San Juan: Bonfires, music, and old traditions

On Monday, 23rd June at midnight, thousands of revellers will head to the beach to celebrate Noche de Juan. The perfect way to celebrate the most anticipated time of the year, with music, bonfires and ancient traditions.

San Juan coincides also with the beginnings of summer and pagan rituals in which fire and wate are the principal protagonists.

Fireworks are displayed at midnight to mark the arrival on the 24th of June of the feast day of St John Baptist. The celebrations generally get going around 10pm and include the tradition of the ‘moraga’, beach barbecues that most often involve grilling sardines, and the burning of the ‘júa’, an effigy similar to Guy Fawkes.

Malaga’s La Malagueta Beach celebrates the shortest day of the year with a special intensity. Other celebrations are held on the Misericordia (Pedregalejo) and El Palo (El Palo) beaches. Other events are held further along the coast in Torre del Mar (Marítimo Levante), and Rincón de la Victoria (Playa El Tajo) and in Nerja.

Towns on the western Costa del Sol also mark the festivity, such as Torremolinos, which celebrates the Moraga de San Juan in Plaza del Remo in Carihuela; although one of the most eagerly awaited firework displays will be found in Benalmádena Costa, on the beach next to the Bil Bil castle. Benalmádena has special reason to celebrate, because this festivity announces the start of the town’s annual fair (24 – 29 June), as is the case in Alhaurín de la Torre, which celebrates its summer fair during the same dates.

There are also events on Playa San Francisco, Playa La Cala de Mijas, El Pinillo Beach in Marbella and La Rada Beach in Estepona.

As in the past, it is illegal to light bonfires on the beach by individuals.