IF YOU'RE in the Comunidad Valenciana any time between now and the early hours of March 20, you may notice an awful lot of noise and colour on the streets. It's the season for the region's biggest festival,...
Eclectic and international, Dénia 'Music in the Castle' Festival celebrates 30th birthday
26/05/2022
SPAIN has been practically fiesta-free for the past three years, but lifelong summer entertainment staples are finally flooding back – patron saint festivals, live folk and jazz sessions, and the iconic Moors and Christians parades, a glittery, glamorous, symbolic re-enactment of the beginning and end of the seven centuries of Arab rule and residence, among others.
The last time most of these spectacular events hit the streets was in 2019 – and as it's been so long you might have forgotten what goes on in a 'normal' summer, we'll try to bring you up to speed on details of some of these once we find out where and when they're happening.
Of course, given that Spain has a grand total of 8,131 towns, villages and cities, not including separate neighbourhoods, dependant parishes or tied hamlets which operate as though they were separate entities, and bearing in mind that every one of these will have something on the calendar almost every week until autumn, we can't promise information about even 1% of this summer's activities – but a smattering of them to give you a taste as to what Spain broadly gets up to during the warmest months might inspire you to do some digging yourself about events in the area you live or habitually stay in, or are most keen to visit.
That said, many standard annual fiestas have fixed dates, irrespective of what days of the week these fall on, and at least one of them will be a local bank holiday; if you can remember the date you last saw a fiesta parade in your town, you can be almost certain it'll be on the same one this year, too.
The Moors and Christians are usually on specific dates, many of which are mentioned in our explanatory article on the fiestas here.
Others, such as open-air music events, tend to be a moveable feast, and the programme changes annually.
Night concerts in Mediaeval fortress
Just released this week, the programme for the firmly-established Music in the Castle (Música al Castell) festival in Dénia (northern Alicante province) promises 10 full days of late-night entertainment within the grounds of the giant Mediaeval hilltop fortress – almost entirely open-air now, with just the outer walls remaining – providing a hauntingly-romantic backdrop for the multi-national artists and bands due to feature this year.
As the Música al Castell is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, some of the performers who were present at the very first edition in 1992 will be back to mark the occasion.
Traditional and folk tunes, or modern styles with a hefty influence of the traditional and folk, are showcased every year, although not in 2020, naturally; the event went ahead in 2021, but in a smaller-scale, socially-distanced format.
Jazz, pop, rock, flamenco, blues, country & western, rumba, cabaret, classical Cuban, and traditional Spanish and Valencian music fill the eclectic schedule, confirms the town hall.
A great example of the latter comes on the opening night, July 21, at the hands of veteran Music in the Castle vocalist Miquel Gil and his co-star Noèlia Llorens.
As a bonus, there is no ticket charge for their performance.
A blend of flamenco, urban pop and eastern beats, described as 'daring, cheerful and free from complexes', is on the menu for the following night with the four-part band Las Migas, who have just released their new studio album, Libres ('Free', in the plural).
Nearly two decades in the music business have enabled Marlango to hone their elegant, sophisticated and cosmopolitan style – a fusion of jazz, blues and pop – and this cult band will be on stage at the castle on July 23.
Rounding off the first weekend of the festival, Sunday, July 24 brings us the electro-pop outfit La Petita Orquestra Peiotaire – appropriately known by its acronym of La POP – although to an English-speaking audience, the term orquestra is somewhat misleading. It can, and sometimes does, translate as 'orchestra', but is more likely to simply mean 'band', covering styles ranging from rock through to modern-ish pop, often cover versions of crowd favourites. In the case of La POP, theirs is an eclectic, contagious repertoire, delivered with irreverent talent, humour, and real interaction with the audience.
It will be held on terra firma, in the Plaça del Consell below the castle, at the earlier hour of 20.30, and entrance is free.
Cuban easy-listening, fast-paced Caribbean dance, flamenco-rock, and a famous actress
Music in the Castle takes a break until the following Thursday, July 28, when it brings the Caribbean to Costa Blanca shores: The Septeto Santiaguero, or 'Santiago Septet', showcases classical Cuban tunes – ranging from the dreamy bolero to the fast-paced danzón, via guaracha and cumbia, among others. Think Cinema Paradiso, Old Habana, and that time when Gloria Estefan went back to her roots with her tropical-infused, glamorous Millennium album Alma Caribeña.
Los Hermanos Cubero are not, as their name might suggest, from Cuba, but from the province of Guadalajara to the north-east of Madrid. Their unique medley of the somewhat sober traditional songs of the central plains with the more punchy and timeless rock and blues have been delighting their faithful fans since 1998 – and they're certain to pick up new fans when they appear in Dénia on Friday, July 29.
Now, here comes the 'biggie': Maybe the name Kiko Veneno doesn't mean much to you. If you just so happened to have learned your Spanish via the UK's Open University, faint bells might start ringing. Those who took the 30-pointer L140 and still have the CDs, or even the cassettes, will find a whole 'listening' exercise referring to Kiko Veneno, and an extract from one of his hit songs.
Otherwise, pop onto YouTube and search for Reír y Llorar ('Laughing and Crying'), and you'll get a pretty faithful idea as to what to expect from this flamenco-rock legend on the penultimate night, July 30. Constantly churning out albums for over 40 years, his style has evolved according to what was in fashion in the '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s, and will no doubt do likewise for the '20s.
This year's festival features the long-established singer and actress Leonor Watling, born in Madrid to a Spanish father, from Cádiz, and British mother, a regular in films by cult director Pedro Almodóvar and vocalist for Marlango, singing largely in English.
Leonor has also starred alongside Elijah Wood, John Hurt, Julie Cox, Aidan Quinn, Julie Christie, Sarah Polley, Marcia Gay Harden, and Tim Robbins, in three English-language films: The Secret Life of Words (2005); The Oxford Murders (2007), and If I Were You (2012).
A more low-key, local but no less entertaining performance is scheduled for the closing night, July 31 – the Colla de Dolçainers Pere Bigot, or dulcimer (reed recorder) marching band, from the nearby coastal town of Benissa, will be playing a series of the most upbeat, uplifting tunes from the Comunidad Valenciana's most popular fiestas.
This one will take place in the town hall square, just 'downstairs' from the castle complex, at the earlier hour of 20.30, and is free of charge.
Other than La POP and the Pere Bigot Dolçainers, all concerts start at 23.00 – Dénia doesn't sleep in summer, and the climate is balmy rather than sticky at that time of night – and most carry a price tag.
Tickets range from €5 to €15, depending upon the night and the level of fame of the artists – a price which mainly goes towards covering costs and which includes the usual token entry fee to visit the castle.
These will be on sale – exclusively online – from June 15, via Notikumi.com.
Related Topics
You may also be interested in ...
SPAIN has been practically fiesta-free for the past three years, but lifelong summer entertainment staples are finally flooding back – patron saint festivals, live folk and jazz sessions, and the iconic Moors and Christians parades, a glittery, glamorous, symbolic re-enactment of the beginning and end of the seven centuries of Arab rule and residence, among others.
The last time most of these spectacular events hit the streets was in 2019 – and as it's been so long you might have forgotten what goes on in a 'normal' summer, we'll try to bring you up to speed on details of some of these once we find out where and when they're happening.
Of course, given that Spain has a grand total of 8,131 towns, villages and cities, not including separate neighbourhoods, dependant parishes or tied hamlets which operate as though they were separate entities, and bearing in mind that every one of these will have something on the calendar almost every week until autumn, we can't promise information about even 1% of this summer's activities – but a smattering of them to give you a taste as to what Spain broadly gets up to during the warmest months might inspire you to do some digging yourself about events in the area you live or habitually stay in, or are most keen to visit.
That said, many standard annual fiestas have fixed dates, irrespective of what days of the week these fall on, and at least one of them will be a local bank holiday; if you can remember the date you last saw a fiesta parade in your town, you can be almost certain it'll be on the same one this year, too.
The Moors and Christians are usually on specific dates, many of which are mentioned in our explanatory article on the fiestas here.
Others, such as open-air music events, tend to be a moveable feast, and the programme changes annually.
Night concerts in Mediaeval fortress
Just released this week, the programme for the firmly-established Music in the Castle (Música al Castell) festival in Dénia (northern Alicante province) promises 10 full days of late-night entertainment within the grounds of the giant Mediaeval hilltop fortress – almost entirely open-air now, with just the outer walls remaining – providing a hauntingly-romantic backdrop for the multi-national artists and bands due to feature this year.
As the Música al Castell is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, some of the performers who were present at the very first edition in 1992 will be back to mark the occasion.
Traditional and folk tunes, or modern styles with a hefty influence of the traditional and folk, are showcased every year, although not in 2020, naturally; the event went ahead in 2021, but in a smaller-scale, socially-distanced format.
Jazz, pop, rock, flamenco, blues, country & western, rumba, cabaret, classical Cuban, and traditional Spanish and Valencian music fill the eclectic schedule, confirms the town hall.
A great example of the latter comes on the opening night, July 21, at the hands of veteran Music in the Castle vocalist Miquel Gil and his co-star Noèlia Llorens.
As a bonus, there is no ticket charge for their performance.
A blend of flamenco, urban pop and eastern beats, described as 'daring, cheerful and free from complexes', is on the menu for the following night with the four-part band Las Migas, who have just released their new studio album, Libres ('Free', in the plural).
Nearly two decades in the music business have enabled Marlango to hone their elegant, sophisticated and cosmopolitan style – a fusion of jazz, blues and pop – and this cult band will be on stage at the castle on July 23.
Rounding off the first weekend of the festival, Sunday, July 24 brings us the electro-pop outfit La Petita Orquestra Peiotaire – appropriately known by its acronym of La POP – although to an English-speaking audience, the term orquestra is somewhat misleading. It can, and sometimes does, translate as 'orchestra', but is more likely to simply mean 'band', covering styles ranging from rock through to modern-ish pop, often cover versions of crowd favourites. In the case of La POP, theirs is an eclectic, contagious repertoire, delivered with irreverent talent, humour, and real interaction with the audience.
It will be held on terra firma, in the Plaça del Consell below the castle, at the earlier hour of 20.30, and entrance is free.
Cuban easy-listening, fast-paced Caribbean dance, flamenco-rock, and a famous actress
Music in the Castle takes a break until the following Thursday, July 28, when it brings the Caribbean to Costa Blanca shores: The Septeto Santiaguero, or 'Santiago Septet', showcases classical Cuban tunes – ranging from the dreamy bolero to the fast-paced danzón, via guaracha and cumbia, among others. Think Cinema Paradiso, Old Habana, and that time when Gloria Estefan went back to her roots with her tropical-infused, glamorous Millennium album Alma Caribeña.
Los Hermanos Cubero are not, as their name might suggest, from Cuba, but from the province of Guadalajara to the north-east of Madrid. Their unique medley of the somewhat sober traditional songs of the central plains with the more punchy and timeless rock and blues have been delighting their faithful fans since 1998 – and they're certain to pick up new fans when they appear in Dénia on Friday, July 29.
Now, here comes the 'biggie': Maybe the name Kiko Veneno doesn't mean much to you. If you just so happened to have learned your Spanish via the UK's Open University, faint bells might start ringing. Those who took the 30-pointer L140 and still have the CDs, or even the cassettes, will find a whole 'listening' exercise referring to Kiko Veneno, and an extract from one of his hit songs.
Otherwise, pop onto YouTube and search for Reír y Llorar ('Laughing and Crying'), and you'll get a pretty faithful idea as to what to expect from this flamenco-rock legend on the penultimate night, July 30. Constantly churning out albums for over 40 years, his style has evolved according to what was in fashion in the '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s, and will no doubt do likewise for the '20s.
This year's festival features the long-established singer and actress Leonor Watling, born in Madrid to a Spanish father, from Cádiz, and British mother, a regular in films by cult director Pedro Almodóvar and vocalist for Marlango, singing largely in English.
Leonor has also starred alongside Elijah Wood, John Hurt, Julie Cox, Aidan Quinn, Julie Christie, Sarah Polley, Marcia Gay Harden, and Tim Robbins, in three English-language films: The Secret Life of Words (2005); The Oxford Murders (2007), and If I Were You (2012).
A more low-key, local but no less entertaining performance is scheduled for the closing night, July 31 – the Colla de Dolçainers Pere Bigot, or dulcimer (reed recorder) marching band, from the nearby coastal town of Benissa, will be playing a series of the most upbeat, uplifting tunes from the Comunidad Valenciana's most popular fiestas.
This one will take place in the town hall square, just 'downstairs' from the castle complex, at the earlier hour of 20.30, and is free of charge.
Other than La POP and the Pere Bigot Dolçainers, all concerts start at 23.00 – Dénia doesn't sleep in summer, and the climate is balmy rather than sticky at that time of night – and most carry a price tag.
Tickets range from €5 to €15, depending upon the night and the level of fame of the artists – a price which mainly goes towards covering costs and which includes the usual token entry fee to visit the castle.
These will be on sale – exclusively online – from June 15, via Notikumi.com.
Related Topics
You may also be interested in ...
More News & Information
SIGOURNEY Weaver and survivors of a South American plane crash took centre stage at Spain's answer to the Oscars this week, the Goya Awards – and one film netted 12 prizes out of its 13 nominations.
BRUCE'The Boss' Springsteen and The E-Street Band are heading to Spain next spring, and tickets have gone on sale today (Tuesday).
A HOLLYWOOD legend joining folk-dancers from Asturias and showing off her fancy footwork in the street is not a scene your average Oviedo resident witnesses during his or her weekly shop. Even though their northern...