The best festival of Alicante in a museum: Las Hogueras

Many of our students do not have the possibility of seeing the biggest and most important festival of Alicante: The Hogueras. The ones that come in fall arrive when the 'Hogueras' have finished and the ones that come in winter leave just before they take place, which is a pity because this festival is very special and quite impressive.

The 'Hogueras' are huge scultures made of wood, paper and cardboard painted with pastel colours. They are actually 'bonfires' made to be burnt on 24th June, the night of San Juan. They are placed on 20th in the middle of the streets and everybody can walk through the city to watch them. During that week there are many events going on and its a non-stop for the people who live in Alicante and all the tourist. There is a competition with these bonfires and the winners put in a safe place a small part of them. All these small parts are called 'ninots' and there is a museum in order to keep all these valued 'ninots'.

Visiting this museum is a good option for all those students that cannot participate in the 'Hogueras', for getting a more accurate idea of what they are and how big they are. There are many pictures of real 'hogueras' so they can see their dimensions. There are also beautiful pictures of the 'belleas del foc' ('beauties of the fire'), from the early 20's till the present year. These girls are chosen to represent this festival, they are the queens of the 'Hogueras'. 

Here I leave a picture of Ana Castello, 'bellea del foc' in 2016.