Feeding the 300 – Giant Paella
Well it’s been a year in the making, but our fiesta patronale is well and truly ready.
Collectively the fiesta committee (along with the entire village) have fund raised, bingo’d (I know it’s not a proper word!), made dinner for 100s of people, taken photos, dressed up as kings, waitered, cleaned, planned, argued, laughed, shouted, tasted, listened, decided and eventually we’re ready to party!
We were on the fiesta committees in 2008, 2009 & 2011 – it was exhausting and incredibly fun. We made new friends, learnt more about our village, cemented relationships and vowed we’d never do it again.
If previous years are anything to go by then you’ll be a fool to miss our fiesta and I know you’re no fools! So come along and enjoy. Here’s the provisional calendar of events:
Saturday 20th April – the week before the fiesta really gets going we have a Caliche contest. Caliche (in our 4 inch thick Collins mega-dictionary) means ‘saltpetre’, or echar un caliche means something really quite surprising, and I’m not going to reproduce the translation here. Take my word for it, it’s a game played by men all over the Levante region, there are leagues and trophies, it’s very important and all above board. There’s bread and sobrasada for everyone who attends.
Sunday 28th April – the final bingo before the fiesta starts! Learn your Spanish numbers and have a chance of winning a ham and enjoy some free food!
Wednesday 1st May – the first “proper” day, a bank holiday and also our children’s day. We’ll have lots of theatre and games for the children, a train around the village, bouncy castle etc, all starting at 11:00, with food at 14:00.
17:30 – Magic show for the kids
18:30 – Bingo and food for all participants
20:30 – Music with Duo Chakra
Thursday 2nd May – this our pensioners’ day – all the elderly folk from the village enjoy a lunch together at a local restaurant. Then at 21:00 we have an event honouring the elderly bread makers of the village, our village of 101 people has three bakeries!
22:00 – Music from the Spanish singer Maribel del Castillo
24:00 – Dressing the cross with hot chocolate and small cakes for all those assisting – this is a religious ceremony where flowers are laid around the ancient cross at the heart of the village.
Friday 3rd May – this is the actual fiesta patronale day – día de Santa Cruz. This is a religious day with a mass, processions and storytelling.
10:00 – Fireworks and a band playing through all the streets of the village to wake everyone up after their late night of dressing the cross.
12:00 – Mass in honour of Santa Cruz
13:30 – Vermouth Dance with the band Los Frescos
14:30 – BBQ for everyone to attend and enjoy – come along and enjoy the hospitality of the village.
16:30 – Choral performance by Federica Motseny
19:30 – the solemn procession through the village honouring Santa Cruz, where the Virgin is paraded around the streets – a moving religious ceremony where all the villagers walk together.
21:30 – Meal in the village – everyone brings food to share – if you want to eat bring something to share. This is a lovely idea and an opportunity to show off your culinary prowess – hmmm, what to make?
22:30 – Band – 80-90 Project play on into the evening and the early hours.
Saturday 4th May – I’m really looking forward to this night, our local drummer, Vicente, is playing with the rest of his band. Last year they were superb, a great mixture of Spanish and English songs.
11:00 – Walk in the Carrascoy mountains
18:00 – Dance exhibition
22:00 – Fancy Dress Party, so bring your children along in their princess and pirate costumes, with Nuevo Sonido and local drummer Vicente Conesa Fernández – prizes for best costumes!
Horses on Parade – Rociero
Sunday 5th May – for all you horse lovers, this is the day to come, the last day of the fiesta. If you like horses come on over and enjoy the Rociero where we’ll have dancing horses, horses and carts, small horses, big horses, donkeys, mules, the whole lot. We have a mass in the morning, a paella at lunchtime and then to top it all at 9pm we have our fireworks. At lunchtime the giant paella is free for everyone who turns up so bring a picnic table and some drinks if you want to make a meal of it.
10:00 – Procession of horse and carriages starting from the petrol station in Corvera and going through to La Murta
13:00 – Mass with the choir Coro Rociero de Totana
14:00 – Giant paella for everyone with music and dancing from the Coro Rociero de Totana
17:30 – Show from Lolita Torres a ventriloquist and bingo with prizes and food for all attending
21:00 – End of the fiesta with fireworks
So, I would love to see you there. I’ll be the short blonde one with a beer in my hand! Come and say hello, enjoy the hospitality of a small village who always punches above its weight in the fiesta arena. If you’re not sure what to do just find me. I’ll point you in the right direction. This really is Spain at its best, so partake, you won’t be disappointed!
La Murta is a village near Corvera, where the new airport has been built. We’re about 5km outside of Corvera and we’re signposted. If you’re coming pop me a message via the contact form.
