Festivals in Catral
Discover the festivals of Catral, with the San Juan Bautista patronal festivities, devotion to La Purísima and the Santa Águeda pilgrimage amid market-garden landscapes, neighbourhoods and local traditions.
Local festivals in Catral
The San Juan Bautista patronal festivities are usually celebrated over several days in June, around the beginning of summer. The crowning of the festival queens, mass and procession, popular parade and gatherings of local clubs and neighbourhoods fill Plaza de España, Santos Juanes church and the town's streets. Women from Catral wear nineteenth-century formal market-garden dress for the occasion, and the Town Council organises the festivities.
La Purísima de la Ermita
On 7 December, the patron's image is carried from her chapel to the parish church, and the solemn procession takes place on the 8th. After a novena, the image returns to the chapel in pilgrimage. The Santísimo Rosario y la Purísima de la Ermita Archconfraternity organises the religious and popular celebrations, which last for more than a week.
Other celebrations: Santa Águeda pilgrimage
On 4 and 5 February, the Santa Águeda pilgrimage links Santos Juanes church with the chapel in the neighbourhood beside the Acequia Mayor irrigation channel. Devotees, residents and visitors accompany the image and visit a traditional market selling nougat, bolicas de Santa Águeda sweets and the pesá, an assortment of sweets given to someone dear.