Spanish Festivals
Spain has a great variety of festivals. Some of the most famous are San Fermín in the city of Pamplona, Las Fallas or Falles in Valencia, La Noche de San Juan in various cities, La Tomatina in Buñol, San Isidro in Madrid, and Corpus Christi, also in many Spanish cities. If you ever travel to Spain, check out a festival calendar beforehand and make sure you can attend one!
San Fermín San Fermín is one of Spain’s most famous festivals. It takes place from July 7th through the 14th. Each day of the festival starts with an encierro. Young men dress in white, wear red handkerchiefs around their necks, and carry rolled newspapers in their hands. They run through the city while chased by six bulls and eight oxen. The encierro ends in a bullfighting plaza. Here, toreros (bullfighters) take over and entertain the crowds. There are also comparsas de gigantes y cabezudos (parades with people dressed as giants or wearing large papier mâché masks.)
Fallas During this March festival, people burn giant puppets called ninots that are made of wood, cardboard and papier mâché and stuffed with fireworks. The festival runs for five days and includes many other activities as well, like bullfights, paella cooking contests, and parades.
Hogueras de San Juan In June, on the shortest night of the year, people in different cities may stay up all night dancing and jumping over large bonfires. Some people believe that jumping over the fire will purify them. Many other traditions are also associated with this festival, sometimes called la noche de San Juan.
La Tomatina On the last Wednesday of August, about 30,000 people meet in Buñol to participate in a gigantic food fight. The fronts of most buildings are covered in plastic. Trucks bring tons of tomatoes and festival attendees go crazy throwing tomatoes at each other.
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