FOGUERES @ 75 – A History: The 2020s

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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There’s very little positive that can be said about the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, a historic moment in our history when the world was forced to shut itself away to try and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Social activities were put on hold, videoconferencing became the new interaction, and we all learnt that wearing a mask and a pair of glasses was not a good combination. As for the Fogueres, we had to do without it for a couple of years until it returned with three quintàs in 2022 for a very special edition. And then, in 2024, it celebrated 75 years.

🔥 2022 🔥

The 2022 edition of the Fogueres de Sant Joan was exceptional for it was the first to be staged after the world shut down due to the global pandemic. The coronavirus forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions which meant that the 2022 edition would have three quintàs as its protagonists.

Back in October 2019, the elections saw Marta Ortuño and Ariadna Serrat chosen as Regina Major and Regina Infantil respectively whilst the Quintà 2019 elected Zara Sancho and Javier Gavilà as their presidents and the Youth Commission would be represented by Mar Rodríguez and Romeo Lara.

The following month, the Quintà had a name: “TOT PER L’AIRE” and it took to the streets of the historic centre to announce its arrival and set down to organise not only their participation in the festivities of Sant Joan but also their participation in other events such as Carnaval.

And then March arrived and the world retreated behind closed doors. Whilst there were proposals that the fiesta would take place later in the year, possibly October or November, the increasing spread of the coronavirus meant that the 2020 edition of the Fogueres de Sant Joan had to be cancelled altogether. The quintà remained loyal to each other and would communicate online through videoconferencing and even celebrated the traditional gala dinner “together” through their phones, PCs and laptops.

As 2021 arrived, the situation with the pandemic had no sign of improving and, whilst the people were no longer confined to their homes, social distancing and mask wearing became a normal way of life as the world struggled to contain the spread of the virus. It was clear that the 2021 edition of the Fogueres would not happen either.

By the autumn of 2021, the situation was finally improving and there was increased confidence that the following year, there would finally be the Fogueres de Sant Joan de Xàbia.

Quintà 2021 named itself “LA DESASTRÀ” and elected Jorge Serra and Maria Liehr as its presidents; there would be new representatives of the Youth Commission as those from 2020 would continue in their roles into the next edition.

Nara Rodríguez would be elected as Reina Major 2021 and her moment would be slightly tainted by the fact that the young men of the quintà flung her into the air after the announcement of her election as has been tradition but they failed to catch her properly and she fell to the ground, although unhurt so she was able to take to the stage to take the applause.

A few hours later, on the same day, the Quintà 2022 would hold its own election and it was no doubt be a strange moment for Nara, just elected, to know who would be her successor almost immediately. That person would be Olivia Clemente, elected by her peers in Quintà 2022 “LA RETORNÀ” as Regina Major for 2022. The presidents would be Clara Buigues and Sergio Diego.

And so the countdown began for a very special and unique fiesta in 2022. Rather than crowns, the three queens were handed replicas of Xàbia’s Iberian treasure in a ceremony that took place outdoors in the fresh air in front of the town hall since the virus was still active in the population.

For the first time, the casal de quintos would be located in the grounds of the Ruirau d’Arnauda amongst the trees of Parque Montaner.

There were three proclamation ceremonies over the second weekend in June 2022, one for each queen, and the three young ladies would parade together in many of the processions during the fiesta.

On Monday 13th June, the Pregón took place in the church square and it was an extra special occasion as all the balconies of the town hall were filled with the representatives from the three groups whilst the façade of the building featured a huge poster of all four queens, including the Reina Infantil.

Nit del Rock took place on Sunday 19th June and featured local band ‘Arsènic’, popular Valencian pop-rock group ‘La Fúmiga’ and rap collective ‘Pupil·les’. There was also a tribute show to the famous Spanish new wave band ‘Mecano’.

The rest of the programme took into account that there were three groups with multiple flower offerings, float parades and the Serenading of the Queens took place in several iconic places in the historic centre instead of their houses. Another new feature in this special year was that the ladies were also serenading by Tuna de Xàbia, something which had never been done before.

On a final emotional evening, the three groups came together one last time to watch the burning of the Foguera Central. The fire announced the end of a very special year for the three quintàs but between the tears and smiles, there was one unmistakable feeling: that finally they were one and the same.

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🔥 2023 🔥

After the celebration of an extraordinary Fogueres de Sant Joan the previous year, the 2023 edition had big boots to fill. But Quintà 2023 “A REBOLCONS” were eager to do so. Although the health situation had returned to normal, some changes made the previous year remained in this edition’s programme, such as the presentation of sashes and distinctions which took place in the open air in the church square.

At the elections at the beginning of October 2022, Arantxa Pons and Júlia Leyda were elected as Regina Major and Regina Infantil respectively, whilst Alex Salvá and Adriana Fernández would be at the helm of the quintà and Sahila Esquinas and Sergi Pons would represent the 50 strong Youth Commission.

As normal in election year, the festivities began and ended with different people in charge at the town hall. The first acts of the programme were attended by mayor José Chulvi and councillors Kika Mata and Rita Berruti whilst the final acts were attended by their replacements, Rosa Cardona as mayor and Mavi Pérez as the councillor in charge of fiestas.

The big concert of the year was that of ‘Camela’, pioneers of the tecno-rumba style from Madrid. However, things didn’t quite go to plan. Due to play after the proclamation of the quintà on Saturday 10th June, the band was forced to cancel their performance at the very last minute due to personal reasons, causing a dilemma for the organising committee. But they would return to Xàbia to play a few days later.

Nit del Rock on Wednesday 21st June featured metalcore group ‘Diàspora’, Catalan reggae-dancehall collective ‘Green Valley’ and Catalan rock group ‘Buhos’.

On Friday 23rd June, the infamous penya parade returned, a chaotic procession of floats and skits that delved deep into local politics and issues of the day.

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🔥 2024 🔥

A very special year for Fogueres de sant Joan de Xàbia, it would be the 75th anniversary of this extraordinary festivities. The preparations would begin early under the direction of a new 75th anniversary commission, tasked with delivering a programme worthy of marking this occasion, whilst the normal commission, under the direction of a new president Carmen Andrés would take care of the normal programming.

At the end of September 2023, Quintà 2024 “A CABASSAES” elected their prime representatives: Àngela Tachó as Reina Major and Júlia Roselló and Jaime Valverde as their presidents. Claudia García was chosen as Regina Infantil with Laura Sánchez and Luca Mata selected as presidents for the Youth Commission.

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