|
In August we can look forward to two of the most publicised and most widely recognised fiestas to take place in Spain, the Mystery of Elche and the Tomatina in Bunol. We have put together some information for you giving you an idea of the history behind them and how best to go about joining in the celebrations.
The Mystery of Elche - 14th and 15th August The Mystery of Elche (misteri d'elx) is a religious lyrical drama of European mediaeval theatre which has been held in the Basilica of Santa Maria on the 14th and 15th August every year since the Middle Ages. The play, which is chanted, relates the last days of the Virgin Mary's life, her death, her ascension to heaven and her coronation as the Queen of creation. The actual history of the play is uncertain but the story goes that in the 12th century a soldier riding along the beach found an arc containing the image of the Virgin Mary and the Consueta (the book of play including the music and lyrics) floating in the waves. He noticed that the arc was marked “for Elche” so he arranged for it to be delivered to the city and it has been performed in the cathedral ever since. If you can't get to the see the play itself you can obtain more information including an audio/visual representation of the history and scenes from the mystery all year round at the Museo de la Festa near the Santa Maria Basilica (closed Mondays). Tickets for the dress rehearsals on 11th, 12th and 13th are now on sale from: - Casa de la Festa (c/ Major de la Vila, nº 27, tel. 965 456 112)
and
La Tomatina, Buñol - 26th August
For more than 60 years the small town of Buñol (30km West of Valencia) has celebrated this famous and slightly insane one hour battle on the last Wednesday of August. Around 40,000 people take part in this vehement but friendly riot in which they use 110 tons of mature tomatoes as projectiles. Apparently it all started in 1945 when the town square was crowded with young people to witness a "Gigantes y Cabezudos" parade (giant carnival figures with grotesque heads). Some of them decided to join in with the band that was leading the parade and to do so they pushed the ones who were wearing the giant disguises. One of the participants fell down and when he stood up he started hitting everyone around him. Soon everybody got caught up in the fight. Some young people involved took the tomatoes from a nearby vegetable stall and started throwing them at each other until the police broke it up. The following year the youths turned up again for a repeat performance and have been doing so ever since. The rules are simple: - only mature tomatoes may be thrown and they must be squished in the hand before throwing them
- you must not rip other peoples clothes
Easy enough, now go out there and get throwing.
|
