How many fiestas?

How many fiestas are there on any one day?  You would expect the answer to be one, however last weekend two different Fiestas were being celebrated in Jumilla: San Fermín, as discussed previously, plus San Cristóbal, the patron saint of all travellers including lorry drivers.  The official days are different, but why restrict yourself to one day’s partying when you can have several days of celebrations?  Exactly.  The Fiestas de San Fermin ran from 7th to 10th July, whereas the Fiesta de San Cristóbal took place on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th July.

As honorary Jumillanos we feel it is our duty to support as many local events as possible, which made the weekend a rather frantic one, especially as we also have a duty to support Música entre Vinos, which meant we were committed to attending the event at Bodega Viña Campanero on Saturday night.  Readers, it was hard but we did our best.

Friday night was San Fermín night and Saturday night was Música entre Vinos, so what should we do for Sunday night?  It had to be San Fermín again, as we knew Al Golpe was the closing act for this year’s Fiestas, but we needed to show a bit of solidarity with the lorry drivers, especially as one of our dog Lisa’s favourite walks is down the road and past the lorry park.

San Cristóbal leading the parade

The local niños come out in force every year to watch the lorries parade through the streets of Jumilla.  I suspect that this may have something to do with the packets of  corn snacks, sweets and toys that are thrown from the cabs to the waiting children!  Even John and I went home on Saturday evening with a bag of goodies after watching (and listening to) the lorries.  The tooting of horns seems to be a compulsary component of the parade, and when we covered our ears they just laughed at us.

The parade on Sunday morning was a more musical affair, as this time the statue of San Cristóbal was carried from the lorry park to the Church of San Juan Bautista for a special mass, accompanied by the local band.  After watching the morning parade we walked Lisa into town to buy the Sunday papers, then stopped for a cold drink on the way home.  We managed to glimpse the Pasacalles for San Fermín as well, where the statue of San Fermín was carried from house to house, accompanied by another local band. 

San Fermín - having a rest

Lisa was not impressed by the loud firewords that were being set off at regular intervals, so we decided to head home with her.  Our timing was perfect, as the mass for San Cristóbal had finished, and we saw the procession arrive at the Monumento de los Camioneros with their offering of flowers.  The Policia Local were on duty to stop the traffic on the main road and I was beckoned across by a police officer so that I could take photos.

Flowers on the Monument

After such a busy morning we decided to relax during the afternoon – after all, we needed to save ourselves for the evening’s events.  We had arranged to meet friends in Bar La Casa at 10pm, however we soon discovered that we needed a Plan B as the bar was closed, in spite of Cristina having told us they were going to be open all weekend!  Apparently they were all exhausted after a busy weekend (!), but luckily Bar Central, which is usually closed on Sundays,  had decided to take advantage of so many potential customers and had opened.

John and I set up a rota to go and check whether Al Golpe had started their performance.  We knew what time they were due to start, but this is Spain, moreover it is Jumilla.  Although Bar Central is on one side of the plaza where the stage had been set up, there was a children’s fairground in between, and the fairground was very noisy, with a combination of loud music and excited children.

Al Golpe

About half an hour later than advertised Al Golpe started their act, so we downed our drinks and finished off our tapas before heading outside.   As always their performance was superb and the audience loved it, calling out “Bravo!” and “Guapos!” before chanting “Otras!”, after the final number had been performed.  Al Golpe added a couple of extra songs before packing up, so everybody was happy.

It was nearly one in the morning when we left, pausing only to watch the final firework display.

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Author: Sue Walker

Author of "Retiring the Olé Way". See my blogs at www.spainuncovered.uk, http://blogs.angloinfo.com/jumilla-journal/ and http://over60andoverhere.blogspot.com.es/

4 thoughts on “How many fiestas?”

  1. In Turkey we have bayramlar (holidays) which are usually either deeply patriotic (with nationalistic undertones) or religious (all about fasting or blood sacrifice). Not quite as fun, I can tell you.

  2. In España most fiestas have religious connections, and sometimes patriotic. By that I mean the Spanish flag is usually flying – and they often have a string of tiny flags across the streets, sometimes just Spanish ones but sometimes representing lots of other countries including the UK. We always feel it is in a positive way though – even when sport is involved. Semana Santa, which is deeply religious, has lots of fun elements, such as sweets being handed out to the children, and of course all the bands playing. Living in the Ciudad del vino, not surprisingly, wine is often involved. We had a miniferia del vino at Easter and there will be another one during the Fiesta de la Vendimia. Sounds like we made the right choice, moving here!

  3. You always have such great adventures! It sounds like you stayed busy all weekend.

    I would personally have to agree with Lisa about the fireworks. We just recently celebrated our Independence day, in America, where fireworks are set off, often several nights in a row. I love to see them, but I can’t stand to hear them, the boom always scares me!

    Have a great day

  4. Lisa said “Hola” and thinks you are a very sensible lady! I must admit that I prefer the pretty fireworks, which light up the sky, rather than the really noisy ones. Firecrackers are also popular here – and those really are scary!

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