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Carnival of Águilas

Águilas, Alto Guadalentín, Murcia

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Carnival of Águilas

Activity · Águilas, Alto Guadalentín, Murcia

A festival declared Fiesta de Interés Turístico Internacional (Spain's highest official recognition for festivals), one of the oldest and most participatory in Spain, with parades of murgas, comparsas and floats through the streets of the town. Declared in 2015, it was the third Spanish carnival to reach that category, after those of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cádiz, both from 1980. Oral accounts of it go back to the 19th century and the earliest surviving images date from 1903, although some sources place it as early as the 18th century, under Charles III; municipal bylaws of 1886 already regulated the hours for masks and banned carrying weapons or throwing water and flour. Largely banned during the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, it survived through disguised costumes, and today it chooses its representative characters each August, at a gala of peñas.

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Photo: Mistersasou (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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