fiestas

   Each of the approximately 8,000 villages and small towns in Spain has its own annual fiesta, which in the smaller and poorer villages can last a few days, and in the larger towns anything from a week to a month. Despite the long-standing pattern of migration from the villages to the major cities, many people return to their family's place of origin to take part in the fiesta. These occasions originated in religious festivals, though increasingly they have come to be combined with civic celebrations. Typically, there is a solemn religious ceremony attended by the village dignitaries in full regalia, and a series of secular events celebrating regional dress, food, music and sports. There are often literary competitions, plays, corridas, all emphasizing their distinctively local character, as well as special events for particular groups, such as senior citizens, children, guilds and civic and religious fraternities. A raffle, where the prize is a lamb or a calf, is sometimes used to finance a banquet specifically for the single young men and women of the village. All of this takes place to the accompaniment of music and verbenas, that is, openair dancing, especially at night.

   The importance of tourism has led many towns and villages to invest a great deal of effort in enhancing the beauty and distinctiveness of their fiestas. Some are officially designated as events of "International Tourist Interest", such as the Carni-vals of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cadiz, the Holy Week Processions of Seville, Valladolid, Málaga, Cuenca and Zamora, the April Fair in Seville, the Pamplona Sanfermines (the running of the bulls, widely publicized by Hemingway), the fallas in Valencia and Alicante, the festival of Corpus Christi in Toledo, the mock battle between Moors and Christians in Alcoy, the Elche Mystery Play and the Wine Harvest in Jérez de la Frontera.

   Many towns have, in addition to their major festival, a second one, primarily for local people, without the overwhelming presence of tourists, such as the unpublicized "Little San Fermín" in Pamplona. There are also less elaborate festivals marking particular events in the agricultural calendar, such as the blessing of the animals on St Anthony's day, the celebration of the wine harvest at Michaelmas, and the Cruz de mayo (The May Cross) to mark the culmination of spring. The Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout Spain on 2 November. Many places in Spain have their local pilgrimage or procession in honour of the Virgin, the most famous being the Rocío (Our Lady of the Dew) in Almonte (Huelva, Andalusia), which brings together up to a million people, and the Virgen del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar) in Zaragoza, the latter a brilliant spectacle of colour from the huge quantity of flowers carried in procession. To these traditional fiestas have been added in modern times public holidays marking events of national significance, such as the National Day on 12 October, and Constitution Day on 6 December. Spain has also adopted international secular festivals of a more commercial character, such as Father's Day and Mother's Day.

   See also: Basque culture; Canarian culture; Catalan culture; Galician culture

   CARLOS ÁLVAREZ ARAGÜÉS