San Jose village has been busy preparing for its local fiesta for weeks now and as far as fiestas go, it's a long affair with some really exciting events, concerts, live music, fun and frolics punctuated with lots of local pastimes, which you and I wouldn't understand. So, here's my take on when to hit up San Jose for the best in entertainment, wine, women and song!
Wine merchants Enotecum raise a glass to the start of the fiesta in the rustically styled Es Galliner bar and restaurant at 21:00 on Friday 6th March. It's a wine tasting where for about €12 you get 6 glasses of any wine you fancy, tapas to accompany it, and live music from a band on stage in the street outside. Great value, great fun, and you get to keep the glass.
Rock music features large and loud this year and starts with 'Rock en s'Olivera' when about half a dozen bands take to the stage in the garden of Raco Verd on Saturday 7th March at 21:30. Pack your air guitar and big book of riffs.
On Saturday 21st March the village bars have cheap drink, tapas and live music, and a band on a wagon, Ses Sopris, tour the area playing live as they go. Around 23:00 fire belching demons, fill the streets with smoke and sparks as they rampage around the village on a 'correfoc' (fire run.)
The 21st annual Sant Pepe Rock Fest takes place in the village centre car park and features MRC, Los Zigarros and Siniestro Total on 28th March at 21:00.
San Jose day itself is on the 19th and is steeped in tradition. The main street is filled with craft stalls, pop up eateries, a fair and hundreds and hundreds of people. There's a mass at midday, folk dancing in the afternoon and a band – Trogloditas – in the church square at night. It all rounds of with a spectacular fireworks display on the stroke of 23:59!
Also steeped in Ibiza tradition is the most popular night of the whole fiesta – Flower Power on 14th March. Haight Ashbury meets Woodstock in a haze of peace, love and understanding with all the hippy era paraphernalia – patchouli beads, psychedelic wigs and rose tinted loon pants – but without the mud. Look out for astral projections on the church, DJ's playing bubblegum music and an AC/DC tribute band.
And to finalise matters, sanity returns when men riding spades on wheels and the like career downhill at the speed of gravity for the annual extreme kart challenge from the old Festival Club to wherever they stop. It's great fun, just don't stand on one of the hairpin bends, and remember, there's a pop up bar too! It starts at 10:00 on 10th April.
Full details of all the events are online here (Spanish only)
