Moros y Cristianos

The "Moros y Cristianos" festivals of Spain and Portugal celebrate the reconquest of Iberia from its Muslim overlords.

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It was in the year 711 AD that the Moors arrived in Europe and swept across Iberia. (They are known as the Moors because, although the leaders of the conquest were Arabs from Baghdad, the greater part of their force was made up of Berbers from Morocco.) The native people never accepted either the conquering foe or their religion, and the Moors were obliged to cover their new territory in castles and to spend a great deal of time and money fighting to keep what they had won.
In fact, the Moors were not able to keep control of Iberia - they were gradually driven back - but the reconquest of the land was unbelievably slow. It took more than 700 years for the natives to drive out their enemy, and it was not until 1492 that the last Muslim toehold was recaptured and the last caliph sent packing.

The story of the Muslim conquest of Iberia and the eventual Christian victory is re-enacted each year in a large number of Spanish and Portuguese towns, and we have even seen the pageant performed in the island republic of São Tomé, an ex-Portuguese colony whose citizens are of entirely African descent. The festival endures not because anybody feels strongly about the reconquista but because it is great fun for the participants. The Spanish are an extrovert nation and they love an excuse to dress up and prance around. Accuracy is not a concern, here; on the contrary, glamour is all that matters. Some of the costumes are simply colourful and flamboyant, but others appear to have been derived from science fiction rather than from history!

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The celebrations generally revolve around a life-sized "toy castle" which is set up in the plaza or, in the case of the Villajoyosa celebrations, on the playa. If the town boasts the real thing - a genuine, stone castle - then the "attacks" are made there.

The most famous Moros y Cristianos fiesta is the one at Alcoy - but, for what it is worth, I much prefer the celebrations at Villajoyosa and Caravaca. The former combines parades around the town with a seaborn attack by Moors in sailing ships. The latter pivots around the Wine Horse festival.


NOTE : Most of these photographs were taken before the days of 10 megapixel cameras. They are of relatively low resolution and are therefore not suitable for reproduction above half-page size.


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