It’s a bit difficult to narrow down the list of weird and wacky festivals in Spain to fit on this page, so many of them would be considered strange to anyone born outside of Spain. People being chased by a herd of angry bulls and throwing tomatoes at each other are just some of the most famous Spanish rituals in Spain that are performed in the name of ‘tradition’, but there are many more strange festivals if you scratch yourself underneath. the surface .
Strange and strange festivals in Spain
Sometimes Spain can be a very surreal place. It is a country where you can hear Christmas carols in August (as part of the New Year celebrations in August), the fountains are full of wine (in Cadiar in February and October and in Toro, Castilla y León in August) and farmers march their sheep through the center of Madrid just because they can. It is a country where some of the most traditional festivals in the world take a peculiar turn, with eschatological Christmas traditions in Catalonia and Salamanca’s strange Easter Monday tradition of welcoming the city’s ‘ladies of the night’ after his expulsion for Lent (on his Monday Water Festival).
Tomatina Tomato Fight: Aim… Fire!
La Tomatina Tomato Fight is one of the most famous festivals in Spain, but it is not the only time that Spaniards throw things at each other. In Lanjarón, in the Alpujarras (near Granada), the locals have a giant water fight every June 24th. A bit stickier is the Wine Battle in Haro, La Rioja, every June 29, where locals fight each other over wine. Okay, they do a lot in La Rioja, Spain’s most important wine region, so there’s plenty to spare.
- Book a Tour of the Wine Battle (direct book)
- Book a Tomatina tour (direct book)
If water, wine, and tomatoes aren’t gross enough for you, how about dropping ants? This is what the inhabitants of Laza, Galicia, do at Carnival every year. Worse still is the Battle of the Dead Rat, in the Valencian town of El Puig during the San Pedro Nolasco festival.
Meanwhile, the Cascamorras in Baza and Gaudix, Granada, (September 6 and 9) only seem like an excuse to annoy someone, in my opinion. An ancient battle between the two cities is reenacted, where a Gaudix inhabitant is sent to Baza to steal the image of the Virgen de la Piedad, tar and paint are thrown at him and inevitably fails in his search. He then returns to Gaudix, where he is thrown again for failing. And this happens every year. You would think the poor boy would have learned by now, right?
Finally, the Valencian Lou Reed lovers try to hit you with flowers in the Batallas de los Flores.
Staying safe the Spanish way
Do you have a newborn baby? Do you want to keep them safe from evil spirits? Do what they do at the El Colacho festival in the Castillo de Murcia, near Burgos, and lie down on the ground and have men dressed as demons jump on them. No matter the protection of evil spirits, we would like to know who protects the babies from the adult men dressed as demons that jump on them …
Hypochondriacs who do not receive this protection in their childhood can participate in the Bonfires in Granada and Jaén on December 21, where people jump bonfires to protect themselves from disease. What’s wrong with eating five fruits and vegetables a day?
If the above blessings work (and you don’t burn yourself to death at a stake or get trampled on by grown men dressed as demons jumping on you), you may be lucky enough to survive a near-death experience later in life. How should you show your appreciation? Well, if you come from the town of Las Nieves, near Pontevedra, you show up to mass during the Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme in your coffin! I guess the following week the city holds a funeral for all those who suffer from heart attacks by seeing many people come out of the coffins at mass a week earlier.
Take a look at the photos of the Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme: my favorite is the fourth!
Cruelty to animals
Spaniards don’t treat their bulls with the respect that most people think they deserve, but it’s not just our bovine friends who feel the brunt of the Spanish desire to have a good time.
In early September in Lekeitio (Lequeiti), the Feast of the Geese sees a dead goose hanging over the harbor as men jump to grab it, trying to see who can hold out the longest. Animal rights activists have had some success here, as in the past the goose would have been alive when this was done. Ew.
Another famous event that has been reduced (but supposedly still takes place) is the launching of a goat from a bell tower in Manganeses de la Polverosa. The city council banned the event in 1992, even though it was ominously admitted at the time that what people do in their own time is their business. We wonder how long it will be until the catapulting quail is outlawed.
