Residents demand answers for burnt books in the ashes of the Foguera Central

The spectacular finale of the Fogueres de Sant Joan de Xàbia on Monday night filled us all with a huge range of emotions as the traditional burning of the Foguera Central brought an end to the festivities. However, once the flames had been extinguished, the grand monument left us one last surprise for amongst the ashes were found charred copies of the 2023 Fogueres book and the discovery has been met with shock and anger by many residents.

Ever since the start of the festivities over two weeks ago, it’s been no secret that there has been a growing sense of animosity from some people for the previous incarnation of the Fogueres Commission, a dedicated group of volunteers who spend much of their spare time organising the celebrations each year.

The change of local government last summer, the switching colour from red to blue, resulted in inevitable changes, not least the creation of a new Fogueres Commission by the incoming councillor responsible for Fiestas, Mavi Perez. This was no surprise. Different governments like to do things their own way. And thus a new era began, one that would kick off with the 75th anniversary celebrations of the biggest party of the year in Xàbia.

Things didn’t quite seem right during the presentation weekend at the beginning of the month when the president of Quintà 2023, Álex Salva, was later forced to post a statement on his FB page in response to accusations of disrespect during this farewell speech. “It may be that the speech was long, but it will never be long enough to express my gratitude to all the people who made my year possible. I can say without any doubt that I did not disrespect anyone during my speech, not like others people who hold grudges for the past.”

The new Fogueres Commission has not had it easy this year. A modified Día de les Quintades without the popular midday parade was not well received and neither was the removal of the chaotic yet thoroughly enjoyable penya parade.

And less than 48 hours before the magical Nit dels Focs, it posted a warning on its FB page that the growth of the vidriella plant that is traditionally used for making the crowns had been severely stunted by the apparent ongoing drought situation and that people should have to look for it themselves. Plenty of people did so and they were able to find it, leading to one penya to post a witty sign on a fence during the float parade on the 24th: “The Commission doesn’t know where to find the vidriella, yet, on the night, everyone was wearing it!”

Even the traditional critiques of the Foguera Central didn’t escape an apparent dig at the old commission. One sign read: “Like a pied piper, the president of the commission makes all the members dance and takes them to the river where he drowns them until no one is left alive because when there is a change in the town hall, the commission can take it badly”.

And thus, as the final flames were extinguished and people were allowed forward to take photos and maybe even collect some of the ashes as has long been the tradition, there was great surprise to find the charred remains of several copies of the 2023 Fogueres book, a souvenir of each year in which is printed formal photos of the protagonists, both senior and junior, group photos of the penyas, and sponsors who pay for the privilege of appearing in it.

The books cost 20 euros each to buy and there are always some who can’t afford to do so, even the families of those taking part who have worked so hard to ensure that their child can participate nevertheless. Therefore, the sight of charred pages and burnt piles of paper provoked anger in many people and the social media networks were filled with their complaints.

“Shameful! Such a lack of respect for last years quintos!” said one, to which another responded that the apparent disrespect also extended to the youngsters of the children’s court and youth commission “which, in the end, together with the quintà, are also the protagonists of the festivities.” The fact that local politics seemed to be prevalent during this year’s celebrations was not lost on one person: “Whoever did this should be ashamed! Politics should not be part of the Fogueres, it’s Xàbia’s biggest party for everyone!”

The fact that a big percentage of the book’s pages is given to local companies for advertising was also pointed out. “They want us to collaborate and then burn the books!”, another said that whoever was responsible should be charged appropriately – “At 20 euros a book, it all adds up” – whilst someone demanded that “at the very least those responsible should be sought out and told to apologize in public”. Another summed it up: “This is not how recycling should be done. Really bad taste!”

Update: 27/06/2024

Three days after the finale of the fiestas, the issue of the burning books was brought up in the council chambers at the monthly plenary session, which the Fiesta councillor Mavi Peréz didn’t attend.

PSPV spokesperson José Chulvi said that the “most responsible person” for the actions of her councillors was the mayor and asked Rosa Cardona if she condemned them and if she planned to take any action. Cardona responded that the burning of the books was a mistake, adding that she condemned the action, but failed to say if she would act, saying that “at the moment I don’t know what I can do”.

Juan Ortolá, a CPJ colleague of Mavi Pérez, insisted that there was “no malice” intended in what happen. “It was a mistake and, if appropriate, we apologize and it will not happen again.” However Chulvi responded that the placing of the books inside the monument was done intentionally. “It wasn’t done secretly,” he said, adding that the fiesta councillor was present when a cart full of boxes of the fiesta book was wheeled to the monument during its construction.

Chulvi also denounced the “veiled criticism” towards certain people in the speeches given by the fiesta councillor during the proclamation weekend as well as the criticism of the members of the previous Fogueres Commission in the design of the foguera monument itself.

And the end of the Fogueres de Sant Joan didn’t mean an end to the controversies. The PSPV also highlighted the fiesta councillor Mavi Pérez had insisted that she would not attend an event organised by the Casa de Andalucía de Xàbia if former socialist fiesta councillor Kika Mata was present. In the end, neither attended the opening act of this year’s festivities on Wednesday evening, forcing mayor Rosa Cardona to apologise for what happened and for CPJ spokesperson Juan Ortolá to admit that these are “situations we need to avoid”.