Colour, music and a great atmosphere marks Carnival in Xàbia

Monday 20th February 2023
Mike Smith with Álvaro Monfort

The celebration of Carnival hits the streets of the old town on Saturday, bringing out the creativity of the residents and their desire to have a good time. Music, color, choreography and a lot of atmosphere filled the most important points and squares.

In the early evening, the little ones were the protagonists as well as families and groups of friends who, through their sons and daughters, met to enjoy and dress up together. The old town was filled with mini superheroes and superheroines as well as warm and friendly animals and characters from literature and children’s TV.

There were also very original costumes such as the relaxing foam baths, a tribute to Dragon Ball (dragon included), jellyfish, Haribo sweet packets and even traffic signs. The musicians of Colla Portitxol provided music for the parade that was longer than last year, starting in Plaça de la Constitució and continuing along Carrer dels Olms, Placeta del Convent, Ronda Colón, Ronda Sur, Ronda Norte, Avenida Príncipe de Asturias and Calle Buen Aire until finishing back in the main square. The fun and games continued with the children’s music group Canta Canalla and the local DJ La Gavi.

At night it was the turn of the youth and adults. Unlike in the early evening, the costumes ceased to be endearing and became more “hot”. Of course, every year comfort is more important, although there are brave people who still defy it and brave the cold.

Quintà 2023 “A Rebolcons” opted for an original and unconventional proposal dressing up as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, two anti-hero characters from the SpongeBob series. But they were not the only ones. The press was represented by reporters from À Punt, cassette tapes played again with force and even Super Mario Kart characters jumping from the video game to reality. They were just some of the many great costumes.

Among the different costumes that competed for the prize for best group (200 euros), the winning group was that of the popcorn makers who made a detailed costume with popcorn girls and a sales booth. The parade went along to the same route as the kids. On this occasion, the music and dancing was provided by Orquesta Titanic and later, the Krakatoa disco cranked up the music until dawn.

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images by Fay Hughes (javeamigos.com)