During the summer months, the streets of the various towns of Aragon are filled with festivals, concerts and activities for all audiences on the occasion of the patron saint and popular festivals of each municipality. From the Fiestas del Ángel in Teruel, which open the summer festive period, to the Cipotegato in Turiason, Aragon is full of fun, color and desire to squeeze every minute of the summer. Here is a selection of the most unique festivals of the autonomous community.
Fiestas del Ángel in Teruel. Photo: Turismo de Aragón.
Festivities of the Angel in Teruel
The festivities of the Angel of Teruel, or La Vaquilla festivities, open the Aragonese festive period with an exciting tradition: putting the handkerchief on the Torico, a small statue of the popular bovine located in the square of the same name. The local peñas are fundamental in this festival, which this year are honored in the festival poster, as well as the concerts, which this year are led by the artist Rozalen.
Lost Trades Fair in Lituénigo. Photo: Lituénigo Town Hall.
Lost Trades Fair in Lituénigo (Zaragoza)
On the first Saturday of July, the Lost Trades Fair is held in Lituénigo (Zaragoza). Classified as of Regional Tourist Interest, it is dedicated to vindicate and pay tribute to the traditional trades, which revive in this municipality for a day: spinners, the laundry, soap, the blacksmith, the stonemason, the tinner, woodcutters, basket makers or potters take to the streets again every year in this municipality located in the foothills of the Moncayo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31n14seXjwc
San Cristobal in Munébrega (Zaragoza)
The festivities of San Cristobal, in the town of Munébrega, Zaragoza, are declared of Regional Tourist Interest. On the first Sunday closest to the day of San Cristobal, the neighbors dance the ton de San Cristobal in commemoration of this saint, a festival that has been celebrated since at least the sixteenth century. This festivity begins with a pilgrimage to the hermitage, with the saint’s pedestal carried in trailers adorned with branches. Once at the top of the hill, the neighbors dance to the saint.
Witchcraft Fair in Trasmoz (Zaragoza)
The town of Trasmoz, the only town excommunicated by the Church, celebrates its unique past with the Witchcraft and Medicinal Plants Fair. This festival, declared of Regional Tourist Interest, takes place on the first Saturday of July and concludes with the naming of the ‘Witch of the Year’ and the ‘Witch of Honor’ (the latter award will go in 2024 to Lorena García, journalist of the Antena 3 program ‘Espejo Público’). Throughout the day there are exhibitions of falconry, magic, sword fights and representations on the capture and torture of witches.
Longaniza Festival in Graus. Photo: Turismo de Aragón.
Longaniza Feast in Graus (Huesca)
The Longaniza Festival, declared of Regional Tourist Interest in Aragon, is celebrated the last weekend of July. This year 2024 is the 23rd edition of a famous festival in which locals and visitors can taste more than 1,100 kilos of this typical product of Aragonese gastronomy.
Festivities of San Lorenzo de Huesca. Photo: www.fiestassanlorenzo.es
San Lorenzo of Huesca
From August 9 to 15, 2024 is celebrated San Lorenzo de Huesca, a festival of National Tourist Interest that this year will attract artists such as Lola Indigo or Ilegales, among others. In its festivities, the people of Huesca dress in white and green, and they do not miss their dancers, a colorful exhibition of folklore and traditional costumes of Alto Aragon and a popular bullfighting fair. A festival for all tastes and for all audiences.
Ansotano Traditional Costume Day. Photo: Turismo de Aragón.
Typical Ansotano Costume Day
The last Sunday of August is celebrated every year the Day of the Typical Ansotano Costume, a festival of National Tourist Interest in which the residents of the municipality of Ansó in Huesca recreate the typical customs and daily tasks of yesteryear, dressed in colorful traditional costumes. In Ansó there is also the Ansotano Costume Museum, located in the chapel of Santa Bárbara.
The Cipotegato. Photo: www.blog.tarazonamonumental.es/
Cipotegato in Tarazona
Every August 27, the most important figure of the festivities in honor of San Atilano, patron saint of Tarazona, returns to the streets of the town. At 12.00 noon, the Cipotegato leaves from the door of the Town Hall, in front of a square full of people, under a great rain of tomatoes, an unmistakable sign that the big week of Tarazona has just begun. This particular character, protagonist of Tarazona’s festivities, appears in 17th century chronicles. According to these records, on the eve of Corpus Christi the Cipotegato chased the little ones, beating them with a stick attached to an inflated cat’s bladder.
San Roque in Calatayud
The festivities of San Roque de Calatayud are declared of Regional Tourist Interest. This festivity in honor of the patron saint of the town, which is celebrated on August 16, is organized by the peñas of Calatayud. One of its main events is the Pilgrimage to San Roque, which takes place in the early morning of August 15 to 16. In this pilgrimage people go up to the hermitage of the saint where they ring a bell, pray the “gozos” and finish with a glass of chocolate and biscuits.
Ball del Salvatges. Photo: www.balldelssalvatges.blogspot.com/
Ball del Salvatges in Benabarre (Huesca)
The Ball del Salvatges is celebrated in the Huesca town of Benabarre during the month of August, in even years, so this year 2024 (August 3) will have this event. Declared of Regional Tourist Interest, the representation begins with the appearance in the square of twelve dancing women, which must fall in love with the dancing knights, who symbolize the courtly courtship. An attempt to fall in love does not obtain the desired results, after which the hunters enter the scene, trying to conquer the women with a less gentlemanly dance. The scene is interrupted by the abrupt entrance of the savages, covered in animal skins and vegetation, who tie up the women and men and begin to dance. Eventually they take over and the party culminates in groups of four that include a woman, a hunter, the knight and the savage.
San Roque Dance in Calamocha (Teruel)
The patron saint festivities of the town of Calamocha are held in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin and San Roque, between 14 and 17 August. These are traditional festivities in which there is a mixture of gatherings of friends in the clubs, religious celebrations with their subsequent vermouth, popular meals, bullfights, bull running with heifers, parades, brass bands and open-air dances. The most original festive act of Calamocha is the dance of San Roque, declared a Festival of Tourist Interest of Aragon. It has its origins in 1885, when the town suffered a cholera epidemic and offered this dance for protection.
Migas and Wine Festival in Teja. Photo: Romanos Town Hall.
Feast of Migas and Wine in Teja de Romanos (Zaragoza)
The Festival of Migas and Wine in Teja of the town of Romanos (Zaragoza) has been declared of Regional Tourist Interest. Documented since 1926, it is believed that the festival has more than two centuries of history. The celebration coincides with the festivities of San Bartolomé (August 24), and is related to the farewell to the ‘agosteros’, the day laborers who came from other municipalities for the harvest.
Carpets of the Holy Mystery in Aguaviva (Teruel)
Every August 28th, the Santísimo Misterio de Aguaviva, in Teruel, is celebrated, a festivity declared of Regional Tourist Interest. The event commemorates events that took place in 1476, when, according to tradition, a fire destroyed the church, except for a silver cross with a particle of the Lignum Crucis inside, as well as three small consecrated hosts and a large one, which gave rise to the aforementioned miracle of the Most Holy Mystery of Aguaviva. To celebrate this fact, on the night of the eve of August 28th, the whole town turns to chalk drawings in the streets, as carpets, a tradition that culminates with a chocolotada and rosconets.
The Morisma, in Aínsa (Huesca)
At the end of August, in even years, in the Huesca town of Ainsa, the festival of La Morisma is celebrated. Declared of Regional Tourist Interest, this event is a theatrical representation that takes place in the medieval square of Ainsa, and recreates a legendary battle between Christians and Muslims that took place in the thirteenth century, under the reign of Garci Ximenez. According to tradition, a cross of fire appeared on a holm oak and encouraged the Christian troops to defeat the Saracen army. The festival of La Morisma will be held on August 31, 2024 at 10.30 pm.
Siege of Barbastro (Huesca)
Every two years, the town of Barbastro in Huesca recreates the most turbulent years of its history, a period that culminated with the creation of the Crown of Aragon. The Siege of Barbastro is celebrated at the end of August, and is a festival of Regional Tourist Interest.
