Mojácar hamlet Sopalmo begins its festivities in honour of its Patron Saint, Christ the King, the traditional acts and celebrations continuing throughout the weekend.
The festivities will get underway today Friday 5th August at 7pm with a Holy Mass in the Chapel of Christ the King located in Sopalmo’s main square and continue at 8pm with races with married couples’ ribbons.
Accompanied by the Mojácar Municipal Music Band, the brave married men, on the backs of their motorbikes, will try to recover the ribbons which their beloved wives have embroidered for this purpose, and which will be placed strategically high up to make the manoeuvre difficult.
Following the ribbon race, this first day of the festivities will end with an open-air dance from 10pm onwards, with music from Rafael Rueda. The dancing and the fun are down to the locals and visitors.
On Saturday 6th August, starting at 10pm, the music and public dance will be in entrusted to “Cuarteto Insignia”, and at the stroke of midnight, University of Barcelona Physical Geography Professor Javier Martín Vide will be in charge of the proclamation of the 2022 festivities.
Javier Martín Vide, a climatology specialist, is a regular visitor to Sopalmo, and for many years he has chosen the locality as a place to take a break from his multiple occupations.
Following the proclamation, Sopalmo Hamlet Mayor, José Antonio Fernández, along with a jury, will crown the Queen of the 2022 Festivities and her Ladies of Honour.
The Sopalmo festivities will come to a close on Sunday 7th August at 8pm with the junior ribbon race, also accompanied by the Mojácar Municipal Music Band.
The Sopalmo festivities have been celebrated since 1953, although originally they were held at the end of October. As this celebration is a special time of reunions between family members and friends who were away from the locality, it was decided to move it to the beginning of August to make it easier to be there.
Worth noting is the participation of all the residents in the days of celebration, decorating their streets with flowers and festive decoration in this magical corner of Mojácar, as well as wearing traditional flamenco-style costumes at all gatherings.
