By the Light of a Bonfire, Summer Begins Here

I've always heard Juan Carlos Vizcaíno say that the Fogueres festival is a break from monotony, and honestly, I've always felt represented by that reflection. While it's true that the festival is lived and enjoyed throughout the year, it is merely a prelude to that great explosion of gunpowder, light, music, color, and fire that Alicante becomes in June.

A tingling sensation runs through our bodies after the announcement of the official poster by our esteemed Alicante City Council. This year, the honor has fallen to a very young designer, an Alicante native, a Fogueres enthusiast, and, ultimately, the bellea of the San Fernando foguera, Sofía Escolano Gómez. She is a woman who has managed to convey her festive spirit through her graphics and has achieved the dream of many, which is to unite her passion for Fogueres with her profession.

It is a wonderful poster that has been well received, featuring a bonfire in flames at the center, the dolçainas that have resonated with her since childhood through her father, and a bellea at the top. It is the first time in the history of the festival posters that such an emblematic and beloved piece as the Alicante bridal mantilla is depicted. A milestone, without a doubt.

And when we are still breathless, maestro Miguel Ángel Mas Mataix arrives to lead dozens of music bands in the Plaza de España, followed by Josep Amand Tomás with his wonderful speech 'la foguera dels núvols', paying tribute to the deceased foguerers and barraquers at the monument to the foguerer.

How difficult it is to do the same thing differently, isn't it? A speech that initially seemed sad achieved quite the opposite: turning it around, creating magic, and forming an emotional bubble that only the greats can access.

And after the parade of the proclamation, the grand finale came with an immense, glorious, and thoroughly Alicante Rubén Hernández. So much so that at times it seemed as if we were watching the beloved José Ángel Guirao. He reminded us of who we are, where we are going, and what we seek by tirelessly working for the festival. What our parents taught us and how important this blessed land is that we tread with passion.

Proudly, he closed his eyes when mentioning his mother, the woman from whom he learned everything he knows today. He tried to keep her in his mind so that, in some way, she could be there with him, and surely she was, Rubén. Mission accomplished. Your proclamation gave us strength and energy to begin what are set to be the best Fogueres in history.

So, people of Alicante, 'ja estem en Fogueres', enjoy them to the fullest so that when the night of the cremà arrives, amidst ashes and tears, we understand that the fire does not take away what we love. It gives us the chance to start anew, freer, braver, more ourselves... Long live Alicante!