Moros y Cristianos of Petrer: festival, history and gastronomy

Every May, Petrer transforms. The streets of the old town fill with music, gunpowder and colour, and the whole town lives to the rhythm of its Moros y Cristianos, a festival whose roots reach back through centuries of Mediterranean history. But the festivals of Petrer do not end when the last blunderbuss falls silent: they are the finest gateway to a land full of heritage, landscape and a gastronomy that deserves to be discovered at leisure.

What the Moros y Cristianos are

The Moros y Cristianos are one of the most spectacular festive celebrations of the Spanish Mediterranean. They represent, in a theatrical way full of solemnity and joy, the historic clashes between the Christian kingdoms and the Muslim troops during the Middle Ages. In Petrer, as in so many towns of Alicante, the festival is organised around comparsas or filaes that parade in dazzling costumes, with their own music and absolute dedication.

It is not a literal historical re-enactment, but a living celebration that has grown generation after generation. Each comparsa has its identity, its colours and its own history within the festival, and belonging to one of them is, for many people of Petrer, an essential part of their identity. The parades, or entradas, are the culminating moment: hours of pageantry, festival music and a visual display that leaves those who witness it for the first time breathless.

The history of the festival in Petrer

The tradition of the Moros y Cristianos in Petrer is linked to the devotion to its patron saint, San Bonifacio, and is celebrated around the second week of May. Although the origins of these festivals across the Levante region go back centuries, in Petrer they gradually took hold and grew in scale over time until they became the great event of the local calendar.

The festival combines religious, military and popular elements. There are solemn acts, such as the processions and the embajadas —those theatrical dialogues between the Moorish and Christian sides over control of the castle— and there are moments of pure festive explosion, such as the parades and the dianas. All of it unfolds in an incomparable setting: the historic centre of Petrer, with its medieval castle dominating the town from on high.

The Moros y Cristianos are not explained, they are felt. You have to be in the street, hear the festival music and watch the comparsas go by to understand what they mean to Petrer.

Behind every edition there are months of work: rehearsals, the making of costumes, the preparation of the music and the organisation of the comparsas. It is a collective effort that keeps alive a tradition that is part of the soul of the Vinalopó, and that turns Petrer, for a few days, into a town wholly given over to its festival.

The atmosphere of the May festivals

Whoever visits Petrer during its festivals finds a town that lives out in the street. The festival music —pasodobles, Moorish marches and Christian marches— sounds everywhere, and the smell of gunpowder from the alardo acts mingles with the bustle of the comparsas. It is a festive and hospitable atmosphere at once: the people of Petrer open their headquarters, share their tables and welcome the visitor with the generosity typical of these lands.

Beyond the great parades, there are a thousand details that make the festival special: the morning dianas, the children's events, the embajadas, the entry of the music bands. And on every corner, social life revolves around shared food and drink, because in Petrer, as throughout the Mediterranean, there is no celebration without a table.

The music deserves a paragraph of its own. Festival music is a genre in its own right, composed expressly to accompany the parades, and whoever hears it for the first time hardly forgets it. The Moorish marches, solemn and enveloping, and the Christian marches, more martial, set the step of the comparsas and give you goosebumps. Music bands from all over the Region of Valencia take part in the festival, and their sound becomes the soundtrack of those May days.

The visitor who comes to Petrer during the festivals also discovers a deeply hospitable town. There is no need to belong to a comparsa to feel part of the celebration: it is enough to stroll through the old town, let yourself be carried by the music and enjoy the atmosphere. It is a festival that is shared naturally with those who come from outside, something that is part of the open character of the people of the Vinalopó.

The gastronomy that accompanies the festival

The festivals of Petrer have their own gastronomic soundtrack. During the days of the Moros y Cristianos, the kitchens of the comparsas and the homes work at full capacity to feed festivalgoers and visitors, and certain dishes become undisputed protagonists.

The festival breakfast

The festival begins early, and with it the almuerzo, one of the most cherished rituals. Local cured meats, kneaded coca, dressed olives, bread with Vinalopó oil and some hearty stew to recover strength after the diana. It is an informal but abundant meal, meant to be shared with the group before the festive day gets under way.

Rice, king of the comparsa meals

When the time comes for the main meal, rice rules. The great paellas cooked for the whole comparsa are a familiar sight of the festivals: the rabbit and snail rice, so typical of the Alicante interior, or the soupy and brothy rice dishes that bring dozens of people together around a single table. To share rice during the festivals is to celebrate the community as much as the palate.

Sweets and liqueurs

The festival also has its sweet side: aniseed rolls, traditional pastries and the local liqueurs that round off the long after-meal gatherings. All of it is part of a gastronomic heritage passed down from generation to generation and which, outside the festive calendar, lives on in the everyday cooking of the Vinalopó. If you are interested in delving into those roots, we recommend our article on the culinary tradition of Petrer.

Wine, festival companion

No festival meal of the Vinalopó can be understood without wine. The region is part of the Alicante Wine Route, a land of wineries with centuries of history and of varieties as singular as the Monastrell, which yields reds of character, and the grape from which Fondillón is made, one of the great sweet wines of the world. During the festivals, the wine of the land flows in the comparsa headquarters and accompanies both the breakfasts and the main meals.

That pairing between local cuisine and the wines of the D.O. Alicante is no coincidence: they are products that have grown up together, adapted to the same climate and the same palate. A rabbit and snail rice calls for a Monastrell red from the Alicante interior with the same naturalness with which the festival calls for music. To eat and drink what the land gives is, in the end, another way of celebrating the identity of the Vinalopó.

Petrer beyond the festival

The Moros y Cristianos are the perfect gateway to discovering Petrer, but the town and its surroundings deserve a visit at any time of year. Here are some of its great attractions.

• The castle of Petrer: a medieval fortress that crowns the historic centre and offers a magnificent panorama of the valley. It is the symbol of the town and the stage for many festival events.
• The historic centre: narrow streets, whitewashed houses and charming corners that preserve the layout of past centuries.
• The Sierra del Maigmó: a paradise for hiking, with trails through pine forests and spectacular views over the Vinalopó.
• The Alicante Wine Route: the region is a land of vineyards and wineries such as Bocopa, with D.O. Alicante wines that pair perfectly with the local cuisine.

Combining a visit to the heritage with a good meal is the best way to get to know the land. In our article on what to do and where to eat in Petrer you will find a complete itinerary to make the most of a day in the area, both during the festivals and outside them.

Petrer is discovered slowly: a castle, a walk in the mountains, a glass of Alicante wine and a long table among olive trees. The festival is only the beginning.

Where to eat in Petrer

After experiencing the bustle of the festivals or a day of hiking in the Sierra del Maigmó, it is tempting to sit down and eat calmly in a peaceful setting. A few minutes from the town centre, in the Partida Caprala, Finca La Esperanza offers just that: Mediterranean cuisine among centuries-old olive trees, with views of the mountains and the silence of the countryside as its soundtrack.

Our menu gathers the best of the gastronomy of the Vinalopó: the rice dishes that play such a leading role in the festivals —starting with the rabbit and snail rice, the flagship of the house— starters to share such as the coca a la pala or the red prawns in garlic, oven bakes and homemade desserts. It is the ideal table to prolong the festive spirit of sharing and celebrating, with the calm of a rural restaurant.

The finca is also the perfect place to gather the family or the group after the festivals, when a restful meal is welcome after the days of festive hustle. Its spaces —the main dining room, the rustic dining room and the terrace with stone arches— host everything from intimate meals to large groups.

Many visitors discover Petrer precisely during the festivals, drawn by the fame of its Moros y Cristianos, and return afterwards at other times of the year to get to know the town at a calmer pace. It is then that the land is best appreciated: without the festive bustle, the castle, the historic centre and the mountains can be explored slowly, and a meal at a rural restaurant among olive trees becomes the perfect finishing touch to a day of discovery. The festival lights the curiosity; the rest of the year satisfies it.

That combination of heritage, landscape and gastronomy is what makes the Vinalopó Valley a destination with a charm of its own, away from the more crowded routes of the Alicante coast. Whoever seeks authenticity, tradition and good food finds in Petrer and its surroundings a place where time seems to pass at a different rhythm, more human and closer to the land.

Experience Petrer and its table

The Moros y Cristianos of Petrer are an experience to be lived at least once, but Petrer and the Vinalopó Valley offer much more all year round: history, landscape, wine and a gastronomy that sinks its roots into the land. And there is no better way to round off a day of festivities, of trails or of discovering the land than by sitting down to a good table.

We await you at Finca La Esperanza, among olive trees and with views of the Sierra del Maigmó. Book your table by calling 650 45 01 09: we open Wednesday to Sunday from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm and we work by prior reservation only. Find all the information to get here on our contact page and come and discover Petrer with the table set.