July 4th for 2 Weeks Straight - Las Hogueras de Sant Joan

I've come to discover that you can't understand nor appreciate Alicante without living through the biggest party of the year, Las Hogueras, which has been put on annually since 1928. Last night, marching bands were playing through the streets of the city until 5 in the morning. Well, marching bands accompanied by fireworks. A friend called it July 4th mixed with Mardi Gras and Burning Man, and that is an understatement. This is not something put on for tourists like the Mickey Mouse parade in the Disney park of your choice; there is no theme park element to it at all.

I'm still new to this, and the language is a barrier, but here is my understanding. Each neighborhood of the city has a party committee. Through the year, they raise funds through local businesses. A giant sculpture, featuring ironic and/or politically sensitive subject matter, is designed and built, and placed in a central area of the neighborhood, and half of the streets are closed to auto traffic. On the last night of the party, they will all be simultaneously burned in 30 feet of flames, all over the city.


About a month before the party, a Bellesa del Foc, or beauty of the fire, in traditional dress, is selected for each of the 88 neighborhoods. A marching band is formed, and participants with traditional costumes are organized. Every night, the band plays and the marchers march with the Belleza to the Plaza de Luceros, in the southern part of the city, and then they form in a giant parade to the Ayuntamiento, the main government building, and because there are so many neighborhoods in the city, the parade goes from 8'30 pm until past 2'00 am. At the ayuntamiento, flowers are attached to the building to form a sort of mosaic made of flowers. Every night the neighborhood band and marchers, followed by a loosely organized committee of firecracker throwers, go down a different street in the neighborhood until they've been through every street, and in the end, every street in the city will have seen at least one procession, so if people are too old or young to leave their apartment they can still see a parade.

Also in the neighborhoods, streets are closed off and huge kitchens are set up to feed and 'water' the marchers, the band, and the Bellesa del Foc. These are called barracas. Some are open to the public, some not. Most feature massive PA systems, a stage, and live music.

During this time there are daily bullfights, with the attendees joining the throngs of people on the streets afterwards.

Meanwhile, for two weeks straight, there are constant shows of fireworks that the city puts on. They don't even wait until night, although they go off all night long too. There is no central fireworks location; it's everywhere. The explosions can be heard all over the city, and smoke fills the air. Individuals take to the streets and set off more explosions. The Spanish love noise, and in this coastal and former fortress city, aerial explosions are very much part of the history. So the explosions and smoke are more or less a constant backdrop.

During the last week, people go down to the beach for some kind of celebration where they wade in the water at night. The last two nights, there are fireworks shows on the beach. During the last few days, the frequency of parades and fireworks increases until finally everyone is worn out.

Because of the closed streets, the busses change their routes. Most stores are closed for a greater percentage of the day than they already are. But that's okay, considering the intensity of the party and the community involvement. Everyone is involved. The young in strollers and the old, the mothers, fathers and children, the disabled, the rich and the poor, the beautiful and the ugly, the participants and the spectators, the government and the anarchists, everyone. It creates bonds that integrate the community and prevent it from sliding into every man for himself styled society.