Tag Archives: Fireworks

Spain

A week of Fireworks

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.”

Spain

Les Fogueres de Sant Joan 2019

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.”

Spain

Fireworks on the Mediterranean Sea

There is an international fireworks competition held in Alicante each year. Our friends Mike and Liz invited us to go on their sailboat to watch the fireworks from the sea.

Jorge, Ceci, Mike, Paul, Shelley and Ray on the sailboat before heading out

We went out and anchored off the coast near in front of the Castle of Santa Barbara. The view was quite stunning to see the city and the castle in the evening from the sea.

View from the Mediterranean Sea of Alicante coast line.

We enjoyed the views and warm evening while we waited for the fireworks to start.

The view of the fireworks from the boat

The fireworks were beautiful and lasted approximately 20 minutes. There were some unique fireworks and the show was great to watch from the water.

Ray and Mike on the “Hegeldi” heading back to port of Alicante after the fireworks

We had a great time with friends, there were lots of laughs and lots of fun.

Ray with friends on the sailboat waiting for the fireworks to start

We still find it hard to believe at times that we are living in Spain. It is an adventure almost every day.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Mascletàs At Luceros In Alicante

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.

“Adiós y que tengas un buen día”

Spain

Fireworks contest in Alicante

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.

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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.

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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.

https://youtu.be/HpHASmroZvc

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”