The Federació de Fogueres will host a new edition of the Congreso de la Festa this coming Saturday, 24th October, bringing together key speakers to discuss the main challenges facing the Hogueras of Alicante. Held at Casa Mediterráneo, the day-long event will address major topics including the bid to secure Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status, preparations for the upcoming centenary, and the relationship between the festival and local hospitality sectors.
The conference begins at 9:15 am with an opening address and a technical presentation by Cristina Cebrián Martínez and Óscar Alcober Ruiz from the Federació de les Fogueres technical team. Following this, Luis Castillo García, president of the Provincial Hotel Association of Alicante (Apha), will examine the relationship between the festival and the tourism sector, while Joaquín Rubio, master craftsman of the Guild of Bonfire Artists, will focus on ephemeral art.
One of the most significant sessions will take place at 11:30 am, focusing on the application for Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage status for the Hogueras. To discuss the application file, the organisers have invited Jorge Guarro Monllor, who promoted and coordinated the successful candidacy for Valencia’s Fallas in November 2016, alongside Jordi Treserras Juan, a Unesco consultant specialising in cultural heritage management, creative economy, and sustainable tourism.
The second main section of the programme is dedicated to the festival’s centenary. Scheduled for 12:15 pm, this panel will feature the Councillor for Festivities, Cristina Cutanda, the president of the Centenary Foundation executive committee, Andrés Llorens, the vice president of the Foguera Polígono de San Blas, Iván López, and journalist Adrián Mazón. The congress will conclude at 1:30 pm with closing remarks from the president of the Federació, David Olivares Cortés, and the Councillor for Festivities.
In 2024, under the title “Festes de foc”, the gathering brought together representatives from seven municipalities across the province to address common elements of fire festivals, ranging from gunpowder and music to traditional clothing and monuments. The previous edition in 2022 also incorporated experiences linked to Valencia’s Fallas in a debate on managing commission committees and the future of the celebrations.
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