JOHNSON'S 1ST FIESTA

 MARE DE DEU DE LORETO

HISTORY

Although the official celebration is on December 10th, many Spanish towns and cities celebrate their patron "Mare de Deu de Loreto" on September 8th - the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. In Jávea, she is the patron saint of the port area and regarded as a protector of its fortune, both on land and sea. The full title of 'Our Lady of Loreto' refers to the house of Loreto where it is said that the Blessed Virgin Mary was born - hence the nativity element - and subsequently where the Annuniciation occurred and, later, the statue of "Our Lady" was discovered. Although Loreto lies in Ancona, Italy, legend says the house was miraculously carried by four angels from Palestine to Italy after the final expulsion of the Crusaders from the Holy Land.  (javeamigos.com)

MY VIDEO COLLAGE 

(Includes Bulls at Sea, La Vuelta bike race, Parade, Procession, Fireworks)

What a treat to experience this fiesta our 3rd week in Jávea! For a small town, this event is large scale and the town collectively puts a lot of work (and fun) into the celebration. All of the events took place where we live, in the port. It was so fun to set out around 7pm and come across something new. Highlights include:

Bulls at Sea: 

The video says it all. This is a high energy event that goes on for five days. Each day at noon and at 7pm, loud fireworks signal the start of the bulls. Anyone 16 or older can enter the ring and have their go at enticing the bulls. The goal is to draw the bull into the sea after you. Mainly young males are the ones having a go and it seemed like a right of passage for many of them. Spectators go wild when the bull is successfully lured into the sea and many jump in after the bull. Bulls are much better swimmers than you'd imagine. Two men in a rowboat are responsible for wrangling the bull's horns and rowing it to shore (which is an impressive feat). Each day a different ranch provides bulls and which take turns in the ring. Some bulls took a really long time or were never successfully lured into the water. One afternoon there was one young bull that, after being released into the ring, would run and jump off the edge without being even provoked! Spectators get to enjoy all this with bebidos and fresh grilled calamaris or anchovies while music is played, keeping the energy high the entire time. There is nothing that compares to this experience! 

La Vuelta Bike Race

This is Spain's equivalent of theTour de France and it came through Jávea three blocks from our apartment.  The race lasts for 21 stages and covers 3,357.1km (2,086.01 miles). It was impressive to watch this come through in an hour, from all the hundreds of police on motorcycles and cars setting up security tape, to the hundreds of extra road bikes that accompanied the riders. 

Fireworks:

I was told that Spaniards love their fireworks and this fiesta was proof of that. I couldn't keep track of how many fireworks there were during this fiesta and they always seemed to catch us off guard. For the big displays, at the beginning and end of the fiesta, you had to stay up until midnight if you wanted to watch. Other fireworks went off during the day and they were always the LOUD, boom-crackers, that would make your heart rate jump. We enjoyed many fireworks from our upstairs balcony.

Parade & Procession of the Loreto Statue

The costumes, make up, and hairstyles are everything you'd imagine to see in Spain. The floats of the main parade were beautiful. The kids have never enjoyed a parade more (or scored so much candy). 

Music

There are many mini-marching band groups in the town that commit themselves to days of playing during the festivities. They played in the fiesta tent at the bulls, during the mobile discos (which were dance party parades of locals dressed in funny outfits throughout the port), and at any time of the day, they felt inspired. One afternoon I set off for a run and a marching band ran with me down the entire street blaring their instruments. It was awesome!

Drinking

With a seemingly minimal amount of sleep, both Jávea's young and the old have party-endurance like nothing we could keep up with. It was a rush, and almost exhausting at times, to be surrounded by the energy that this celebration inspires.

When we watched the water fireworks finale (which was the best I've EVER seen), I actually felt a slight sense of relief that the fiesta was over...for now:)  

And these are just the highlights! What a gift Jávea provides for its community and tourists. I'm so grateful we got to see it all unfold!