The highly anticipated Mojácar Moors & Christians festivities officially get underway this Thursday 15th June, and until next Sunday 18th June, with the grand parade, will fill Mojácar with fun and the special magic of several days where culture and history go hand in hand “without winners or losers.”
On Thursday 15th June the programme of commemorations and historic representations begins with a junior parade which will start out at 10.30am from the Bartolomé Flores Public School, going around the “kábilas” (Moorish encampments), and “cuarteles” (Christian encampments), accompanied by Bambolea jesters and tumblers, to the Plaza Nueva. On the same day, from 12 midday, the young Mojácar Moors & Christians will remain centre stage with the gathering of the junior heralds from the Aljama Mudéjar Moorish encampment and the Los Templarios Christian encampment to, accompanied by the Municipal Music Band, also arrive at the Plaza Nueva for the junior proclamation and the recreation of the handing over of keys.
On Friday 16th June, from 1pm to 5pm, the midday festivity opens in the kábilas and cuarteles spread throughout the old town. The Aljama Mudéjar encampment and the Templarios encampment will have entertainment from the “Los Chorreones” and “Los Juaranginos” brass bands.
It will be at 7pm when the blunderbuss fusiliers gather in the Multi-Uses Centre to at 8.30pm at the Mojácar Fountain begin the regrouping of the troops and proceed to the handing over of the keys to the city by the Muslim king Alavez to Capitán Garcilaso, sent by the Catholic Monarchs.
From 9pm, a clarion call, announcing the presence of hostile troops in the vicinity of the city. The troupes turn out with the greatest number of members possible, led by their respective captains, music bands, fireworks and volleys of musketeers.
With the entrance of troops in the city, now in the old town, it will be possible to enjoy the proclamation of the festivities by the adult ambassadors, with a final firecracker. The heralds of this 2023 edition will be Antonio Montoya Gredilla from the Templario encampment and Antonio Jesús Pérez Carrique from the Aljama de Mudejar encampment.
From this moment the Moorish and Christian encampments open, headed by their ambassadors, who will be accompanied by the “Los Juaraginos” band.
On Saturday 17th June, from midday onwards, the traditional Medieval market will open. The city Souk will open its door with the Bambolea characters and an exhibition of birds of prey. The activities on this second day of Moors & Christians continue with parades that will liven up the medina with Moors & Christians-themed characters, who will go around the whole old town, and many other offerings that will bring you closer to the tales of a thousand and one nights.
You cannot miss on Lance beach from 5pm onwards the much-anticipated concentration of blunderbuss fusiliers, who will wait until 6pm for the dance and fire show, the parade of horses and the dressage exhibition, giving way to the meeting and landing of the Moorish troops and the defence of their coast by the Christians.
Every battle ends with a Medieval tournament, where Moorish and Christian knights will try to obtain the greatest number of scarves put up by ladies from both sides. In the tournament, the young riders and their mounts strive to get a smile, and of course, a precious kiss, as a reward for their feat.
The jousting comes to an end with the march of the troops from the Ankara beach bar to the Red Cross along the seafront promenade. An unequalled spectacle of colour and beauty with the Mediterranean as an incomparable setting.
From 9.30pm in the old town, the Moorish and Christian encampments reopen their doors to offer fun and entertainment in these unique Mojácar festivities.
On Sunday the 18th, the last day of the Moors & Christians festivities, the day begins with the concentration of the Moorish and Christian fusiliers and a volley at 12 midday, which gives the alert of the preparations for what is the star activity of all the days: the impressive gala parade of Moors and Christians.
Virtually the whole town takes part. More than 2,000 people, all dressed up in the most luxurious gala costumes you can imagine, and accompanied by floats, bands and brass bands, start out at 6.30pm from the Plaza Nueva to end the parade at the Fountain.
The order of the parade has been stipulated by the Almosaquer Moors & Christians Association. On the Christian side, the Bandoleros go first, followed by the Cisneros Cuartel and the Templarios, who this year hold the captaincy.
On the Moorish side, it will be the Moros Viejos who open the Muslim participation, followed by Tuareg Mojácar, the Moriscos, and finally, Aljama Mudéjar, who also hold the captaincy of the Moorish side.
It’s impossible to miss the Mojácar Moors & Christians festivity. Unimaginable days that transport you back in time. Without comparison with any other held in any part of Spain. A whole town: its streets, corners, establishments, Mojácar, in short, transformed into a grand stage with its residents and visitors as actors in what is, without doubt, the most important date in the locality and in the province.
