Held in October and November, the Festival de Oto o is the best music festival in Spain, with a lineup that attracts the cream of the European and South American musical communities.
Few events show off Spain's equestrian traditions in such flattering light.
Bonfires blaze through the night on June 20 as a celebration of a festival revered by the Celtic pagans and Romans alike-the summer solstice. Stacks of flammable objects, including discarded finery and cardboard replicas of sinners and witches, are set ablaze in a ceremony that reminds some observers of the auto da fis during the Inquisition. The bonfire signals the beginning of five days of nightly fireworks and daily parades during which normal business comes virtually to a standstill. Based on the reputed mystical powers of an ancient, black-faced statue of the Virgin, the citizens of Elche have staged a mystery play in the local church every year for more than 6 centuries. The chanting and songs that accompany the plot line are in an archaic dialect that even the Castilians can barely understand.