Ok, so we’re going to show you another cool festival. This festival is called Moros Y Cristianos Festival and is held from 22nd – 24th April in various cities along the Spanish coast. However, one of the best places to celebrate this festival is in Alcoy, Alicante.
So you know where to go and when to go – what’s so good about this festival? This festival acts out part of Spanish history, reconstructing the wars between the Arabs (Moros) and Christians (Cristianos) that happened at the Battle of Alcoy in 1275. The festival usually starts with the ‘Armies’ marching all day to the sound of the bands – everyone dressing up in the period clothes which are of course very colourful. This involves a massive parade through the streets to the sounds of the beating drums, before the armies proceed to the battle. People line the streets to admire and encourage the fighters. The soldiers march, sergeants wave at the cheering crowds and horsemen ride past all the supporters. Two days later the city is filled with the roar of battle, the smoke of gunpowder covering the city as a fog. The Moros and Crristianos go to ‘battle’ over the whole day; the Cristianos, are defeated in the morning and the Moorish crescent can be seen on the ramparts of the castle where the red cross had once flown.
The festival isn’t designed to be an accurate depiction of the battle but more revolves around everyone eating, drinking, singing and dancing (as a festival should be). It’s highly colourful and the magnificent costumes are worth seeing on their own. It can get really busy around the festival time and difficult to find accommodation in Alcoy you’d be best to book a hotel in Alicante, and go from there. If you’re flying in to Alicante, you might want to get a cheap car hire from Alicante airport and then drive to the festivities.
With that and the San Juan Bonfire festival there are two very good reasons to travel to Alicante. Have you been to the Moros Y Cristianos festival before? Let us know your take on it in the comments section below.
Enjoy the festivals of Alicante,
Duff