Bilboko Aste Nagusia

“La Semana Grande/Aste Nagusia” (The Big Week) will take place this week in Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Country. The festival will kick off the traditional way this Friday with the txupinazo, a loud firecracker that is set off before the bulls are released.
In collaboration with the Ayuntamiento de Bilbao (Bilbao Town Hall), it has traditionally been the Comparsas Bilbaínas (Bilbao Groups) who have injected the flavour into the txosna (grand fiesta). Far from being a religious festival, the celebrations are based heavily on heritage, maintaining an air of patriotics, society and culture.
“The Big Week” has been officially celebrated since 1978, yet August has always been a month of circus acts, fairs and bullfighting in the region. The only year in which the festival did not take place was 1983, when a series of floods that devastated the Basque Country forced its cancellation.

The main symbol of the festival is “Marijaia”, a folk legend of the Basque Country; the official song since 1997, with the lyrics of Edorta Jiménez and the musical composition of Kepa Junkera, is “Marijaia dator” (Marijaia is coming). The txupinazo, which is the main event, takes place with the reading of the pregón (speech) and the launching of the txupin (firecracker). Every year a pregonero (the one who reads the pregón) is chosen, usually a local celebrity; the txupinero (a woman belonging to the local groups) will launch the firecracker. This year the chosen ones are Kepa Junkera (pregonero) and Larraitz Cisneros (txupinero).

 The festival offers a range of activities for all the family, from local cookery classes to competitions, from children's theatre to sports. After a day of bullfights, religious ceremonies and concerts, the fun is rounded off with spectacular fireworks displays and parties, with the final show taking place on the 9th day, saying goodbye to “Marijaia”.

Read more about Bilbao at www.oneplanettravel.com