FEASTS AND TRADITIONS
The calendar of feasts and traditions in Bullas and La Copa is wide and assorted. Throughout the year, celebrations with an ancient origin combine with other more modern, always a real invitation to participate in them together with the local population.
Feast of san antón in la copa
This feast is celebrated in La Copa de Bullas on the closest weekend to the 17th of January, Saint Anthony the Great, popularly known as San Antón. On Saturday night there is a sampling of pork products beside a great bonfire and on Sunday morning is the time for the typical “Auction” of traditional products in the Plaza de la Paz. In the afternoon everyone meets around the “Innocent”, a peculiar carácter responsible of organising and hosting the “bid dance”, a real relic of the regional folklore.
CARNiVAL
Carnival has traditionally been a great event in Bullas as plenty of people disguised as “máscaras” and popular troupes. Nowadays the celebration has been renewed by joining costume parties and the parade with the participation of the general public and that for the school children.
holy week
The Holy Week is one of the most participative celebrations of Bullas. There are five brotherhoods identified with a colour which in order of age are Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (The Blacks), San Juan Evangelista (The Whites), Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (The Purples), Preciosísima Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo (The Reds) and Santiago Apóstol (The Greens). All of them participate in the four processions that are Prendimiento (Maundy Thursday in the evening), Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (Good Friday in the morning), Santo Entierro (Good Friday in the evening) and Resucitado (Easter Sunday in the morning). The traditional “Encuentro” of the Plaza Vieja takes place in the context of this last procession, creating the most colorist and emotional momento of the Holy Week of Bullas.
Feast of SAN MARCOS
This mass event is celebrated on the last April’s weekend and has its origin in the Rogation days to pray for the rain which took place every 25th of April, Saint Mark’s Day. From a simple procession and a celebration of the local farmers the festival has evolved in the last decades to a very participative event that still praises the agricultural tradition of Bullas with a parade with dozens of floats decorated in the traditional way as its members wear the regional clothing. The original procession with the images of Saint Isidro Labrador and her wife Saint Mary de la Cabeza, Saint John and the patroness Our Lady of the Rosary precede the parade and go to the Murta area for the also traditional Blessing of the Fields. The area of La Rafa later becomes the centre of the feast with the typical rural lunch and other playful activities.
Saint john’s night
The most magical night of the year, from the 23rd to the 24th of June, has a special meaning in Bullas. Plenty of ancient rituals are developed, like the making of the “sweet nuts wine”, to be sampled the following Christmas, just six months later. At midnight the recreation of an old leyend takes place, the “Mora del Castellar”, the Arab princess who faithful to the tradition goes down to the Salto del Usero, what is seen by hundreds of people.
la copa patronal feast
La Copa honours its patroness Nuestra Señora de la Consolación and del Perpetuo Socorro during the first weekend of September. “Migas” night, the “Diana” (with plenty of water), parades, processions and some other events give colour tho the streets of the village envolving actively to all its people.
wine feast
The Wine Feast started in 2001 in coincidence with the grape harvest time and the previous days to the Patronal Feast of Bullas, as it takes place at the end of September. Live performances, guided tours, exhibitions, concerts, gastronomic events and the yearly appointment of the Wine Master are among the many activities organized to celebrate the long wine tradition in Bullas.
bullas patronal feast
Bullas celebrates the Patronal Feast in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary on the first October’s Sunday, with events taking place from the previous Friday to the following Tuesday. The week before, the “Tío de la Pita” announces the coming of the feast walking through the streets and every evening after the mass from the Town Hall’s balcony. In his music repertoire is the traditional song “El Manuel”.
After the “Migas Night” on Friday evening, the Saturday’s dawn marks the start of the “Diana”, a particular parade with festive music and flour and eggs applied on all the participants. The floats parade on Monday afternoon and the Floral Offering to the Patroness on Tuesday morning are other important moments apart of the religious celebrations.
Feast of the PURÍSIMA CONCEPCIÓN in LA COPA
On the eve of the 8th of December the group of “auroros” of La Copa go over the streets of the village with their ancient songs, preserving a really old tradition. In this context and since 2001, during that month’s first Sunday there is a meeting of auroros where various of these groups from all over the Region of Murcia come to La Copa, creating a special atmosphere not only with the sounds dedicated to the Virgin Mary but also those regarding the nearby Christmas time.