Latin Fiesta Auckland Elche Misteri Alicante Carnival
Ole, ole, ole...Samba Carnival Latin Fever? Showtime for the Latin Fiesta in Auckland, excitement and joie de vivre mounted weeks before. Latin percussion bands, steel drums and energetic samba beats, tradition & culture; we also looked forward to sampling the different blends of unique cuisine and flavours of Latin America.
Would it be a facsimile of Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Venice Carnival.. or Alicante Fiesta? Granted, Auckland has a much smaller population than Rio, with Covid-19 pandemic creating havoc worldwide we were pleased the performances would go on as planned.
Wonderful to be supporting 'live' events. Postponed this year, due to Covid-19 level-3 restrictions in February, it should be a simply amazing weekend, more so now as it was at the beginning of school holidays, 2021.
Alicante fiesta
Alicante fiesta
It was cool and bright on the day as we made our way to Aotea Square in the centre Auckland CBD. Somewhere in the distance walking towards the Latin Festival – we heard rhythmic beats, cool, catchy Latin music as we got closer. Exuberant, joy to be alive, Latin Fiesta was just round the corner, great.
Big screens were setup to project the goings-on on the main stage during the weekend Fiesta, there was another stage which offered a different itinerary of acts. We listened to lively bands that played; there were open spaces to tango, salsa, samba to the Latin music.
There were Salsa demonstration and lessons, Brazilian Forro bands, Mariachi, Capoiero, Bachata, Flamenco, Zumba classes and lots more were set to thrill audiences over the weekend. Beside the aromas of good food dotted around the square, enjoyment was the key.
It brought to mind Carnivals in Spain of which there are numerous, when we lived in a small rural community on the Costa Blanca. The local events were small but exuberant, but what were larger events like? Our place sit in a triangle catchment-area that is anchored by the provincial capital of Alicante, the smaller city of Elche, and the seaside town of Santa Pola - the fiestas that we experienced were amazing..
ELCHE
Elche – it has the UNESCO distinction of: Misteri d'Elx (Mystery play of Elche) which is a lyrical sacred drama about death, the Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin. This Festa has been proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage, and is performed every Easter over two days, with an enthusiastic audience of devotees from all over Spain squeezed into the Basilica de Santa Maria.
One of the highlights is the 'aerial device': ''.. La Magrana makes its appearance through the Doorway to Heaven during La Vespra (during the first day) in the Basilica. There were hundreds of worshippers seated outside the Basilica as there wasn't any room inside, craning forward to get a glimpse of the proceedings – it was just awe-inspiring.
Elche also has UNESCO approval of: El Palmeral - the only palm grove in Europe with North African heritage; it constitutes one of the largest palm groves in the world – it is the venue of many fiestas. Plus Elche is Spain's main producer of Shoes… see Spain-Elche article.
annual elche fiesta
medieval fiesta
medieval fiesta
el palmeral
ALICANTE
Alicante fiestas were also worth visiting when you're in the Costa Blanca. We were not expecting festivals where the townsfolk burnt (what-look-to-be) incredible works-of-art down to ashes ..what did you say? Bizarrely, at Alicante's Bonfires of St. John, the townsfolk create beautiful, unique and satirical giant-statues, sometimes up to 80 feet tall. Mocking current events, the papier-mâché creations were installed around the city at crossroads, squares and plazas.
hogueres de san jan, alicante
hogueres de san jan, alicante
There was much excitement and festivities amongst Alicantinos and visitors from far and near, clamouring to have a view, before 'la Crema' (the Burning)., which starts at midnight.
This festival, also called Alicante San Juan Hogueras, originated in the pre-Christian era – it is a somewhat paganistic practice, marking the arrival of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, thus driving away evil spirits of winter. Similar inclinations are still celebrated today. There were queues of people came into Alicante every evening, cars were bumper-to-bumper waiting to get a car park spot anywhere around the city to join in the festivities.
We were often caught up in this situation, parking miles away from the event, and hobbling with my one good leg (due to AVM stroke) to catch the parade which wound around town. We took as many photos of the Hogeuras statues (of at least a 100) before they were burnt at midnight! Before that, of course there were parades of beauty-queens with floral offerings, Latin percussion bands, more festivities for four or more celebratory days. SEE: Spain-Alicante article.
LATIN FIESTA, AUCKLAND
Back to the Latin Fiesta, where the Colombian traditional dance was already underway at the main stage at Aotea Square Auckland, followed by Chilean, Peruvian, etc.
We'd never been to a cultural show where the people of different cultures around Latin America displayed some of their traditions and cultural dances. Just as the costumes were uniquely different, their moves were also flamboyantly distinct.
During the invite-lots of people-from-the-audience participation, I was asked to give it a go by a dancer – hmmm ''...'yo'? - me gusta, gracias...'', I said. SEE Video: Latin Fiesta cultural dance, Jacqui's 'dance' invite.
We'd been to Mexico, Cancun and Merida, in the past where we enjoyed different cultural dance performances from Mexican history, starting with Aztec and progressing through the centuries. Because of my lack short-term memory after my AVM-brain-haemorrhage/stroke in 1995, it was very, very hazy.
I did remember that the costumes had loads of kaleidoscopic colour, and the Latin music was very bouncy and lively.
Back to the festival, the folkloric music was Latin American, and the dance-moves were always high-spirited in each performance. A courtship dance known since the period of Spanish colonization, brief partings and meetings were interweaved into a love-story, which finished on a high-note of man gets his girl.
A different dance from another Latin American country was a sort of polka-style dance, happy and carefree. Yet one more Peruvian traditional dance is depicted couple's flirtatious pursuit, one of the other.
At most of the fiestas we attended during our time in Spain, the percussionists were excellent, which was just as good as the samba band at the Latin Fiesta in Auckland which paraded through the crowds and performed on stage. It was easy to see the liveliness and exuberance affected everyone; the audience danced in every spare space.
Traditional foods from the Latin market dotted the venue – yumm, which to try? Our noses went in search - delicious, flavoursome and slightly spicy to the mix - different names, distinct tastes, a melange of tempting taste. Amazing weekend, we'll be enthusiastically waiting for next year's Latin Fiesta – Ole!
