FOGUERES @ 75 – A History: The 2000s

An emotional year for Xàbia, 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Fogueres de Sant Joan, a fiesta that has become arguably the biggest party of the year. Two books have been published, the first in the year 1999 to celebrate the 50th anniversary and the second in 2024 to bring the history of the fiesta up-to-date. Here we provide the story in English interpreted from translation of the information provided in both books to tell the history of the Fogueres.

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The first decade of a new century was eventful for Spain. The Euro became its official currency, replacing the pesesta, ten bombs exploded in Madrid, killing 193 and injuring more than 2,000, the television channel ‘La Sexta’ started broadcasting, and FC Barcelona became the first Spanish team to win the treble of League, Cup and Champions League; they would go on to win the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, the first team to win all six competitions in one calendar year. The side was managed by a former youth team coach, a young chap called Pep Guardiola. And in 2008, Spain become European champions after defeating Germany in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna, Austria. In Xàbia, the Fogueres would only have one Queen by 2002 and the heavy construction work in the town, including the building of two underground car-parks, played havoc with the fiesta programming. Some acts were forced to change location and a few have remained in the same place ever since, such as the Flower Offering.

🔥 2000 🔥

After the 50th anniversary celebrations and being the last of the 20th century, the quintà, of course, was called “L’Última Fornà”, which roughly translates as “The Last Furnace” and its presidents were Montse Caballero and Antonio Marqués.

The queens were Mª José Torres, Regina del Foc, and Catalina Cardona as Regina de la Foguera whilst the children’s court was represented by Sonia Marí, Regina Infantil. The presidents of the Comisión Juvenil were José Vicente Fornés and Sandra Cholbi. This year, the families of the highest representatives became so friendly that they agreed to attend all the events together, creating a precedent for subsequent years.

The Pregón was a little earlier than usual, held on Sunday 11th June, and the story goes that the local high school met with those young people who were part of the quintà and asked them not to miss their final exams which coincided with the festivities. Another novelty was that a bar was set up in the Plaça de l’Esglèsia.

The programme of events followed a now familiar template but there were a few small changes. The Serenading of the Queens and Presidents was carried out by the Orfeón de Xàbia, the town’s renowned choral group, whilst the complimentary wine handed out of the Día de Sant Joan was sponsored by the town hall for the first time and hosted in the social centre. In addition, when the quintòs were collected for mass on the final day, it was mayor Eduardo Monfort and the councillor responsible for Fiestas, Emilio Ferrer, who collected the two queens. Finally, the Ninot Indultat, the figurine saved from the flames each year, was not kept by the queens but was saved for the creation of the town’s Fogueres Museum. Whatever happened to that?

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🔥 2001 🔥

In the month that the last peseta was minted as Spain prepared to adopt the Euro as its main currency on January 1st 2002, the 52nd edition of the Fogueres de Sant Joan took place with the young people of Quintà “Xe, Quina Passa” at the helm. (The name roughly translates to “Hey, What happened?”) Pedro Castelló Caballero and Verónica Sapena Devesa had been elected as its presidents and both formed part of the Comisión de Quintos. This year, the Comisión Juvenil consisted of just six youngsters and no presidents.

On Saturday 9th June at 7.00pm, the Proclamation of the Children’s Court took place during which the Regina Infantil Eva Torres Santamaría was crowned. Three hours later on the same day, it was the turn of Quintà 2001 to be presented to the town before the two queens were crowned, Noemí Cardona Puig as Regina de la Foguera and Maria Banyuls Ribes as Regina del Foc, the last young women to hold the title in Xàbia as the position was removed from the following year.

The programme of events followed the normal pattern with a couple of amendments The Pregón was held on Thursday 14th June, returning to the more familiar date after the change to an earlier time in 2000, whilst the live music offered on the Día de les Quintades was performed in the athletics ground next to CEIP Graüll due to the Festival Internacional taking place on the Plaza de la Constitución. Finally, the Serenading of the Queens was carried out by the musicians of Grup de Danses Portitxol.

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🔥 2002 🔥

This was another year of change as it was the first year in which there was no Regina del Foc although some of the court still dressed in the traditional Valencian costume. In addition, although in previous years bodices of different colours other than black had already begun to be worn by some of the young women, this was the year that more colourful fabrics were more noticeable.

Quintà 2002 “On Anem l’Armem” – the name roughly translates as “Where we are going, we build it” – was led by Vicente José Ortolá and Melissa Martínez whilst Olaya Lara was selected as the Regina de la Foguera. As for the junior court, only five youngsters made up the Youth Commission whilst Irene Bolufer was chosen as Reginal Infantil.

Whilst the programme didn’t differ much – there was five days of bull-running, two float parades, the international festival, and a penya parade – the numerous musical groups stand out with several major concerts, Spanish pop-rock group “Los Cucas” who had a big hit in the late 90s with the single “La Última Carta” which resulted in collaborations with Bryan Adams and Blondie, comedy pop group “No me pises que llevo chanclas”, Spanish Celtic rock band “Celtas Cortos”, who are best known for their massive domestic hit “20 de Abril”, and local band “La Pinka”.

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🔥 2003 🔥

The 2003 edition started and finished with different people at the helm in the town hall. The PP’s Jaime Sapena was mayor when the festivities started on Saturday 7th June but, after the municipal elections, they finished with Eduardo Monfort leading a local coalition government body.

Almost 100 young men and women formed Quintà 2003 “Com esta no n’hi ha més” – rough translation: “There is no more like this” – which proved to be a name that would perfectly describe this year’s festivities. They were led by Marta Cholbi and Jairo Pon as presidents with Esther Cardona chosen as Regina de la Foguera. Once again, only seven youngsters made up the Youth Commission so there were no presidents but they were represented by the Regina Infantil, Victoria Devesa.

This was the last year that the young women were allowed to wear the “fallera” costume. Although there had been no Regina del Foc for two years, some girls chose to wear the traditional Valencian dress. It was also the last year that there were two float parades as a normal part of the programme.

Once again, music dominated the festivities with live music provided by some well-known groups at the time – “MClan”, “Bunbury”, “Amistades Peligroas”, “Los Suaves” and the local group “La Renidición” – which proved to be very popular to enliven those warm early summer nights.

And we must all feel for the members of Quintà 2003 for they were left without any official audiovisual memory of their very special year due to the person they commissioned to record the festivities failing to deliver the finished product.

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🔥 2004 🔥

The 2004 festivities are probably best remembered for being the shortest in a quarter of a century, reduced from a usual length of 10-15 days to just seven days. However, Quintà 2004 “Al Virolai” – its name appears to be a reference to a famous ancient hymn – were determined to celebrate them with suitable intensity.

Led by Verónica Lorenzo and Miguel Torres, they chose Cristina Añó as the Regina de la Foguera whilst a continuing lack of interest meant that a Youth Commission could not be created for 2004, although the children’s court was represented by Lúcia Devesa as Regina Infantil. This was also the first year that the young women and girls were dressed only in the xabiera style.

The programme was somewhat splintered with a big concert by Latin Grammy nominee Àlex Ubago at the end of May, before the Proclamation evening was concluded by a performance from Spanish rock band “Seguridad Social”, perhaps most famous for their single “Chiquilla”, still sung with gusto during festivities these days.

The rest of the programme featured just three days of bull-running, instead of the usual four, and the flowering offering was held on June 23rd and float parade on June 24th.

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🔥 2005 🔥

Like the previous year, the 2005 edition was shortened with the Pregón taking place on Thursday 16th June, a few days after the Proclamation of the Queens. The Quintà “L’Aldarullà” (which roughly translates as “The Uproar”) was led by Gema Prats and Miguel Marí with Marina Bas selected as Regina de la Foguera. Although the Youth Commission had some members, no presidents were elected. The Children’s Court was represented by Regina Infantil María Espasa.

Although shorter than normal, the programme of events followed a similar pattern with a few modifications, such as the procession of the Quintàs taking place in the morning for the first time and the Flower Offering taking place on June 23rd. There were various sporting events and the International Festival whilst the Serenading of the Queens was led by La Romántica del Saladar.

There were two big concerts during the festivities featuring two of the most popular groups of the time: the Spanish rock group “Jarabe de Palo” whose biggest hits included “La Flaca”, and flamenco/rumba-pop singer “El Arrebato”. The “Nit del Rock” line-up included local group “No te dice ná” with “Catximba”, “Mistela” and “Bultacos”.

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🔥 2006 🔥

Quintà 2006 “LA TRIFULCÀ” was led by Pedro Martínez Coates and Kay Tanner with Mª Amparo Cruañes Mulet chosen as Regina Major and Rosa Isabel Sivera Molina as Regina Infantil. And finally, the Youth Commission had their presidents, Alejandro Aguilar Parilla and Ana Bolufer Bisquert.

The two Proclamations of the Queens were held on Saturday 10th June on the Plaza de la Constitución with singer Sergio Dalma providing the entertainment after the formalities. He would become one of Spain’s biggest-selling recording artists who represented his country in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest where he came 4th with the rock-ballad “Bailar Pegados”.  Other musical performances on the programme included two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Spanish singer Rosario Flores and the Andalusian rock group ‘Medina Azahara’.

In 2006, the Festival Internacional de Jávea was still part of the festive programme of the Fogueres de Sant Joan but changed location to Avenida Ausiàs March where it is held to this day.

On Thursday 15th June, the Pregón was held in the Plaza de la Iglesia and the following day a special Fogueres Marquee was inaugurated in the Plaza de la Constitución, a space for children that was open for the next seven days, offering a programme of games, clowns and other activities for the youngsters. Other new features of the programme were the first Fogueres Digital Photography Contest and a final party after the burning of the foguera organised by Penyas “Els Petats” and “Xe Quin Fum Fa”.

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🔥 2007 🔥

The 2007 edition was affected by the major works that were being carried out around the historic centre of Xàbia, including the construction of the two underground car-parks, so the events that would normally take place on Plaza de la Constitución were moved to the car-park created next to the new Avinguda de Palmela.

The name of Quintà 2007 was “Entre festes i forats farem fredat”, which roughly translates as “Between the fiestas and the holes, we’ll be cold”, and the photo of the group in the Fogueres magazine featured the young people climbing a shovel and a truck, reflecting the building site that the historic centre had become. They were led by Josema Carmona Victoria and Verónica Cardona Leyda with Esther Estalrich Vallés selected as Regina Mayor and Raquel Mahíques Espada as Regina Infantil.

The programme opened with the Proclamation of the Queens at the new location on Saturday 9th June and the Pregón was on Thursday 14th June, one of the few events that could be held at its usual location, the Plaza de la Iglésia.

There were five days of bull-running in the Placeta del Convent, an intense programme that even included midday sessions, and it would be the last time that the Fogueres taurino acts would be held in this location.

The main concerts featured Spanish electropop duo ‘Fangoria’, former teen-idol Miguel Bosé and Spanish indie-rock band ‘Dover’.

The Día de les Quintades included a midday parade between Plaza Marina Alta and Placeta del Convent whilst the continuing construction work forced the parade for the Flower Offering on Friday 22nd June started to start at CEIP Graüll for its longer journey to Ermita del Calvario.

As for the correfocs, they could not follow their normal route either and started in Placeta del Convent, following a route including Calle Dr Borrull, Carrer Virgen de la Soledad and Carrer de Jesús Nazareno to finished at the car-park in Avenida Palmela, a location where both the mascletà and firework display would be launched.

Finally, the burning of both Fogueres monuments was able to take place in their normal locations (Plaza de la Iglesia and Placeta del Convent), although it would be the last year that the Foguera Central would be installed in the latter location.

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🔥 2008 🔥

The 2008 festivities also had some changes as the historic centre began its slow return to normality after all the construction work. A new square had been formed at Portal del Clot whilst the Plaza de la Constitución was open for business once again. During the festivities, the new bypass Avenida de Palmela was inaugurated.

Led by Lúcia Catala and Jaime Buigues, Quintà 2008 “FEM FESTA DIA I NIT” (“We party day and night”) chose Inés Sivera as the Regina Major (whose artist father designed to cover of the Foguera magazine) whilst Carla Vallés was chosen as Regina Infantil and both announced the start of the fiestas from the upper terrace of Portal de Clot after which they unveiled the plaque that inaugurated the new council offices.

To commemorate this special event, a performance of the iconic Xàbia Living Chess was staged, an act to which a representation from the Catalan town of Cardedeu, twinned with Xàbia, was invited. Later in the year, the Regina Major attended the festivities in Catalonia.

Other changes were that the bull-running was moved to the car-park in Avenida de Palmela where it is located now and that both the Foguera Central and Foguera Infantil monuments were moved to Plaza de la Constitución, although the latter would move to its current location in Placeta del Convent the following year.

This year’s ‘Nit del Rock’ was headlined by ‘Nokturn’ whilst the programme also featured concerts by veteran Spanish pop quintet ‘Formula V’, ‘La Madre Que Nos Parió’, perhaps most famous for their song “La Zarzamora”, and Argentine-Spanish singer Chenoa who won Eurobest, a European singing contest in 2003.

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🔥 2009 🔥

Finally, the young people of Quintà 2009 “JA TE N’HE DIT PROU” (“I’ve already told you enough”) were able to enjoy a normal fiesta without distractions. Eduardo Fernéndez Devesa and Rosana Ribes Salvador were chosen as presidents whilst Anabel Buigues Sala and Isabel Català Arbona were elected as Reina Major and Reina Infantil respectively. This year, the Youth Commission had 14 members, led by presidents Lucía Bas Perez and Iván Quiroga Pachés.

The festivities kicked off with the formal proclamations of the queens on Saturday 6th June before the official start – the Pregón – took place a week later on Saturday 13th June in the Plaza de la Iglesia.

The penyas had an even greater participation in the programme of events and this year there was a Día de les Penyes during which several different activities were organised which really livened up the festive atmosphere whilst the Fogueres Commission organised a late night parade with music to visit the casals of the different groups. In addition, Penya “La Bakanal” organised the second edition of “Bakanal Rock” with live music provided by Ontinyent group “Atzukak”.

The main music concerts of the programme were delivered by Spanish pop-punk group “Despitaos” and “Celtas Cortos”, returning to perform in Xàbia after eight years.

A big change for the programme was that the Flower Offering was no longer made at the blue-domed chapel of Calvario but instead the tapestry was formed in the church square in the heart of the historic centre as it does now.

And whilst the Foguera Central remained in the Plaza de la Constitución, the Foguera Infantil was moved to Placeta del Convent. Both remain in the same locations now.

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