Fiesta time in Benidorm !

Alfaz fireworks last night

Yesterday, Thursday saw the end of the Alfaz del Pi fiesta which culminated with a magnificent firework display. No fiesta in Spain is complete without fireworks ... and although wonderful to watch I must question in these dire economic times the sense of spending so much tax payers money on alot of smoke ! Also the obsession of throwing "mascletas" - bangers ... I was shocked witnessing children of about 6-7 years old lighting and throwing them at each other last night with parents watching nearby! They seem to have no concept of danger and are bought up with this "tradition" - perhaps when one goes off in a childs face they may re-think this logic.
The Benidorm fiesta kicks off tonight at 6pm when the fiesta Queens officially switch on the lights in the Old Town and then head off to officially open the fairground which is located next to the bull ring (on the other side of the park behind the Town Hall / adjacent to the train station). There are activities on everyday and the fiesta will finish on Wednesday 16th Novemebr with yes, you've guessed it a grand firework display. The action will be on the Poniente beach by the port starting at aprox 9pm - though as you are all aware the Spanish aren't known for their acurate time keeping so it'll probably bit abit later. This year's reduced budget for the Benidorm fiesta is 400,000€  (I dread to think what it was last year) The Benidorm council has a debt of 150 million euro's at present so in that respect the fiesta budget is just a drop in the ocean really!