta honours the city’s first bishop and patron saint, Saint Fermin. Revellers from all around world descend upon the city, which dresses up in red and white. Fireworks called chupinazo are seen at noon followed by the singing of the traditional song. Besides the bullfights, held every afternoon, there is the Procession of Saint Fermin, the comparsa, a parade featuring large puppets carried by the marchers. The festival ends with the singing of “Pobre de Mi” (Old Poor Me).