Crespo Unleashes the 'Infernal Spider' in Alicante's First Mascletà

There was a palpable excitement for the Hogueras on Wednesday, June 18th, at Luceros Square. Just after 1 PM, the area surrounding the Bañuls monument was filled with crowds eager to witness the first mascletà of the Alicante Hogueras competition.

The Crespo pyrotechnics team from Alzira returned to the cathedral of gunpowder after a 25-year hiatus from the contest. Their comeback was filled with enthusiasm. "It's still the same square, but we can't shoot inside," joked one of the team members just before the display, which featured 122 kilos of gunpowder and lasted 5 minutes and 32 seconds, just above the minimum duration.

After gazing into the eyes of the horses, the pyrotechnicians took a deep breath and prepared to ignite the signals. Right on time, at 2 PM, without any whistle but with shouts of resignation directed at President Carlos Mazón as he appeared in the square, they began the display with a Valencian firecracker.

The device was ignited following the inaugural shout from the belleas del foc, Adriana Vico and Valentina Tárraga, with the phrase "senyor pirotècnic, pot començar la mascletà." This was the cue for Crespo's team to start with elegance and color. Initially, several bursts surprised with curtains of different smoke hues, with five visible: blue, yellow, pink, green, and violet.

A thunderous bombardment was another surprise in this aerial beginning, with which Crespo announced their competition at Luceros Square during the Alicante Hogueras. With this, the shells and rockets soared, creating a sea of buzzing sounds that resonated with both locals and visitors.

The pyrotechnicians continued to amaze, bringing out more artillery, such as streamers, in these aerial sequences, soon joined by the first ground phase with thuds echoing against the asphalt. Meanwhile, more firecrackers and shells filled the air.

All of this created a dialogue between earth and sky with views of Luceros Square, which whistled amidst more devices and cracker curtains. In this vein, the display gained power during the central body, increasing rhythm during the ground firecracker dance.

In less than a minute, the octopuses started with even more force, leaving the aerials aside to focus on the body before the earthquake. At this moment, the intensity also increased with more whistles and explosions in the air, a curtain that led to the most anticipated moment.

The fire became visible in front of the former Los Claveles store, marking the start of the earthquake, an "infernal spider" that reverberated through the ears of those present. At its end, and closely followed, was a first aerial bombardment with crackers, another with thunder, and one with everything combined, an intense blow that drew applause from the audience.