Last updated September 2022
We are, as promised, still in Calahorra, one of La Rioja’s cities but this time we will be looking at one of its amazing festivals. I do think of it as a city of festivals because it has many fantastic festivals during the year! I was luckily able to experience a few of them during my 3 months in the area.
Mercaforum, the Roman Market, is held the weekend before Easter (the weekend of Palm Sunday). I was incredibly impressed by it! Its attention to detail was incredible, the town was completely transformed into a Roman world. As a Classicist, I really appreciated this attention.
I would recommend looking at the festival website (see below) so that you are able to see at least one parade and maybe to see a gladiator fight – yes, really! If not, then the main action is in the Town Hall Square and up the street to Plaza Raso, where the Tourist Information Office is. The street is filled with stalls selling handmade items and food. I bought myself a garland of flowers, I couldn’t resist!
There were processions of Romans, some even on horses; there were temporary structures that were of impressive quality – a triumphal arch, a small temple, mosaic, columns and more – lots of stalls selling handmade food and crafts, birds of prey and demonstrations, gladiator fights and more!
It is my favourite event that I saw in Calahorra, which is really saying something, because I have enjoyed all their events and festivals very much. But the atmosphere during this one was amazing and the event was very immersive.
The market lasts only 2 days. Personally, I think it is best to be there early on the Saturday. When I was there in 2019, the opening procession started around 1:30 pm where the statue of Quintilian is. It is definitely better to be there early so you can get a good spot and see everything. The festival opens with a small ceremony and talented dancers: girls in red followed by girls in blue, all dancing to dramatic music before they use a flaming torch to light a bowl. Then the procession begins: Roman soldiers, some on horses, most on foot; ‘barbarians’; people playing drums and a lot more. People of many different ages take part; old and young alike.
There is a lot of food for sale too, not just to buy to take home. There was chorizo and bread, very yummy and hard to resist when you smell it in the air. The smell of woodsmoke is everywhere which is one of my favourite smells. There are many traditional sights, smells and sounds.
It is nice to just walk the streets, soak up the atmosphere and admire the costumes of the Romans walking by, the soldiers, or the beautiful dresses and flower garlands of the women and children. At times, it looked like a really cool wedding making its way to/from the church. It is a relaxed, memorable day. I will definitely try to go back to Calahorra in the future to see this again.
The company who organises this wonderful event, called Paso Viviente, also organises a theatrical depiction of Christ’s life and death and resurrection on Holy Thursday. I will be writing about this one day too!
Some practical details for you:
Location: Calahorra
Entry fee: None!
Official Website: https://pasoviviente.es/
That’s all for this week, next week will bring more tales from Northern Spain!
