Moros y Cristianos de La Vila Joios
A little bit of history
La Vila Joiosa celebrates the festivities of the Moros y Christianos at the end of July in honour of St. Martha, declared an international tourist interest.
They commemorate the miracle that occurred in July 1538, when the Berber pirate Zallé Arraez tried to invade the town. A spectacular storm was unleashed on the region that made the Amadorio river burst its banks and thus destroy the Saracen fleet that was moored in the mouth of the river. This feat was attributed to St. Martha, and so she was named patron saint of the town.
A century later, when the region suffered a huge drought, the miracle known as the Miracle of the Tears of St. Martha occurred: on the 8th May in the year 1653 during Mass, the image of the saint began to shed tears just when Philip IV signed a document authorizing the building of the Relleu dam. In 1753, on account of the centenary of the miracle, the municipal authorities agreed on the celebration of various festive acts thus bringing about the Moros y Cristianos festivities of La Vila Joiosa.
The Official Entrada (entrance parade) of the Music Bands on the first day, the spectacular Moor and Christian parades, as well as the Embajadas (meeting of envoys), the reconquest of the Castle, the solemn procession of St. Martha and the musical firework display from the Centro beach, are some of the special acts of the festivity.
However, the culminating act is the Desembarco Moro (Disembarking of the Moors) which takes place in the early hours of the 28th July. This is a naval battle between the Moor y Christian fleets, after which the Moors jump into the sea and swim to shore to conquer the castle, accompanied all the time by music and the unceasing firing of the blunderbusses.
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