In many towns, sometime during the year a parade is held to commemorate the Reconquista, or the roughly 800-year battle between Christians and Moors. Many parades take on epic proportions of music, costumes, pageantry and religious tradition when the streets are lined with hours-long processions of performers, musicians, the official royalty of fiesta queens and young princess “infantas” and a string of somber clergy.
Alicante holds two festividades de San Nicolas in early December to celebrate the city’s patron saint and mark the start of the long holiday season; a traditional religious procession starting and ending at the Concatedrál de San Nicolás and a wild, festive party parade that same evening featuring dance groups, brass bands and oversized floats filled with fantastically-costumed performers.
When I was little, I always thrilled at seeing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, imagining myself as a Natalie Wood look alike from the classic movie, The Christmas Story. Years later, when I moved to California, I begrudgingly agreed that the Rose Bowl was a pretty slick event too. But honestly, neither of those classics could hold a candle to what we watched on the streets of Alicante yesterday.
I’m sure everyone has their favorites, but this will go down in my book as one to remember. And it won’t be all that hard, since I have 1500 photos to remind me.
