Details Of Important Festivals And Fiestas In Guardamar Del Segura
The Costa Blanca And Festivals
If you are looking for Spanish festivals and fiestas then the Costa Blanca is for you! Guardamar del Segura is a fantastic place for festivals and fiestas, there is rarely a month that goes by when there is not something to party about.
In Spain every day has a patron saint and so every day somewhere in Spain there is an excuse for a Fiesta or festival. Guardamar del Segura on the southern coast of the Costa Blanca is certainly no exception; the community lives, works and celebrates together which is why you will always find the local people eagerly participating in the festivals and fiestas.
Many of the festivals and fiestas in Guardamar del Segura have their roots in historical events. Mix this with the frivolity, the fantastic costumes, the impressive fireworks and the delicious Spanish cuisine and you could have a holiday to remember which will make you want to return to the Costa Blanca, and in particular Guardamar del Segura, year after year.
New Year In Guardamar del Segura
The streets are lined with people having barbecues outside their houses, and families gathering in preparation for the new year in Guardamar. Walking from our Guardamar apartment to the town centre is a fantastic sight and the atmosphere is electric.
The crowds start gathering in the town square before midnight on new years eve. In the town hall there is usually food and a band all provided free of charge by the town.
The atmosphere is buzzing as locals and tourists alike gather with their wine and grapes. As the clock begins to sound in the new year in Guardamar you eat one grape and have a sip of wine with every strike of the midnight. After this there are fireworks and the atmosphere is buzzing.
New years day sees families gathering on the beach to have barbecues and eat lunch together whilst sharing a bottle or two of the local Valencian wines and beers. Spain is a very social place with families spending much time together, and new year in Guardamar is no exception.
Guardamar Carnival
The carnival held in Guardamar is the first major festival to come along after all the Christmas and New Year celebrations passed. It is usually held in February and is a boisterous celebration to wake up the town after the winter.
The carnival takes the form of parades, with masks, fancy dress, music and lots of colour. There are competitions for the best fancy dress and masks followed by a dance. Everybody takes part and it is a time of jollity for all.
The children even have a carnival of their own also with awards for the best costumes. This carnival finishes with all the children receiving hot chocolate and a typical kind of cake called a 'mona'.
Easter In Guardamar del Segura
Easter in Guardamar is an important time. It is celebrated with some spectacular processions led by the different brotherhoods. The religious images and statues are high quality and show influences from both the Valencian and Murcian schools. The most spectacular feature of the Easter week in Guardamar are the pageants. All of the town gets involved in acting out important moments in the passion of Christ.
Easter in Guardamar is mostly celebrated on Easter Monday. The local people organise meals for everybody in the Alfonso XIII park, and many people go to the "Canal del Tio Batiste" to sing traditional songs, play games, and to enjoy each other's company.
The Bonfires
The Bonfires are a spectacular group of festivities which are held to celebrate the summer solstice, as is the tradition with this part of Spain. Satirical monuments are built by the local people which make fun of people or events in the news over the past year.
The Bonfires is not just a day of festivities, it actually lasts from the end of May to the 24th of June and consists of beauty contests, parades, open air dances and much more. However, it is the last two nights which are the most spectacular.
On the night of the 23rd June is the magical "Night of St John" when witches and muses dance the enigmatic "Fire Dance". The following night is bonfire night when the monuments are burnt and fireworks are lit.
The Moors And Christians
This is the most popular festival in Guardamar del Segura and is held in the honour of St James. During the second fortnight of July people flock to the streets of Guardamar in their droves to celebrate the stories, some true and some imaginary, surrounding the re-conquest of Spain from the Moors by the Christians.
Events include the opening speech and the legend of the "Encantà", when the lady of Guardamar is proclaimed and crowned. Other celebrations include dancing and the important landing of the Moors on the beaches of Guardamar which marks the beginning of the parades. The most spectacular event of the festival however is the depiction of the re-conquest of Catalonia.
Once all of the parades are finished the main protagonists of this festival are fire and music.
Virgin Of Fatima
The festival of the Virgin of Fatima was first held in the 1950's when the chapel to this virgin was built in Campo de Guardamar.
Every weekend during the month of September the patron saint of the Virgin of Fatima is celebrated in the Campo. This coincides with the traditional period for the Harvest festival.
The celebrations include competitions, a multi-coloured parade and probably the most important is the procession, floral offering and open-air mass of the saints day.
Our Lady Of The Rosary
Our Lady Of The Rosary is the patron saint of Guardamar del Segura. This much revered statue is the oldest in the parish of San Jaume and is estimated to have been sculptured in the early 17th century, around 1610 when the Brotherhood of the Rosary was formed.
This religious festival begins with a floral offering being made to the saints image and traditional dances take place in front of the church. The main day of celebrations is the 7th of October, before dawn the Dawn Rosary is sung along the streets of Guardamar del Segura by a group called the "Auroros".
In the afternoon there is a procession which concludes in the evening with a spectacular firework display around Guardamar castle.
Christmas In Guardamar
Christmas in Guardamar is another special celebration, the festivities are much like the rest of the Costa Blanca and elsewhere in Spain.
The festivities start at the beginning of December, and whilst there are events for all, they are mainly for the local children. These start with a Christmas speech and the inauguration of the municipal nativity scene, there are sports, pageants, games, magic and more.
The most important event comes on the 23rd of December with the arrival of a giant called "Manjaballos". Accompanied by the local children, he parades through the town dancing to the sound of traditional instruments.
The year closes with a huge party in the square in front of the Guardamar del Segura town hall, both tourists and locals join together to see in the New Year.
Finally on the 5th of January, the three kings from the orient arrive with their cavalcade, which includes well known figures from children's stories.
