Many Spanish towns, certainly in this part of the country, have an annual Moros
y Cristianos festival, commemorating the occupation of Spain by the Moors in
the early Middle Ages and its reconquista by the Catholic kings in the late
Middle Ages. The process of Reconquista took several hundred years, starting in
the north and ending with the departure of the last Moorish ruler from Granada
in 1492. The Valencia region, where Alicante is located, was reconquered in the
second half of the 13th century. For that reason, the dates of the local
festivals vary widely. In our neighbouring town of El Campello it is in early
January, but in the inland town of Almoradí, 50 km from Alicante, it was this
past weekend. The fiestas generally consist of re-enactments of some battles,
speeches but most of all they are an excuse to party for several days--in the
case of Almoradí from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. Given that, the
amount of drunkenness was remarkably low when we went there to see the
culmination of the fiesta on Sunday. In Northern Europe, such an event would
inevitably result in some people on the ground, some fighting, vandalism
etc.--but not here. The Spanish know how to party hard but civilised.
We had the honour of being invited to have lunch with the Moros, led by our
friends Maricarmen and Hilarión. Whether one is a Moor or a Cristiano during
these fiestas is determined by tradition and passed down through generations.
The pictorial record is here:
http://www.greatpix.eu/Other/Moros-y-Cristianos-Almoradi
Cheers,
Nathan
Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/
YNWA
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