Javea’s spectacular Fiesta de San Juan

If it’s June it must be San Juan; this lively festival is a feature throughout Spain, but in the attractive coastal town of Javea it takes on a whole new meaning. Not only is there the traditional display of fire and fireworks on the beaches on the night of June 23rd, between the 12th and the 24th of this month there is a whole feast of entertainment to enjoy.

The events known locally as ‘las hogueras de San Juan’ invite the town and its people to participate in the fun. Streets are closed and the citizens of Javea happily devote all their time and energy to the bull runs, parades and firework displays. Like Valencia’s famous fallas, the hogueras (bonfires) are employed to destroy the many huge wooden statues that stand in the town, painstakingly created by local craftsmen.

While the bonfires blaze and fireworks explode in fountains of colour and light, the local bomberos (fire crews) are kept busy as they oversee the safety of the celebrations. The combination of tinder-dry grass and gunpowder can be dangerous, but no Spanish fiesta is complete without a world-class firework display!

The townspeople have a busy time; this festival is especially hard work, with much skill required for the carving of the wooden figures. There are also elaborate floats to construct for the impressive parades and the most suitable animals must be selected for the bull-run.

The activities culminate with the traditional San Juan activities, when crowds congregate on the beaches and enjoy the typical treats, such as eating barbecued boquerones and risking the old custom of leaping through the fire.

San Juan is one of Spain’s most attractive fiestas, but it is perhaps also the most dangerous. Enjoy it – but remember to wear inflammable clothing!

New post on at Wednesday, 16 June, 2010, 9:06 am and is archived in Culture, Lifestyle, Places of Interest. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.