Like all big fiestas, the festivities of the Moors & Christians open with the ubiquitous inauguration, a long drawn-out evening of speeches and presentations that test the patience of the most enduring of characters.
As the sun drops towards the horizon, a procession passes through the port collecting representatives of each of the filaes who are wearing the costumes that will be worn during the gala parades the following weekend. These costumes will have been selected many months earlier and rented from specialists companies across the region. During the afternoon, the fila will have gathered together to prepare their representatives and show off their costumes which have been kept under wraps until this very day. When all the representatives have been collected, they gather together for a short reception at the base of the year’s captain filà and a much-needed refreshing drink.
A special stage will have been erected in preparation for the presentation ceremony. In recent years, it has been constructed on the wide avenue of Lepanto on the outskirts of the main port zone so there will be a series of diversions and road closures over the weekend.
The presentation is open to all but you should be aware that the first dozen or so rows of white plastic chairs will be reserved for officials, invited dignitaries and members of the filaes so the rest of the seats will be available on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis as the time of the presentation approaches.
What follows is almost two hours of bum-numbing speeches and set-pieces. Each fila is presented with their standard and their representative (or two). The official business is interspersed with dance numbers, speeches from the president of the organising committee and officials from the town hall, normally the mayor and the councillor responsible for Fiestas, and the presentation of the Sant Jaime Prizes, normally given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the fiesta, for example.
Most of the ceremony is presided over by the outgoing Captain who is seated on the stage at the back who will be replaced during the evening’s proceedings by that year’s captain. Responsibility for the captaincy switches between the sides on a rotating basis, sometimes alternating between the crescent and the cross but not always. For example, for 2024 the Filà Mora Almoriscos will be handing over to Filà Mora Baharis.
As the presentation draws to a close, representatives from other fiestas welcome the new captain and the standard bearers; these include those from the Fogueres de Sant Joan, Jesús Nazareno and Mare de Deu de Loreto, amongst others.
After the formal presentation, there is a chance to celebrate the official start of the celebrations with a communal dinner, a DJ, or more recently, a live band.
Moros i Cristians de Xàbia – The Format
- MIG ANY – Getting Ready for Fiesta
- The Music and the Arenal
- The Flower Offerings
- The Invasion
- The Reconquest
- The Parades
- Becoming a Moor