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LONG WEEKEND HOLIDAY BY ANDY ORMISTON, AUTHOR OF TORREVIEJA CAMEOS

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Andy Ormiston / 2009-10-02 11:16:06

October is the month dedicated to angels and while many people will look a bit askance at the idea, angels feature in most main religions.

Because of their fair colouring, he English were likened to the idea of shining white angels by an early pope hence we have the title of Anglos. We have two main feasts: the first is the public holiday of the 9th October when the Valencian region celebrates the arrival of King Jaime I into the Valencia City after a six month siege and last year was the special anniversary of this event in 1238. A few days later on the 12th   October is a national holiday in honour of the Virgen del Pilar when both the armed forces and the Guardia Civil have their own celebration as she is their patron saint and in Madrid there is a spectacular march past the King and civil dignitaries that can be viewed on Spanish television channels. The 12th is also Latin American day honouring the day that Columbus discovered America and you will find that many Costa Blanca towns with a large South American community will provide a large splash of colour and salsa music. It is the patronal fiestas at Pilar de la Horadada and many events are arranged throughout the preceding week with sporting events, bullfights, traditional dancing, Parades, concerts and activities for the children. Foreign groups have taken part in the main parade with their own float over the past few years.

At Benejúzar a new sanctuary has been built for the statue of the Virgen del Pilar; at the beginning of the fiestas the statue is carried in a ceremonial procession, then a Romeria is held to conduct the image back to the new sanctuary at the end of the festival. The Romeria has more than 30,000 people taking part and is a very colourful and emotional event.

Romerias or pilgrimages are very common in the Vega Baja area and are held in Pilar de la Horadada, Callosa and Benejúzar. In the park Huerto del Cura in Bigastro there is an event worth attending when traditional music and dancing is held; some brave souls make up a human pyramid in the Catalan style and there are various theatrical events.

For us on the Costa Blanca you can still put on your Bavarian hat and clogs to enjoy the fun as Calpe has had its own Oktoberfest beer festival for several years, in fact since 1988. In Torrevieja the well-known wholesale butchers, Cárnicas Ríos, located in the poligno industrial, has been holding an Oktoberfest for ten years for 5,000 beer guzzlers who enjoy a variety of German sausages, Saxon-style chops, roast chicken, smoked ham joints, roast piglet, Bavarian and German puddings, swilled down by some thousand litres of German beer accompanied by live music. Last year Denia and San Fulgencio’s La Marina urbanisation followed suit and no doubt other towns will also toe the bar line to down a few Steiners and munch a number of sauerkrauts, or knuckles of ham. Skol.

The annual “Old Books Fair” will be held on the promenade of Torrevieja in front of the cultural Casino from 1st October to the 20th October.  On the 10th Andy Ormiston will be available to sign copies of his book Torrevieja Cameos at the Bargain Book kiosk.

 

Tags: Andy Ormiston, Local Fiestas,