The Christmas season is certainly different this year in Alicante. There are no major gatherings and all the fiestas are cancelled. Curfews are imposed and people are only able to gather in small groups. No more than two families with a total of 10 people can gather at Christmas. So it is just the two of us having a quiet Christmas at home. However the city has done a great job lighting up the city in a festive way. We put on our mask and decided to take a walk around some of the areas of the city to check out the Christmas lights.
Shelley and Ray at the Esplanada d’Espanya in Alicante
Along our walk through the different barrios we would find different lights strung across the road. It was beautiful to see the array of lights and styles of decorations.
Lights across one of the main roads in Alicante
Some of the narrow streets had some intricate and interesting lights. The photo below does not truly capture the ambiance of what it was like walking under the “stars” of that street.
Strings of lights along a narrow street in Alicante
Some of the plazas had displays of lights or even Christmas Nativity scenes. The plaza de la montañeta had both. There was a large ball decorated all in lights and people could go inside and walk through it.
Shelley and Ray in front of the Christmas ball in the plaza de la Montañeta.
There was also a display of a nativity scene and a village scape in the plaza.
If you look closely you may see a familiar face.
Nativity scene at the Plaza de la montañeta
Several streets had basic lights across them, while others had more intricate lights.
Shelley and Ray in front of gift box of lights
We walked down to the Ayutamiento (City Hall) and checked out the Plaça de l’Ajuntament. There was a large display of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.
Large display with Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Overall the Christmas decorations were beautiful although the atmosphere this year is one draped in uncertainty. We wish everyone a safe, healthy Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
We went to the Santa Barbara Castle for a meal and some live entertainment. We settled into our reserved table to enjoy an outdoor full course meal. The tribute band for “The Beatles” called The Liverpool Band was slated to do a concert after our meal.
The view of the stage from our reserved seats
The atmosphere was fantastic sitting in the heart of the castle which was built in the 12th century. People were gathered at the tables enjoying the meal before the start of the concert.
People enjoying the outdoor meal in the 12th century castle of Santa Barbara
It was a beautiful evening with a full moon slowly moving over the castle walls.
View of the moon perched over the castle walls
The concert setting was small and allowed for a great view of the stage. Our seats were quite close to the stage and gave us a perfect view of the concert.
Our view of the stage from our seats.
What was really interesting about the Liverpool Band was that they were formed in Alicante in 1997 and all of the band members are Spanish. They played for over two hours non-stop focussing on some of the top Beatle songs .
Juan Antonio Juárez: Guitarra solista y voz,
Iván Martínez Ferrández: Batería y percusión.
We have put together just a small sample of some of the music they played at the Castle.
The Band Members are:
Jose Manuel Lledó Adsuar: Guitarra rítmica y voz,
Juan Antonio Juárez: Guitarra solista y voz,
Jorge Aniorte: Bajo y voz,
Iván Martínez Ferrández: Batería y percusión.
We enjoyed the evening and had a great time at one of the many events held in Alicante and at the Castle of Santa Barbara.
“Hasta la próxima, vive el momento y disfruta del regalo de la música.”
Each year Alicante has firework displays for 7 nights after the “Fougeres of Sant Joan.” We try to take part and watch the fireworks from different locations in the city.
The first night we watched the fireworks offshore on a sailboat.
Shelley on the sailboat waiting for the start of the fireworks
The views from the Mediterranean Sea were excellent. We had unobstructed views of the entire fireworks.
View of the fireworks from aboard the sailboat on the Mediterranean Sea
The second fireworks we watched was from our terrance which provided a good view with the Castillo de Santa Barbara as a backdrop.
View of fireworks with the Castillo of Santa Barbara in the foreground
The final time we watched the fireworks this year was from a 21 storey high rooftop terrance near the beach. Thousands of people head to the beach area to watch the fireworks. It is truly an amazing place to see them. The lights reflect off the water and make a spectacular show.
Thousands of people along the beach waiting for the fireworks show to begin.
The fire works are launched from a small point of beach. From the terrace we could see the launch area.
View of the launch area for the fireworks on the beach.
We enjoyed watching the fireworks which last approximately 20 minutes. The twenty-one storey high terrace provided us with a spectacular location to watch the fireworks.
The view of the fireworks from the rooftop terrance
The pictures do not convey just how spectacular the fireworks were. Some of the fireworks were very creative with designs including happy faces, peace signs and other different patterns.
One of the unique fireworks
We put a short video below of just some of the fireworks.
“Vive la vida y haz tus propios fuegos artificiales.”
In Alicante every year there is a major festival called “Les Fogueres de Sant Joan”. It begins on the 20th of June and ends with the “Cremá” which starts at midnight on June 24th. The city is bustling with noise and activities during the week of the “Fogueres”.
We try to participate and enjoy as much of the activities as possible during the fiesta. One of our favorite things to do is explore the fogueres on display at most major locations.
Shelley and Ray in front of one of the fogueres
There were a total of 89 fogueres in this year’s fiesta. We put together a small gallery of some of the creative, different and beautiful fugueres we saw.
We also took part in other events during the fiesta, inluding the Mascletà, parades and the famous “crema” which roughly translates to “cremate”
We went to our friends apartment which overlooks one of the main fougeres. Their balcony provides the perfect spot to view the fiesta activities and the crema.
Shelley and Ray in front of the large fougeres which we watched being burnt at the crema.
Below is a small video of the crema activities which is one of the highlights of the fiesta.
Our friend Felipe who is involved in a lot of tourist activities assisted in a video about Alicante. It is in Spanish but shows some of the great things we see in Alicante.
We always enjoy the Hougeras of San Juan and try to participate in as much as we can. Until the next time be safe and enjoy life.
“Lo mejor de la vida es seguir adelante con todos tus planes y tus sueños, abrazar la vida y vivir todos los días con pasión.”
Semana Santa week in Alicante is full of activities and parades. We participated and enjoyed some of the activities during the Semana Santa.
Procession on the Promenade
We went for a walk down the promenade and came to the procession also known as “penance procession” which was underway. We stopped and watched some of the procession including the Nazarenes dressed in their traditional “Vesta”.
Members of the brotherhood of Nazarene in procession
The history of the Nazarenes dates back to the 16th century. They are members of a brotherhood who do penance during Semana Santa. Their faces are covered for mourning and the colourful clothing represents the cloak that Jesus wore when he was being lead to be crucified.
One of the floats being carried by mourners
The floats or “pasos” which can weight in excess of 500 kgs. (1000 lbs) are carried by people dressed in white hooded gowns. These gowns cover their faces in mourning and represent the shame of sinners for the sins they committed.
The procession was interesting and we watched it for approximately an hour before we left.
Procession Santa Cruz
The second procession we watched is one of the most popular and is held in the narrow streets of Santa Cruz. Thousands of people gather early to get a good spot to watch the procession.
People gathering early to watch the Santa Cruz procession
We were very fortunate to have friends who invited us to watch the procession from their balcony which overlooks the procession. We could see the procession from a great vantage point.
View of the start of the procession from our friend’s balcony
The streets of Santa Cruz are narrow and there is one section in particular which is the narrowest in the procession route. At this section the people carrying the floats (known as the brotherhood) must be very careful to lower the float below the edges of the balconies which line the street.
The floats in Santa Cruz are very heavy and the heaviest one is over a ton. You can see the strain and effort on the people trying to move the float slowly and carefully down the stairs.
Moving the float through the narrowest section of the street
It is considered good luck if you are fortunate enough to touch one of the floats as it passes by. Shelley was able to reach out and touch the statue of Jesus as the float went by.
Shelley touching the arm of the Jesus statue during the Santa Cruz procession.
There are women dressed in black mourning throughout the procession. Some of the mourning women carry symbols of the stations of the cross.
Women in Mourning carrying a crown made of thorns.
The procession in Santa Cruz is very emotional, You can feel the emotions of people as they sing and cheer throughout the procession. It is definitely one of the highlights of the Semana Santa in Alicante.
Below is a video of the procession in Santa Cruz.
Santa Maria Church Procession
We went to a roof top bar to see the Santa Maria procession which begins at the Santa Maria Church. The bar has a great view of the castle of Santa Barbara and overlooks the Santa Maria Church.
Ray and Shelley on the roof top bar with a view of the castle of Santa Barbara
The bar was full of people waiting to see the procession from the rooftop.
People on the roof top waiting to see the procession.
The procession began with the church bells ringing and people on the church roof throwing rose pedals onto the procession.
People throwing rose pedals onto the procession from the church roof
Procession float starting the procession out of the Santa Maria Church
The float is carried out of the church while crowds align both sides of the street. We watched from the rooftop as the procession went along the street.
View of the procession float from the rooftop along the street near Santa Maria Church
Below is a video of the procession from the Santa Maria Church.
Each of the three processions were unique and different. We enjoyed each one for their uniqueness and style. Semana Santa is a great time to be in Spain and in particular Alicante.
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