We decided to walk down to the area of the Plaza del Luceros to watch and hear the mascletà’s on Sunday.
Statue in the Plaza del Luceros
The mascletàs are popular in Spain and particularly in our area. Masclaterà’s are pyrotechnics that focus on noise and rhythm. The Mascleterà’s are started at 2 p.m. and last approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
As we got closer to Luceros the crowds became thicker and larger.
crowds gathering towards the Luceros Plaza for the mascletà’s
People gather early and try to get as close as possible to the barrier fences to be as close as possible. The percussion of the noise can be felt in the entire body, when you are fairly close to Luceros square.
We walked to an area that was not too close to the front of Luceros and found a good spot to watch the mascleta. The noise is very loud and we brought ear plugs to protect our ears.
Shelley and Ray with hearing protection at the mascletà
The mascletà last approximately 15 minutes and escalates in loudness and speed throughout the event. The smoke and sound can be seen across the entire city.
Smoke from the mascletà’s in Luceros plaza
It is a cultural thing here in Alicante and families bring children and even babies to the mascletà.
Young family at the Mascletà’s in Alicante
The mascletà is part of the fiesta called The Bonfires of Saint John. In Alicante, the fiesta has been established since 1928 and is celebrating it’s 90 anniversary this year.
Mascletà gets its name from the masclets (very loud firecrackers) that are tied by a wick to form a line or firework display. You will hear them throughout the video below.
It is an interesting and amazing thing to see and hear. It is one of the many unique things about living in Spain.
We went to preview the fogueres on display and take part in the judging of the best fogueres for 2018. Each year a miniature copy of the full size fogueres are made and put on display for judging. Each ticket entry fee comes with two ballets for voting. One ballot for the adult fogueres and the other is for the children’s fogueres.
We went into the large building and came to the first room which contained the adult fogueres.
Shelley and Ray in the entrance area of the fogueres
There were rows of the fogueres on both sides of the room .
Rows of adult miniature fogueres on display for judging.
We went through the room slowing looking at each one. There was one which caught Ray’s attention.
Ray with firefighter foguere
What was unique about the firefighter foguere is what was not visible at first. The back of the foguere was surprising. The firefighter was wearing a thong and angel wings. I think the meaning behind the foguere is that a firefighter could be a women and may be the firefighter you see in gear.
The view on the back side of the foguere
We walked through the room and admired the amazing details of the fogueres. Some of them were very beautiful and extremely detailed.
One of the fogueres with amazing detail
We then went through to the children’s fogueres area. This was also a large room with fogueres on both sides of the room.
Children’s fogueres on display for judging.
The children fogueres were very interesting and there were many beautiful designed fogueres. We looked at each one and made our votes for what we thought was the best in both categories.
Each year we enjoy seeing the different and new fogueres. Some of them are made to make political statements or to make fun of a particular person or group. One which was particularly interesting was of the poisoning of the oceans through plastics and pollution.
A foguere in a tube design with a skeleton of a fish inside
At first glance it is a message about pollution but on a closer look you see a sign which makes a strong statement.
Sign with ominous warning of the pollution and plastics of the ocean.
It translates roughly in english as follows:
“just wield the last tree Follow death, the last poisoned river and the last trapped fish.
You will notice that you can not eat money”
Looking inside the container you can see the bottom which represents the ocean floor and is full of plastics, paints, hazardous materials and other pollutants.
Plastics, paints and other pollutants on base of foguere
Plastic has become a major issue here and across the globe. We see it on a daily basis living on the coast of the Mediterranean sea.
There was another foguere which made fun of a female politician named “Cristina Cifuentes”. She had made a false statement that she had obtained a master’s degree. When she was challenged by the media she produced a certificate which was later proven to be fake. It was a major issue here in Spain and caused a lot of turmoil, she eventually resigned.
Effigy foguere of Cristina Cifuentes a politician from Madrid
In the hands of the effigy are two different “certificates” which do not hold back the feelings of the public.
The “certificate” translates to state ” Master Cristina Cifuentes “major troll of the kingdom”Fake certificate which translates “Cristina Cifuentes, “a very legal blonde”
It is these type of fogueres which make seeing the different ones so enjoyable.
Below is a gallery of some of the fogueres on display for the voting in 2018.
We attended the “Exposicion del Ninot” display where you can vote for the best Fogueres of 2017. What makes this so interesting, is that a miniature of each Foguere of the current year is created. They are put on display for people to view and cast a vote for their favorite one.
Entrance to the Exposicion del Ninot 2017
We went inside to view the fogueres and cast our vote. The room was very large and there were fogueres displayed throughout the entire room. Each foguere had an identification card with a number and the barrio it was from.
Foguere identification cardFogueres on display along the entire walls of the large room
We began walking slowly through the room admiring the amazing art of the fogueres. Each one was unique and had great details. Some were whimsical and almost cartoon like.
whimsical foguere
Other fogueres had themes or represented strong messages.
One of the Foguere’s with a specific message.
The message is a quote from Oscar Wilde which states “They’ve promised that dreams can come true, but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.” The image was very powerful and was very well done.
Foguere with strong message and image
One of the entries commemorates a prominent person involved in the fogueres in Alicante for years.
Foguere commemorating the life of a prominent Spanish person involved in the fogueres for years in AlicanteHomage to Antulio SanJuan Ribes
We walked through the first room amazed at all the great artwork of the fogueres.
Ray looking at the fogueres
After about a half an hour looking at the fogueres we came to another hallway and were shocked to find even more fogueres in the next room.
A second room full of fogueres.Jim and Anne looking at Fogueres
In total there were 89 fogueres which made it very hard to cast our vote. Below is a gallery of the fogueres, try to decide which one of them is the best.
There is a week-long fireworks competition in Alicante every year. It is called ” LXXI Concurso de focs artificials” and begins the night after the Fogueres de Sant Joan festival ends. They are set off at midnight down on the beach area of Alicante. We headed down to the beach area and walked along the breakwater pier. We found a perfect spot to watch the fireworks on the pier.
The first night we watched the fireworks from the pier, they had a mishap about half way through the fireworks. Part of the system fell and launched their fireworks into the beach sand. We could see the fireworks hitting the beach sand and then just glowing. This went on for about 5 minutes. Then the fireworks began to go up into the sky again. It was fairly windy and the fireworks display was hindered by the strong winds.
view of misfiring fireworks on the beach
The second night we attended the fireworks, it was a lot better. We managed to get the same viewing area and the fireworks were excellent.
view of fireworks from the pier in Alicante
We could hear the crashing of the waves against the pier and the thunder of the fireworks in the sky. It was very enjoyable.
The below video if of the finally of the fireworks one of the nights.
This week has been very busy and exciting for anyone living or visiting Alicante. The fiesta Hogueras de San Juan is a week-long fiesta with music, fogueres, dances, food and fun. We have been trying to take in as much of the fiesta as possible.
The street parties were set up in almost every neighbourhood. The block parties were fenced in and most of them had an ornate gate made for the fiesta. Below are a few of the “gates” for the block party entrances.
Entrance to one of the block partiesEntrance to block partyEntrance to block party
We headed out each day to take part in some of the fiesta activities. We have put together some of the highlights of the week activities below.
Fogueres of the 2016 Alicante fiesta
Images of Fiesta in AlicanteFogueres and crowds of the fiesta
There were block parties every night and music until the early morning hours. Fireworks and firecrackers were a continues activity. People were gathered in large crowds enjoying the fiesta and the different events. We came across numerous bands that would walk throughout the city playing music. The video below is an example of only one of the talented groups wandering through the city playing music.
https://youtu.be/FdP4tqoQ3Vo
We saw amazing fogueres and displays that were both artistic and creative. There were parades that took place all week. We attended some of the parades and enjoyed seeing the traditional clothing and listening to the music. They even had a “Nanos y Gegants” parade, which was very enjoyable. People put on large paper-mache heads and walk through the streets. There are main characters which are very large approximately 18 feet high that promenade through the streets. They stop along the way and dance and twirl to music.
Large head parade18 feet high characters in the parade
People sing and walk along the parade and encourage other people to take part. It was neat to watch them in the parade.
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