"If Spain is famous for anything, it is certainly its festivals". Although the aforementioned statement may seem a cliche, in fact it is absolute truth. The rich cultural tradition of Spain (what others describe as Latino character), means that every autonomous region of Spain, every province and even every town has a festival deeply rooted in the history or folk tradition.
Below we list 10 most interesting festivals that are a must when you are in Spain:
"The first of January, the second of February, the third of March, the fourth of April, the fifth of May, the sixth of June, the seventh of July San Fermin..." To hear the words of this well-known song you must come to Pamplona. This great and most popular festival in Spain attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from the early morning. In fact, during the celebrations honouring Saint Fermin (San Fermin), the number of people in Pamplona rises from 200 thousand to over a million.
Another classic festival. Las Fallas is a festival celebrated every year in Valencia and other towns of this region between 15th and 19th March. Each time around a million people come to the capital of the region to see the custom of burning puppets and cardboard sculptures at night, when the fire becomes the main highlight of the festival.
It is a festival that has been celebrated for over 60 years in the town of Bunol. Everyone, regardless of their age, can take part in this festival. Because of its great popularity and the special character, the festival became an inspiration for other countries. Every year, on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people become the participants of an exceptionally funny "battle" and throw tomatoes at each other (100 tonnes of this vegetable is at their disposal). Recently, the Tomato Festival has been criticised because of the privatisation and the obligatory entry fee for people from outside Bunol.
The famous Feria de Abril is celebrated in Seville at the so called Real de Feria square, three weeks after the Holy Week. Every year during the fair thousands of people dance sevillanas (folk dance) and taste the local drinks: fino (light dry wine)and rebujito (a cocktail of wine and soft drinks). It should be mentioned that a lot of the stalls are open to the public but, if you want to get to know more about the local society, it is worth visiting one of the private stalls, which can only be entered with the owner's invitation.
Although this festival is celebrated in many provinces, the celebrations in Alicante and Alcoy attract most of the tourists' popularity. Every year, between 21st and 24th April, the participants of the festival dress up in suitable costumes and parade along the streets of the city, divided into two groups: Moors and Christians.
The carnival celebrated in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the one in Cadiz belong to the most popular carnivals in Spain but one cannot forget about other events organised on that occasion in Spain. It is considered to be the second most important carnival in the world, right after the Brazilian carnival in Rio de Janeiro, a twin city of Santa Cruz. The carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife attracts a great interest among tourists from around the world and it aspires to become a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The Asturian town of Ribadesella each year, in August, becomes a symbol of sport, culture, and entertainment thanks to the organisation of the river Sella descent, which happens at the same time as the Canoe Festival. The great race of the Sella river in which you have to cover a 15 km distance, every year attracts canoeists from all over the world.
Over a million people come each year to the village of El Rocio, situated near the town of Almonte, to take part in the church fair and pray in front of the Virgin Mary statue. In the Christian world it is a deeply-rooted tradition, which surprises with the amazing involvement of the pilgrims, for whom it is a holiday filled with strong emotions.
In fact, it is one of the most important agricultural fairs in the country, which is organised at the Fairgrounds at the same time as the Autumn Festival. During festival celebrations in Lleida or other Catalan towns you cannot miss the castellers shows, that is the groups of people forming human towers of a few metres height.
Each year, between 30th April and 2nd May, Villamayor de Calatrava in the province of Ciudad Real becomes a pilgrimage destination. During the church fair happening at the time, a lot of people pay homage to the virgin Mary of the Rosary and the festival itself is an important event for the region.
