Spain hosts hundreds of festivals throughout the year covering almost everything and anything you could think of; religion, music, wine and more. We’ve selected a pick of the truly weird and wonderful festivals for your wonderment…
Pamplona Bull Running
The crazy tradition of bull running is celebrated in various locations across the country but the Pamplona Bull Running Festival is undoubtedly the most famous of the lot. The runs take place every morning at 8am for one week between 7th – 14th July; there’s a loud, colourful opening ceremony whilst the crowds and participants chant before erupting into cheers as the rockets are fired and the 3 minute chase begins! Slow runners best not apply.
El Colacho
Castrillo de Murcia bears witness to one of the weirdest festivals of them all – El Colacho. It translates to the devil’s jump and it basically involves baby jumping. Yup. Baby Jumping! Men, dressed as the devil in luminous yellow suits, jump over babies which have been born in the previous 12 months who lie on mattresses in the street. Although the annual festival is said to date back to 1620, no one is sure of the origins but the practise is said to free and guard them against illness and evil spirits. All very well, until the babies get squashed by a man dressed as a devil…?
La Tomatina
La Tomatina may well be the best known weird festival in the world and definitely holds the title as the biggest food fight. The population in the Valencian town of Bruno near-on quadruples during the festival and there is a massive 100,000kg of tomatoes involved. At 10am, a handful of participants attempt the slippery climb to the top of the two storey high grease covered pole with a ham at the top. Clearly not an easy task so the fight usually begins before the top is reached. A water hose signals the start of a one hour tomato free-for-all. Goggles and gloves are strongly encouraged!
La Raima
Aimed to promote the wine-growing tradition of the village, La Raima is all about getting juicy in the form of grape throwing. Four lorries dump around 40 tonnes of the local grape, Garnacha Tintorera in the village at around midday and from that point on, the throwing ensues. Simple really!
La Battalla de Flores
Spaniards certainly love their throwing based festivals and La Battalla de Flores is no exception. An annual event since 1892, La Battalla de Flores is basically the Flower Battle. Girls ride on spectacular colourful floats through the town of Laredo and arm themselves with tennis rackets. Onlookers throw small heavy flowers at them as the floats go past whilst they bat them away with the rackets.
Have you been to any of these festivals? If so, share your experience in the comments below.
