Love Spanish language and culture? One of the best ways to experience cultural immersion during a homestay is to attend one of the myriad of traditional Spanish festivals.
Here’s our pick of the top five.
La Tomatina
Known globally as the world's biggest food fight, La Tomatina is as messy as it is fun.
Every year on the last Wednesday of August, the otherwise sleepy town of Buñol, just outside of Valencia becomes a playful battleground of 20,000 people throwing tomatoes at each other.
It all started as a small altercation involving a fruit stall at an annual parade in 1945 and has evolved into one of the most popular official Spanish festivals.
And the boisterous enjoyment doesn’t end there, as afterwards the red stained streets and tomato soaked revellers are hosed down by the local fire brigades.
San Juan
Kicking off at sunset on the 23rd of June each year, San Juan celebrates both the beginning of summer and the birth of St John the Baptist on the 24th June which is a public holiday.
It is celebrated throughout most of the coastal towns and is a literal explosion of Spanish cultural traditions as beaches are ablaze with music, dancing, bonfires and fireworks.
The legendary fires are said to burn problems away and bring good luck. It is tradition for daredevils to jump over bonfires or run through fireworks and then take a dip in the sea.
There’s also lots of food, drink and laughter involved which makes it a perfect environment for learning Spanish.
Semana Santa
The centuries-old Spanish festival of Semana Santa is also known as Holy week and happens every year, the week before Easter.
Organised by the Catholic church, it involves elaborate processions of various religious scenes with traditional costumes and ornate floats parading the streets.
It’s less of a lively party and more of an intense and moving commemoration. But nevertheless offers a unique and fascinating insight into Spanish language and culture.
Historically it is very important to Spain and most cities are passionate about it. But Seville and Malaga in particular are famed for their Semana Santa celebrations.
Las Fallas
Each year from the 15th to the 19th of March, the streets of Valencia are taken over with giant puppets made from a mixture of papier-mache, cardboard, wood and plaster.
They are extremely detailed and often poke fun at celebrities and politicians. Months of painstaking work goes into them and some are so huge that cranes are needed to move them.
Well known as the noisiest of the Spanish festivals, for five days you can expect to be woken early each morning to the sound of brass bands and pyrotechnic explosions.
It has a building, contagious and frenetic energy that culminates in the temporary sculptures being set alight in epic bonfires on the last night of celebrations. Cultural immersion at its finest.
Feria de Sevilla
This week-long annual April fair held in Seville is a vibrant extravaganza of Spanish cultural traditions. Picture lavish costumes, folk music, horse drawn carriages, flamenco dancing and the non stop flow of tapas and sherry.
It begins at midnight on a Saturday, two clear weeks after the sombre Semana Santa festival. But in complete contrast, it’s a raucous merrymaking kind of vibe.
During the day Feria de Seville is a wholesome family affair with lots of activities for kids, but come nightfall the event transcends into a hedonistic party atmosphere.
Most of the action, however, happens inside the huge ‘casetas’ (tents) that line the streets. And moreover most of them are private and require invites, although there are a few public ones.
In Conclusion
Enjoying an unforgettable summer experience at one of these Spanish festivals will definitely be a highlight of your stay with a local homestay family.
Find out more about Lingoo immersion programs by registering for free here.