Dressing up time!
If there is one thing that they do well here in Spain it is the tradition of the fiesta. A week doesn’t appear to go by without one town in the locality celebrating some kind of saint’s day, although these holidays are not always religious. You have to admire their conviction and belief to uphold age-old customs and rituals - something sadly lacking in the UK. Many times, these holidays are on specific days, such as the Three Kings parade, which is held on the night of the January 5 and next year will fall on a Sunday. However, when the date does not fall on a Monday or Friday, a ‘puente’ is often taken, meaning a bridge day, in essence an extra day off.
One of the most colorful and eagerly anticipated fiestas here are the Moors & Christians. Last weekend it was Altea’s turn, which hold their parade over two separate nights. On Saturday it was the Christians then on Monday, the turn of the Moors. Benidorm’s parade takes place next Saturday, October 5, starting at 8pm. Various low-key parades, processions and religious services take place throughout the week, but the highlight is the main parade.
People travel in from all around to witness this spectacular, which sees all the penyas dress up! If you drive around you will see garages and empty shop units transformed and decorated into the penya bases… it all centres around drinking and partying and a makeshift bar is the focal point of any penya. Each has a name and sizes vary – once a family joins they usually stay for life, handing over to the younger generations to continue.
Each year one of the penyas is chosen to represent the Moor King and Christian King, which is an honour and privilege. It works on a cycle so that every penya gets the opportunity, however, this privilege comes at a cost! To belong to a penya you have to pay a membership fee, which varies depending on which one you belong to – but €500 is not unusual.
Then throughout the year they also hold fundraising events and many penyas also sell lottery tickets for the big ‘El Gordo’ Christmas draw. The ticket price from a shop is €20 but they generally add on an extra €3 which goes into the pot. Most of the locals will purchase from their penya and this explains why they are slightly more expensive. The cost of hiring all the spectacular elaborated costumes that you see during the parade is paid for from this fund but often supplemented by the individuals. €100 is probably at the cheaper end of the scale and most go to either Alicante or Alcoy, where there are specialist hire companies.
During the procession, each penya is followed by a band – which explains why so much emphasis is placed on music at school and why most Spanish children learn to play an instrument from a young age. I think it’s great and it keeps them off playing on their mobiles, which appears to be their pastime these days perhaps also explaining why there is very little knife crime here in Spain in comparison to the UK, in particular London!. The entire processions are also very inclusive of children and even babies, making it a real family thing which is wonderful to see. I saw numerous prams being pushed along with literally month-old babies dressed up and sleeping soundly. The costumes are truly spectacular and as for the face painting, it is stunning. There was even some blackface going on … but don’t tell anyone in politically correct Britain that!
Plastic chairs line the route and are available for spectators – but at a cost and that is why some of the locals bring their own. Wear comfy shoes, keeps bags close and have your camera ready. It is probably the one parade I definitely recommend you see – and the costumes in the Moors one I always find the most eye catching.
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