FOGUERES @ 75 – A History: The 1990s

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 90s. A decade in which in Spain hosted two historic events: the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the Sevilla Expo ‘92. These were the years when Spaniards spent hours in front of their television watching their favourite programmes, such as the award-winning sitcom ‘Farmacia de Guardia’ or the equally successful comedy-drama ‘Médico de Familia’ as well as the popular talk show ‘Sorpresa ¡Sorpresa!’. And the Fogueres? How did they develop? Defying the national economic crisis and attempts to change the format of the fiesta, the decade saw the introduction of the bonfire of old junk (“Trastos Vells”), the popular songs to Sant Joan, now an important part of the opening day of the festivities, the chaotic Quintadas Day, and the traditional dancing in Carrer Nou.

🔥 1990 🔥

The young members of Quintà “La Polseguera” were handed the responsibility of organising the first Fogueres of a new decade. Led by Rosa Mª Buigues Andrés and Juan Luis Cardona Salvador, the quintà had the support of a Fogueres Commission and a Management Committee to set about and prepare for the 1990 edition.

Mª José Morató Moragues (Regina de la Foguera) and Anabel Marqués Martí (Regina del Foc) had been given the honour of representing their quintà and an emotional ceremony was held in the newly-opened Palau d’Esports Municipal on Saturday 9th June 1990, an evening that featured music from the Spanish group “La Década Prodigiosa” which had finished 11th in the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of years earlier.

The following evening, the children’s court was proclaimed with Ángela Cardona Catalá (Regina Infantil del Foguera) and Rosana Devesa Soler (Regina Infantil del Foc) crowned as its highest representative. The Comisión Juvenil played an important role in the evening, gaining strength once again after a few years of crisis, led by Jaime Castelló Miñana and Rosa Alicia Giner Freigeiro.

The festivities kicked off with the traditional Pregón in the Plaça de l’Esglèsia where Mª José Morato was tasked with giving a brief but emotional speech to invite the entire to town to participate in the fiesta.

The programme featured five days of bull-running in two locations, the first in the Placeta del Convent and then around the heart of the historic centre. The penyas were actively contributing to the programme with a 60s party and a music festival amongst the offering but just a few have lasted unchanged thanks to the efforts of its members: the Nit dels Focs organised by Penya L’Escalda, one of the first penyas to be formed in 1979, and the bonfire of old junk – “Trastos Vells” – organised by Penya El Gerrot.

The Fogueres magazine boasted a new section entitled “Recordant les Fogueres” in which the year 1972 was fondly remembers, the year in which the members of Quintà La Polseguera were born.

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🔥 1991 🔥

Xàbia faced a period of change in local politics as the summer of 1991 approached with the PP’s Juan Moragues triumphing in the local elections. PSOE’s Enrique Bas had already stepped down after twelve years at the helm and he wrote a short but very significant farewell in the 1991 Fogueres magazine. With the elections taking place in late May and the inauguration of the new government body not due for a couple of weeks, Xàbia faced fiesta in the middle of a kind of interregnum, a period when no-one was at the helm of the local council.

Headed by by Juan Francisco Espasa Segarra and Tere Erades Sart, Quinta 1991 “La Casalla Fa Rialla” were responsible for the organising the festivities, supported by a managing committee. One of their first acts was to elect Mati Cholbi Molina as Regina de la Foguera and Eli Llidó Ivars as Regina del Foc whilst the children court was represented by María del Carmen Buigues Torres as Regina Foguera Infantil de la Foguera and by Elvira Peretó Esteve as Regina Infantil del Foc. The presidents of the Comisión Juvenil were Verónica Bartual Salva and Bartolomé Mayor Catala.

The proclamations were held over the weekend of June 8th and 9th on the sports field of the old football ground. The senior ceremony was enlivened by music provided by Dúo Dinámico, a Spanish music duo who had written Spain’s winning entry in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest whilst the children were entertained by the children’s musical group Els Parchís which has a massive hit in Spain called “En La Armada”, a Spanish version of the Village People’s “In the Navy”.

The festive programme ran along similar lines to previous years with an increasing participation of the penyas and the Fogueres magazine featured images of 18 of them.

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🔥 1992 🔥

Once again, the young people who were turning 18 in 1992 were handed the opportunity of forming the quintà and be responsible for the organization of the festivities. Those who accepted the challenge met to determine a name that would identify them – Quintà 1992 “Dalt al Parra” – and select their presidents – Juan Carlos Ribes Catalá and Cristina Signes Mata.
Belén Moral Vañó was elected Regina of the Foguera and Toñi Morant Cholbi, Regina del Foc. The children’s court was represented by Patricia Peiró Bertolín as Regina Infantil de la Foguera and by Rosa Torres Leyda as Regina Infantil del Foc.

Presidents, Queens, Ladies and members of the courts were officially presented at a gala dinner then the party began with the proclamations. On Saturday 6th June, the senior ceremony took place with entertainment provided by singer Juan Pardo, most famous for his massive hit “No Me Hables”. The following day, the children’s proclamation took place where the members of the Comisión Juvenil were introduced with Simon Gardnes Brond and Eline Marra Sentous as Presidents.

The programme of events featured the usual acts, including bull-running in the Thiviers, the historic centre and Placeta del Convent whilst a new feature was the first Horse Pulling competition, where horses pulled weighted sleds along a marked route, the winner being those who could pull the most weight over the longest distance. Sporting events included the Trofeo Fogueres cycling competition for amateurs, a pilota competition in Carrer Jesús Nazareno, and a pigeon racing competition. And the penyas were once again on hand to organise several of the programmed acts which included a marathon (Penya La Xufa) and a table football championship (Penya Fem Pols).

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🔥 1993 🔥

In 1993 Spain was still struggling economically during the Exchange Rate Mechanism crisis with the value of the peseta reaching its lowest level since the country entered the ERM in the late 80s, forcing the Spanish Government to devalue the currency.

Matching the mood of the nation, 1993 proved to be another milestone year for the Fogueres de Sant Joan de Xàbia. Those young people born in 1975 were invited to form this year’s quintà – Quintà 1993 “Fets a Estall” – with José Añó Gilabert and Cristina Morató Moragues elected as presidents.

Almost immediately, it was proposed to change the dates and the traditional structure of the fiesta, beginning later in the month of June with the bull-running concluding the festivities after the burning of the foguera. The changes were proposed to solve one of the biggest problems faced by the quintos and that is the fact that a large number of them would be sitting major exams at the same time as the fiesta. They faced a dilemma: yes, the fiesta was important for them as a stepping stone into adult life but so were their studies. Nevertheless, the proposal was not well-received in many quarters and there was even an unsuccessful plea to the high school to change the dates of the exams followed by a sit-in at the door of the town hall. In the end, an agreement was reached by all parties – the quintà, the management committee and the local council – which was to continue with the normal programming but with some important changes.

In the midst of all this controversy, the election of the queens was held. Carmen Salvatierra Vives was elected Regina de la Foguera and Eva Ferrer Miralles, Regina del Foc and their proclamation took place on Saturday 12th June with entertainment provided by singer Sergio y Estíbaliz, another former Spanish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 11th in 1975.

The following day, Vanesa Molina Costa was proclaimed as Regina Infantil de la Foguera and Mª José Torres Buigues, Regina Infantil del Foc, as well as members of the Comisión Juvenil headed by Marifran Mateu Gilabert and Vicente Monfort Cruañes and the children’s court.

The Pregón was held on Monday 13th June and two days later the bull-running began but only in the Placeta del Convent after a noticeable dip in popularity in the event. This year, barriers were set up in the square to create an arena which in turn created an atmosphere that was no longer being felt in other locations.

By 1993, the number of penyas had reached 52, around 1,400 people who lived for the fiesta, and in response the Association of Santjoanres Penyas was created which would collaborate with the future organisation of the fiesta.

The programme of events included a Children’s Day, the Queen’s Serenade, a parade to visit the different sectors of town, the flower-offering, the open-air dances, everything normal until June 23rd when, as a result of the national economic crisis, the float parade was cancelled and there would only be one parade on the following day, the day of Sant Joan.

Despite the crisis and controversy, the burning of the foguera monument was greeted with the same enthusiasm and emotion as previous years with the added sense of relief that all the effort made throughout the year had helped to keep the fiesta going, despite all the issues.

Finally, Quintà 1993 “Fets a Estall” won an award to acknowledge that the Fogueres magazine was published for the first entirely in the Valencian language and they were invited to participate in a parade in Alicante a week after the festivities had concluded.

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🔥 1994 🔥

Quintà 1994 “El Guirigall” took over the reins of organization of the 1994 edition, led by Árturo Salvatierra Vives and Josefa Pérez Sesé. The management committee had disappeared and the quintà-ayuntamiento relationship was assumed directly by the Department of Fiestas, which had councillor Antonio Roselló at the helm. A new section of the Fogueres magazine was created, the welcome message from the fiesta councillor, whilst 1994 was also the first year that the magazine was printed in colour.

The election of the Queens reverted to become a public event, this year in the Central Cinema in the heart of the historic centre, although the actual voting was only carried out by members of the quintà. Maria Catala Marqués was selected as Regina de la Foguera and Tere Llidó Bas as Regina del Foc whilst Leonor Torres Segarra (Regina Infantil de la Foguera) and Ana Bolufer Marzal (Regina Infantil del Foc) represented the children’s court. The Comisión Juvenil was chaired by Verónica Clemente Cobos and José Cholbi Molina

After an official presentation at a gala dinner, proclamation day took place on Saturday 11th June and included a performance by the famous singer Francisco.

On Monday 13th June, the Pregón took place and then the Association of Santjoanares Penyas inaugurated a new event that has become a traditional part of the opening day, the Cants a Sant Joan, the singing to the images of the saint in their niches.

One of the problems that the quintos encountered year after year was the casal, where to meet and where to spend time during the festivies. For a few years the quintàs met at the foguera riu-rau in Carrer dels Om but in 1994, a new Casal de los Quintos was inaugurated near the Parque Montaner.

The usual programme of events was enhanced by another new feature which remains to this day: the “Día de las Quintadas”. It aimed to make the fiesta more popular by uniting all the people of the town, through their quintà, in a great day of celebration. The first edition was a great success and it also allowed Quintà 1984 “La Rebolica” to celebrate publicly their tenth anniversary.

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🔥 1995 🔥

More than 100 young men and women came together to form Quintà 1995 “Quin Cavalleria” and they elected Juan Vicent Àlvarez Català and Lucia Signes Mata as their presidents. Once again, the elections for the queens was a public affair in the Central Cinema with entertainment provided by Grup de Danses Portitxol and La Pallissa Teatre. Kika Pineda Bas was elected as Regina de la Foguera and Gisela Granata as Regina del Foc.

Despite the threat of rain, the proclamation and coronation ceremony took place on Saturday 10th June and included a performance by Los Panchos. The evening also saw the councillor for Fiestas Antonio Roselló bid farewell after four years in the role, his position taken by Toñi Sebastia for the rest of the festivities.   

The following afternoon, the children’s proclamation took place with the coronation of Deborah Martínez Coates as Regina Infantil de la Foguera and Rosa Mª Leyda Ordines as Regina Infantil del Foc.

After three days of bullrunning in Thiviers, the festivities continued on Saturday 17th June with the Día de les Quintada. The next day, and coinciding with the celebration of Corpus Christi, the programme was aimed at children with contests, games and a playground. Since the 1970s, the Comision Juvenil had been in charge of organizing these events, but this year it was absent.

Following the trend of recent years, the collaboration of the penyas in developing the programme increased and in 1995 there were already around eighty clubs that were part of the Association of Santjoaneres Penyas.

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🔥 1996 🔥

Quintà 1996 “Quintà Que Ni Pinta” was formed with with Dario Puig Santacreu and Filo Giner Freigeiro at the helm. The biggest new feature of 1996 was that the young men of the quintà would be featured in the Fogueres magazine for the first time, photographed in their smart festive outfit.

Celia Martín Peñafiel was elected Regina de la Foguera and Angela Montaner Mata, Regina del Foc. The children were represented by Maribel Sivera Gisbert (Regina Infantil de la Foguera) and Ana Belén Tachó Polvoreda (Regina Infantil del Foc). The Comisión Juvenil return in 1996, presided over by Mª José Zamora Cantos and Javier González Andrés.

For the first time, the proclamations of the senior and junior courts were not held on different days but on the same day – Saturday 8th June – with the children’s court at 7.30pm and the quintà at 10.00pm. Entertainment was provided by the pioneers of techno-rumba Camela, which would become the second most successful band in Spain.

The festivities proper began on Thursday 13th June with the traditional Pregón followed by complimentary wine at the Casal de los Quintos and the singing to Sant Joan which has become a larger-than-life event consolidated by the number of penyas that participate dressed in their characteristic T-shirts.

The bull-running took place in Placeta del Convent and, due to the construction of the new bypass, it had become possible to close the square to traffic during the event and the arena was expanded to cover the bottom of Avenida Príncipe d’Asturias and the eastern end of Carrer Doctor Borrull. The expansion caused a few issues after it was found that there was less room for the cages and, since many were owned by penyas, the right of occupancy was determined by the age of the group as well as the place they occupied when parading in the flower offering. The decision caused a brief stir amongst the penyas which was soon resolved to that everyone could continue with the festivities.

In 1996, the Día de les Quintadas coincided with the opening of the first ever Festival Internacional de Xàbia whilst the rest of the programme of events followed a similar pattern, although the Queen’s Serenade would be carried out by La Tuna de Xàbia for the first time and, on the Nit dels Focs, there would be a procession down to the port beach to bathe feet in the sea, an event supported by the Comission Mare de Deu de Loreto.

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🔥 1997 🔥

The wave of enthusiasm for the fiesta continued into 1997 with the formation of Quintà 1997 “Mira si Somos” with Tere Cruañes Bas and Moisés Bolufer Garcia at the helm which joined the Fogueres Commission in organising the fiesta.

The election held at the Central Cinema saw Elena Agosto Garreta selected as Regina de la Foguera and Elena Serrat Mengual as Regina del Foc. The children’s court was represented by Paula Mínguez Zamora (Regina Infantil de la Foguera) and Georgina Gibson-Dawn (Regina Infantil del Foc) and the Comission Juvenil headed by Toñi Bañuls Mata and Vicente Javier Soriano Comadrón.

Perhaps the most significant event of that year was position of the foguera monument, which, although it remained in the Placeta del Convent, underwent a slight change and was installed almost in front of the door of the convent church. Traffic was diverted along the new bypass roads and the quintos took part in the inauguration of Carrer Antonio Bañuls.

The tendency to centralize the party on the Placa de la Constitución was increasing and in 1997 a large number of events took place here, such as the mobile disco “Que Música la d’aquells anys” organized by the Penya El Xinglot and the open-air dancing to the famous dance band “La Salseta del Poble Sec”.

The associated penyas now numbered around ninety. From children to adults, people were increasingly encouraged to participate in the fiesta and one of the acts in which they did so with special esteem was the offering of flowers to the image of Jesús Nazareno in the blue-domed chapel of Calvario, the penyas dressed in their shirts and carrying bouquets of flowers parade alongside the quintos, giving the event a participation that was becoming more popular every year.

Another novelty was the recovery of a traditional dancing in the street organized by the Grup de Danses Portitxol on Carrer Nou before burning the fires on the night of San Juan.

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🔥 1998 🔥

Rosana Sapena Cardona and Miguel Angel Bastida Cruañes were elected as presidents of quintà 1998 “La Bullanguera” with Mª Teresa Gilabert Bas selected as their Regina de la Foguera and Natalia Peiró Espasa as Regina del Foc. And now they not only had the pleasure representing their companions but also the people of Xabia in other festivals of the town and the rest of the region for the next twelve months.

This year, the lack of children willing to participate in the children’s court meant that there was only one queen, Lucía Ramiro Ferrer (Regina Infantil de la Foguera) whilst the Comisón Juvenil was chaired by Lourdes Gilabert Ern and Hector Fornés Ern.

The proclamation took place on Saturday 13th June for the first time in the Plaza de la Constitución, following the trend of centralizing festivities to this location. The guest artist was Mikel Herzog, who represented Spain at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest a few weeks earlier where he finished 16th with the song “¿Qué voy a hacer sin ti?”.

The next day, coinciding once again with the Corpus Christi festival, the cages were set up in Placeta del Convent in preparation for the bull-running, the first time they were installed before the Pregón.

The programme of events followed the usual pattern with bull-running alternating along Carrer Nou and Calle Megte Borrull, the Festival Internacional de Xàbia, the Día de les Quintadas, Children’s Day, all leading up to the night of Sant Joan when, after the procession, the jumping of the fires, and the bonfire in Raval del Baix, the spectacular correfocs was run for the first time through the streets of the historic centre. In addition, the queens were on hand to inaugurate a new section of the bypass that would become Avenida Palmela.

On the final day, Wednesday 24th June – Día de Sant Joan – the programme followed an agenda that had remain largely unchanged since 1950: a procession to collect the Queens, their Ladies-in-Waiting and their Courts, the mass, the mascletà, the float parade, the burning of the children’s foguera (and others), the firework display and the finale, the burning of the foguera monument in Placeta del Convent.

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🔥 1999 🔥

The Fogueres de Sant Joan de Xàbia reached its 50th anniversary in 1999. And so Quintà 1999 “Molta Festa I Poc Trellat” had to make extra effort to make the festivities extra special. In order to help them, the Department of Fiestas created a special commission consisted of people who had been linked to the fiesta for many years, members of the penya association, and the presidents of the Quintà 1999, Pilar Mata Azorín and Ernesto Bas Esteve, who were elected by their fellow quintos in a private event in the town hall in November 1998.

This committee was headed by Juan Ortola Bas and convened for the first time in October 1998 to start preparations not only for the usual festivities but also the 50th anniversary celebrations and the queens and presidents of the previous 49 years were consulted to garner their opinions which resulted in five representatives of each becoming part of the Fogueres Commission on issues related to the anniversary.

The election of the queens took place at the Palau Municipal d’Esports in the port and Irene Caselles Soler was selected as Regina del Foc and Ana Catala Cholbi as Regina de la Foguera. For the children’s court, Tania Garcia Ern (Regina Infantil del Foc) and Rosanna Ribes Salvador (Regina Infantil de la Foguera) were chosen, supported by a Comission Juvenil headed by Antonio Caselles Ferrer and Asun Buigues Catala.

The 1999 edition was obviously going to be special and different from other years and the programme had several changes. For a start, the festivities lasted for three weeks which included a cultural week. All the representatives of Les Fogueres since its inception were invited to participate and an emotional tribute was paid to them during the first days of the festivities. They also took part in the Flower Offering and the float parade on the second day.

Without a doubt, this year’s quintà was privileged for the number of events that took place and the novelties introduced. To follow an order, the location of the stage for the proclamation of the queens was moved to Plaza de la Constitución with the Parque Montaner in the background. It was also the first year that the quintos were present at the top of the stage at the end of the act. And it was also innovative that the queens were hidden throughout the event and their proclamation was a surprise. Both came out of a mill, recreating the Molins de la Plana. That night the “Dúo Dinámico” performed and, at the 50th anniversary tribute act, which was the next day “Azúcar Moreno” performed.

It should also be noted that the interior of the foguera monument, for the first and only time, was open to the public and an exhibition of traditional clothing could be seen, which symbolized the history and evolution of the festivities.

June 19th was dedicated to the Día de les Quintades, with an evening parade from Parc Thiviers to Placeta del Convent. The following day, el Día del 50 Aniversario”, was celebrated with a mascletà, several parades, and the descent of the image of Jesús Nazareno from the chapel to Calvario to the church in the heart of the historic centre. Afterwards was the “el Día de les Penyes“, where Bajoqueta Rock performed.

As usual, the 22nd was the Flower Offering. For the first time in the history of the fiesta, it was in the church of San Bartolomé, shared between Jesús Nazareno and Saint John. Due to the large participation of men and women representing the 50 years, the event started earlier than the usual and, as a novelty, the flower tapestry was made by the Penya El Cresol. The rest of the festivities remained as previous years.

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