Art On Fire in Alicante

The second week of the Language and Culture Program in Alicante is on fire, literally. "Las Hogueras de San Juan" are the perfect culmination to a week devoted to creativity and art where student continued to learn about music, theater, street art, and traditions in Spain while interacting with locals and spending time with their host families. 

Here Craig and Abby during their "Ñ" mission (Monday through Friday students get out of their confort zone to complete their "daily mission" and speak with people of all ages about different topics). The world is our classroom!

And now, as I write this post, we are celebrating the last day of "Las Hogueras" (the bonfires). This is an ancient tradition of renewal and seasonal change symbolized by burning different artforms (or simply "old staff") on the night of the 24th of June. The only way to make room for new things in life is to get rid of old ones (burn them for even more fun!). What started with small bonfires a long time ago has become much bigger and nowadays it is a celebration that takes five days and attracts many thousands of people to the city.

Tonight, the 24th, the whole city will be on fire when these magnific representations of both current events and old traditions burn up in front of thousands of people. I can not wait to talk with the students and hear what they have to say about this (somewhat crazy) Spanish tradition. We promise to upload some pictures to show you soon! VIVA LAS HOGUERAS 2018!