The story
Bonfires of Alicante in Alicante
Alicante's June Hogueras de San Juan follow the same format as Valencia's Fallas on a smaller scale: neighborhood associations build satirical wood and papier-mache monuments that are ceremonially burned on the festival's final night, alongside daily midday firework displays (mascletas) and a traditional dawn sea-swim on Saint John's day.
Alicante's Hogueras de San Juan share their basic format with Valencia's better-known Fallas, but run on their own June calendar tied to the feast of Saint John rather than March: neighborhood associations spend months building large satirical monuments out of wood, cardboard, and papier-mache, often lampooning politicians or current events, and display them across the city before setting almost all of them alight on the festival's final night in a mass ritual burning called the crema.