Magdalena Festival


The Magdalena Festival is the main festivity of Castellón de la Plana, the capital city of the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It commemorates the origins of the city, recalling the move of the city from the Hill of Mary Magdalene to the fertile coastal plain in 1251.
This festival lasts for 9 days. It starts on the third Saturday of Lent and it was declared an Event of International Tourist Interest in 2010.

Historical background

History of the festival

The ''semana festera''

Dates of the festival

Next celebrations
The first day of the Magdalena Festival is the third Saturday of Lent.
Considering that the first day of Lent is the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox, the dates of the Magdalena Festival between 1945 and 2050 are, according to the calculations of M. Armengot, as follows:
03/03/1945, 03/23/1946, 03/08/1947, 02/28/1948, 03/19/1949, 03/11/1950, 02/24/1951, 03/15/1952, 03/07/1953, 03/27/1954, 03/12/1955, 03/03/1956, 03/23/1957, 03/08/1958, 02/28/1959, 03/19/1960, 03/04/1961, 03/24/1962, 03/16/1963, 02/29/1964, 03/20/1965, 03/12/1966, 02/25/1967, 03/16/1968, 03/08/1969, 02/28/1970, 03/13/1971, 03/04/1972, 03/24/1973, 03/16/1974, 03/01/1975, 03/20/1976, 03/12/1977, 02/25/1978, 03/17/1979, 03/08/1980, 03/28/1981, 03/13/1982, 03/05/1983, 03/24/1984, 03/09/1985, 03/01/1986, 03/21/1987, 03/05/1988, 02/25/1989, 03/17/1990, 03/02/1991, 03/21/1992, 03/13/1993, 03/05/1994, 03/18/1995, 03/09/1996, 03/01/1997, 03/14/1998, 03/06/1999, 03/25/2000, 03/17/2001, 03/02/2002, 03/22/2003, 03/13/2004, 02/26/2005, 03/18/2006, 03/10/2007, 02/23/2008, 03/14/2009, 03/06/2010, 03/26/2011, 03/10/2012, 03/02/2013, 03/22/2014, 03/07/2015, 02/27/2016, 03/18/2017, 03/03/2018, 03/23/2019, 03/14/2020, 03/06/2021, 03/19/2022, 03/11/2023, 03/02/2024, 03/22/2025, 03/07/2026, 02/27/2027, 03/18/2028, 03/03/2029, 03/23/2030, 03/15/2031, 02/28/2032, 03/19/2033, 03/11/2034, 02/24/2035, 03/15/2036, 03/07/2037, 03/27/2038, 03/12/2039, 03/03/2040, 03/23/2041, 03/08/2042, 02/28/2043, 03/19/2044, 03/11/2045, 02/24/2046, 03/16/2047, 03/07/2048, 03/27/2049, 03/12/2050.
It should be highlighted that, since the first celebration of the Magdalena Festival in 1945, the year with the earliest date of the festivities was in 2008, from 23 February to 2 March; whilst the celebration which began on the latest date was in 1981, from 28 March to 5 April.
In both 1948 and 2032, the most important day of the festival, the Sunday of the Magdalena Festival, is 29 February; the coincidence of the events on 29 February in each respective century.

Saturday: ''De la festa, la vespra''

Official announcement of the festival

The festivities begin at 12:00 noon, when commemorative fireworks are set off; the number of fireworks reflects the number of years that have passed since the celebration of the festival. This is followed by a mascletà, a very loud coordinated firecracker display, which is prepared by the winners of the previous year's pyrotechnic competition and takes place in Plaza del Primer Molí; it lasts between 10 and 15 minutes.

Official opening parade

A traditional, vernacular parade reflecting the mythology, history, customs and folklore of Castellón.
This parade starts at 4:00 p.m. and lasts for approximately 4 hours, passing through central and northern parts of the city. The following sections can be distinguished:
After the opening speech ends, the Enfarolà del Campanar begins. It is a display which consists of illuminating el Fadrí, the tower in the centre of Castellón, with a pyrotechnic display.

Sunday: "Magdalena festa plena"

The most important day of the Magdalena Festival.

Pilgrimage of the canes

The day starts with the ringing of the "Vicent" bell at 5:30 am. As mentioned in the last part of the pregó, the bell's chime means "Ja el día es arribat de la nostra Magdalena".
At 8:00 am, the pilgrimage starts from the Plaza Mayor . Although its official starting point is the Plaza Mayor, most pilgrims start from Plaza María Agustina is Sant Roc de Canet, where people have a mid-morning snack, for example the typical "figa i doset", and where pilgrims say a prayer.
After this long walk, people arrive at the Mary Magdelene Chapel. A mascletá is set off to announce the arrival of the pilgrims, who are handed "rotllos". Then, there is a service in the chapel, after which everyone tries a little of an enormous paella.

La ''tornà de la romeria'' (the return from the pilgrimage) and the Procession of Penitents

The so-called tornà de la romería had disappeared for some years, but it was recently started again by the Colla El Pixaví. It begins at 3:45 pm at the Mary Magdalene Chapel and stops at every chapel and religious building on the way. The arrival at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lledó is especially emotional, as this is the place where some people pray and where pilgrims sing the Hail Mary. It is also the place where the dignitaries going to the Mary Magdalene Chapel and the pilgrims coming back from it meet.
At 7:00 pm the pilgrims arrive back in the city, preceded by the carros which participate in the pilgrimage. They are followed by little traditional gaiatas, els Cavallers and the dignitaries, who walk in procession as far as the Plaza Mayor. Next comes the "Penitents' Procession", which is traditionally the first procession of Holy Week in Spain.

''Gaiatas'' Parade

The Gaiatas Parade is part of la tornà de la romería. It allows the townspeople to show off the nineteen different gaiatas of the city, accompanied by the members of the respective sector commission. In addition, two more gaiatas are shown: one sponsored by a well-known savings bank that maintains the tradition of les xiquetes del meneo, and the other the gaiata of the city, which represents the whole city and was the one chosen as the best gaiata in the previous year's gaiata competition.
The Gaiata Parade passes through the city with the festival queens and their corresponding courts of honour, as well as a representation of the City Council and of the 'Corporació Municipal de Festes', the 'Junta de Festes de Castelló' and the Banda Municipal de Castelló.
The only music which can be played at the parade is the classic Rotllo i Canya. It starts after la tornà de la romeria. The members of the "commission" of gaiata infantil are followed by the members of the commission in charge of the main gaiata in the procession. One of the traditions of this act is les voltetes. People ask members of the commissions, only girls, to do the volteta so that they show their dresses.

Monday

Day of the Local Festival.

Parade of Festooned Carriages and Children’s Parade

During the week, a multitude of celebrations are held, the most important of which appear in the following list:
On Tuesday after 11:00 pm.
The Offering of Flowers to the patron of the city, the Our Lady of Lledó. One of the most emotive acts of this festival is performed by the men of the Gaiata 1, who make a floral tapestry with the flowers that have been brought by the people who have visited their basilica. The route to be taken is the following: Plaza Mayor, Calle Mayor, Plaza Maria Agustina, Avenida de la Mare de Déu del Lledó and Paseo de Lledó, where we finally find the Basilica.

The last Saturday: Magdalena Vítol!

The final day of the Magdalena Festival.

The Grand Finale Fireworks

A pyrotechnic event running through the main streets of the center of Castellón takes place. The most daring run in front of the fireworks.

Magdalena Vítol!

At the end of the pyrotechnic traca, in the Plaza Mayor, the queens of the festival shout from the balcony of the townhall: Magdalena and the crowd answers from below: Vítol!, ending the festival for one year and beginning the next year's Magdalena Festival.

Elements of the festival

Gaiatas

The gaiatas are the festive monuments of the Magdalena Festival. Antonio Pascual Felip, a member of the First Central Board of Celebration, defined the gaiata as "a burst of light, with no fire or smoke". The gaiatas are monuments that are usually bout 19 feet high and resemble the lanterns that the inhabitants of Castellón used to find their way through the marshy ground at night. Also, the term gaiata refers to each of the 19 districts or neighbourhoods into which the city of Castellón is divided for the festival:
During the festival, each district exhibits its gaiata in its central square.

Organizing bodies

In 2010, a cultural association named "Colla L'Esvaró" with over 20 members, was the first colla to produce a seven feet tall gaiata. As noted in the local newspaper Periódico Mediterraneo on March 5, 2010 , this gaiata was conceived by Carlos Benítez Barbero, a student of the course "Arts Decoratives del Món de la Festa de Castelló" and at "l'Escola d'art i Superior de Disseny de Castelló".
In 2011, Carlos Benítez Barbero and Javier Granell Vives also created the first ceramic gaiata, a thirteen feet tall construction entirely covered by trencadis, faux stained glass and over 300 LED lights. Further information about this can be found in both newspapers El Mundo and Levante published on April 3, 2011.

Traditions

Symbols of the festival