Moros y Cristianos, Alcoy

Moros y Cristianos, Moors and Christians, and is a festival which is celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain.

According to popular tradition the festivals commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Moors and Christians during the period known as Reconquista which took place in the 8th century and continued until the 15th century.

The festival represents the capture of the city by the Moors and the subsequent Christian reconquest. The people that take part in the festival are usually enlisted in filaes or comparsas, companies that represent the Christian or Moor legions, and for several days, they parade wearing costumes inspired by Medieval fashion. The people line the streets admire and encourage the warriors.

Christians wear fur, metallic helmets, and armor, fire loud arquebuses, and ride horses, whereas the Moors wear ancient Arab costumes, carry scimitars, and ride real camels or elephants.

The most popular and well-known Moros y Cristianos festival takes place in Alcoy from the 21st to the 24nd April, around the Feast Day of Saint George. According to legend, after James I of Aragon reconquered the city of Alcoy, the Moors, in turn, tried to recover it shortly after. But, when they were about to start the battle again, Saint George miraculously appeared to the Moorish forces lead by Al Azraq, who were frightened away.

For the people of the city the fiesta is taken very seriously. Preparation for their four day festival run all year round, in which a total of 28 armies do battle.

Membership in one of the twenty-eight Moorish or Christian armies, filaes, is much more than a hobby. The participants meet regularly throughout the year to raise funds, organize banquets, and plan out the numerous activities that make up this fiesta.

Like most Spanish fiesta noise, colour and fun play a huge part as the Christian and Moorish armies march around the town all day long accompanied by their own bands.

In the streets mock battles take place between the armies of the Moros y Cristianos and the city is covered with a cloud of gunpowder smoke.

On the final day the Christians are defeated in the morning then in the afternoon when St George appears they all surround the Moors and defeat them.

The end of the fiesta is marked when they fire hundreds of blanks with their blunderbusses making this one of the noisiest of Spanish fiestas.

Every army has its own traditional costume design, many of them cost a lot of money. Every year, the Christian and Moorish captains are provided by different filaes on a rotation basis.

At the end of the fiesta the captains donate their costumes to the Moors and Christians museum. Some modern accessories are allowed, such as glasses and watches, and most of the soldiers smoke large cigars. These cigars are a tradition of the fiesta, although nobody seems to know exactly why.

Where to Stay

Accommodation in Alcoy is limited so you might want to consider staying in either a hotel in Benidorm or one of Alicante's Hotels.

If travelling on a budget or you fancy something a little cheaper you may me interested in booking a hostel in Benidorm or a hostel in Alicante depending on where you prefer to stay

Getting There

To get to Alcoy you are best to book a flight to either Benidorm or Alicante.

On arrival you may be interested in hiring a car, booking a train ticket or book a bus ticket to get you to your final destination.