The Hogueres de Sant Joan (Bonfires of Saint John) in Alicante
If you feel like living a Mediterranean festival, start packing and head to Alicante to celebrate the Hogueres de Sant Joan (Bonfires of Saint John). Since ancient times, the villages of the Mediterranean coast celebrated the coming of the summer solstice around bonfires that cleansed and purified. In Alicante, the ritual of fire survived throughout the centuries as a festivity connected to the farming community. The festival starts on the 20th of June and ends the 24th of June with the burning (cremà) of the bonfires. If you still haven’t been to the Mediterranean coast I recommend you to go there during the festival to feel the welcome of this land and enjoy los castillos, (firework displays), las mascletaes (firecrackers), and the huge effigies that once again are central elements of the festivity and its final triumphal culmination. Rent your apartment in Alicante and join the party.
Las Hogueras de San Juan effigies have been declared Festivities of International Tourist Interest and they are the most important festivity in the City of Alicante.
Nowadays, nearly 90 hogueras (huge effigies to be burnt) are set up in the city of Alicante, and there are more than ten thousand direct participants of the Festivity, in which the Comisiones de Hogueras (committees in charge of each particular effigy) and Comisiones de Barracas (committees who control the open-air spaces with bars, dance areas and tables and chairs) play an important role. These festivities are also held in other towns in the Region of Valencia, mainly in the province of Alicante, such as Benidorm, Torrevieja or Xàbia, but also in Nules, in the province of Castellón, as an exception.
Among the main acts, we must single out the plantà (setting up) of the hogueras and barracas, las mascletaes, (firecrackers) the parades, the offering of flowers, la cremà and the firework displays, from the 25th onwards.
Bonfires are organised into Comisiones de las hogueras which fundraise and host the other events throughout the year. A member of a commission is called a foguerer. A commission usually represents one area, a place or an avenue in the city, but there are many areas with numerous commissions. In Alicante there are 86 commissions.
A comisión de barraca is a group of friends who don’t take part in all the activities, and they raise money only to eat, drink and dance in the festival, in a place in the street called barraca. The member of a barraca is called barraquer. The barracas and the racós are places in the street with tables, chairs, bar, orchestra and dance floor. They are a place for people to eat, talk, drink and dance during the festival. The difference between the barraca and the racó is that the racó is for the entire district and admission is free, while entrance to the barraca is restricted. The racó is made by the foguerers and the “barraca” is made by the “barraquers”.
Beauty is the most emblematic element in the Bonfires after the monument. The Beauty is a woman who is the queen of the festival . There are both Beauties (aged 18 to 25 years) and Infantile Beauties (aged 9 to 11 years) representing Bonfires and Infantile Bonfires respectively.
Since a Beauty is the representation of a particular commission, there are 86 Beauties and 86 Infantile Beauties in Alicante. A Beauty can have two or four Honour Ladies in her commission. There are certain Honour Ladies for the whole city. The Beauty of the Fire (Bellea del Foc) is the queen of the festival in all the city and there are also six Ladies of the Fire (Damas del Foc).
Useful info
Les Fogueres de Sant Joan
