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BULLAS TOURISM THE WINE Site Map

Feasts and Traditions

Patronal Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. October

Bullas celebrates its main Feast honouring Our Lady of the Rosary, who was chosen as patron by the inhabitants of the town in 1723. The holiday is on October 7th, but according to an old tradition, the actual Feast’s day falls on the first Sunday in October.

The popular character who announces the arrival of the Feast is a typical musician called commonly “el Tío de la Pita” who plays the “dulzaina”, a very typical Spanish instrument. His most well known song is “Manuel”, an real identity sign of the Feast and the town.

These are the song’s lyrics

Me s'han roto los zapatos... ¡Manuel!
de subir al gallinero... ¡Manuel!
a ver si veo venir... ¡Manuel!
el correo de las siete... ¡Manuel!
Mira las muchachas... ¡Manuel!
que bonitas son... ¡Manuel!
Hay que quererlas... ¡Manuel!
con ilusión... ¡Manuel!

The Feast starts the previous Friday to the October’s first Sunday and finishes at the following Tuesday’s night. That Friday’s night is called “Migas Night”, when everybody enjoys the “Migas”, a typical dish from Bullas. Before the dawn Saturday’s dawn marks the beginning of the popular “Diana”, a very original parade where no one of the participating people can escape from going dirty with flour and eggs.

Apart of the two processions with the image of Our Lady of the Rosary, other important events are the floats parade organized by the “Peñas” which delights the Bullas people on Monday’s evening, and the Floral Offering, where many people accompanied by music bands carry flowers for the Holy Virgin’s image that stands at the church’s door on Tuesday’s morning.

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Wine Feast

Bullas is celebrating the Wine Feast every September’s last weekend since the year 2001, just before the Patronal Feast and during the vintage time.

Several activities are developed around the main product of the town: Wine Route’s guided tours, commented tastings, award of the Master of Wine that every year goes for a person devoted to the viticulture and oenology.

Some other events are held in the central square of Bullas on Sunday morning, such as the inauguration of the Wine Fountain, the traditional grape treading and the First Juice’s Blessing that can be sampled by the people. Music and traditional dances are also present during these special moments.

Some other initiatives such as the Tapa Fair make more special this festive climate during these days when the unbreakable union between Bullas and its starring product, the wine, is celebrated.

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Holy Week in Bullas

Holy Week is a deeply-rooted celebration in Bullas. The processions, the main and most characteristic element of these days, go beyond the religion to become a cultural sign that shows the identity of the celebrating people, like in many other parts of Spain. Hundreds of inhabitants of Bullas (old people, young people, children) participate as brotherhood members, nazarenos, bearers of the images, drummers or simply as spectators of these processions that involve everyone.

The Holy Week brotherhoods of Bullas are the main protagonists during these days and they have their origin some centuries ago in the groups created to give cult to a particular religious image.

Nowadays there are five brotherhoods that participate in the processions of Bullas. They all have a nickname related to their tunic colour:

Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene - Los Moraos (The Purple ones)

A document dated in 1795 talks about the appointment of a responsible for an image of Our Father Jesus Nazarene (Jesus carrying the cross) got from the properties seized to the Jesuits after their expulsion from Spain in 1767. The brotherhood would be founded around this image and its official date of creation is 1864, although it is possible that it is quite older. On April 30th 1873 the brotherhood was legally established with an statute which was reformed in 1892. The nazarenos are characterized by the purple colour of their clothing (tunic, cloak and hood) so their popular name is The Purple ones.

The brotherhood’s main image is that of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, acquired by the local landowner Fabio Carreño Marsilla. It is a work of Juan González Moreno and it substituted the original image ascribed to the great sculptor Nicolás de Bussy which disappeared during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Fabio Carreño also bought the magnificent throne (image’s support for bearing it during the processions) made in golden wood. The other images of this brotherhood are the Christ of the Rescate, the Bare Cross (also called Cockerel’s Cross), the Holy Sepulchre, the Resurrected Christ and Saint Mary Magdalene.

Brotherhood of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Los Coloraos (The Red ones)

The origins of this brotherhood are not clear, although its foundation at the beginning of the 20’s is ascribed to wine sector related people, called the 'pellejeros' ('pellejo' = animal skin for carrying wine). After the Civil War the brotherhood was totally disorganized and Don Esteban Figueroa decided to lead it. As there were no images he made bring from Murcia some of those which participated in the Holy Wednesday’s procession in the capital city. Today's images were acquired step by step, almost all of them from the Santa Rufina’s workshop in Madrid.

These nazarenos' clothing is composed by a red tunic and hood and a golden cloak. The main image is the Christ of the Column, commonly called 'el Amarrao' (the Binded One) and the others are the Ecce Homo, the Caída (Jesus falling down with the cross), the Crucified Christ, the Descendimiento (Jesus' Descent from the Cross), the Holy Virgin of the Sorrows and the Angel of the Triumphant Cross.

Brotherhood of Saint John the Evangelist – Los Blancos (The White ones)

Its origin is linked to the old brotherhood of Our Lady of the Aurora (Dawn), probably founded in the first half of the 19th century and is also related to the traditional 'auroros' (groups singing religious prayers in the streets early in the morning). In fact, its official name until the approval of the current statutes in 1994 was 'Brotherhood of Saint John Evangelist and Our Lady of the Aurora'. The brotherhood has the title of 'Ilustre' (distinguished), as its honor president is the former bishop of the Diocese of Cartagena, Don Javier Azagra.

It is commonly believed that the white colour of the tunic (complemented with a hood, also white, and a red cloak) has its origin in the fact that the former members were bricklayers, being the white colour a reminder of the plaster. The White ones were the last brotherhood keeping the custom of paying the expenditures for its members' funerals.

The titular image is that of Saint John the Evangelist which was made in 1925. This was one of the few saved from the destruction during the Spanish Civil War besides the Virgen de los Dolores one, as it was hidden in the house of Don Manuel López Carreño, a very well known local doctor. There is a very odd version about this fact which tells that the image of Saint John was pardoned because it had its left hand raised, imitating the leftist ideologies greeting. The brotherhood also has the images of Saint Peter and the Veronica.

Royal Brotherhood of Our Lady of Sorrow - Los Negros (The Black ones)

The Brotherhood of Nuestra Madre y Señora María Santísima de la Soledad was founded in 1754 deriving from the Terciary Order of Saint Francis (installed in 1726). Like the other brotherhoods, this one also had among its purposes that of paying the expenditures of the members' funerals. Since the earlier times, the presence of women has been very important.

Black nazarenos clothing consists of a black tunic and hood, a blue cloak and a medal related to the main image of the brotherhood, whose sculpture belongs to the Salzillo’s school and was made at the beginning of the 19th century. It was saved of the disasters of the Spanish Civil War in Julia Collados Jiménez’s house. The other images of this brotherhood are the Holy Virgin of the Esperanza, the Soledad and the Gloriosa.

Brotherhood of Saint James the Apostle - Los Verdes (The Green ones)

The newest of the Bullas brotherhoods was created in 1999 as an initiative of the Hidalgo García family, participating for the very first time in the processions in the year 2000. The brotherhood chose the green as its distinctive colour and has Santiago Apóstol (Saint James the Apostle) as its titular image, made by the Murcian sculptor Antonio Labaña. The Greens also have the image of the Holy Virgen of the Amargura.

Processions

There are four processions during the Holy Week in Bullas: Maundy Thursday in the evening, Good Friday in the morning and in the evening and Easter Sunday in the morning. They are very touching processions because of the religious meaning and the beauty of the participating images as well.

One of the most outstanding moments is that of the 'Encuentro' (Meeting) in the Old Square on Easter Sunday morning. The images arrive to the square from four different streets and then encounter in the centre of it greeting and revering each other. This is a joyful moment, the bearers of the images make them dance and the nazarenos move their cloaks to the wind. The procession marches change to the typical and festive 'pasodobles' and there are firecrackers. The procession goes on with its itinerary through the Old Square’s Arch. On arriving to the church the celebration of Holy Week in Bullas ends until next year.

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Feast of Saint Mark

Bullas has been an agricultural town and the celebration of Saint Mark is a clear sign of this tradition as it is a real exaltation of the rural world. Saint Mark's day falls on April 25th, but this celebration is translated to the next weekend. They are data informing about the existence of this feast at the end of the 19th century and its origin can be established in a popular praying procession to ask for rain. There is no image of Saint Mark in Bullas, so it is that of Saint Isidore which participates in the procession. This is one of the odd aspects of the celebration: a saint replaces another in the day of this one's own feast.

The parade goes out from the church with the images of Saint Isidore, Saint Mary of Cabeza (his wife), Saint John the Evangelist and Our Lady of the Rosary, Patron of Bullas. In the area of La Murta the lands of Bullas are blessed by the priest. In the last years this celebration has become a really participative event with dozens of floats decorated in the traditional peasant way, as well as their people. They all give this feast a colourful sense which attracts many visitors.

After the end of the procession-parade, floats and people go to La Rafa to have lunch in a festive atmosphere. During the afternoon and evening there are many other activities such as music and popular games for children.

This feast is also the date chosen for the celebration of the National Folklore Festival that, every year since 1982, is organized by the Traditional Dances Group 'Peña Huertana La Uva and where many local, regional and national groups participate.

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Feast of Saint Anton (in La Copa)

La Copa celebrates the Feast of Saint Anton (patron of the animals) on the next weekend after January 17th. Several interesting events are organized every year by the Brotherhood of Saint Anton, as the great fire on Saturday evening where the people from La Copa and also the visitors can enjoy eating local products. This fire reminds those that the local people made to ask for protection or give thanks to the saint. On Sunday, after the Holy Mass, the traditional 'auction' of typical products takes place and the collected money is destined to pay the expenditures of the Feast. The popular 'Innocent’s Dance' (a true relic of the regional folklore) is held in the afternoon. It is a traditional 'bidding dance' where a character wearing an old dress encourages the public to dance, participating in this really old tradition. The last event of the Feast of Saint Anton is the procession with his image. When it arrives to the Llano de la Fuente area, the animals are blessed by the priest.

Patronal Feast of La Copa

La Copa celebrates its Patronal Feast on September’s first weekend honouring Our Lady of the Consolation and Our Lady of Socorro ('La Socorrica'). Many different activities and events take place from Friday to Tuesday (the Migas Night or the Diana in the festive side and the solemn processions with the image of the Patron in the religious one.

Feast of the Inmaculate Conception in La Copa

Every December, on the event of the Feast of the Inmaculate Conception of the Holy Virgen, the 'auroros' become the protagonists in La Copa, recovering an old tradition which has been preserved in the village. The auroros visit all the streets of La Copa on the eve of December 8th, singing or praying, depending on the case. The songs have a wide range or topics, depending also of the alms offered in each house. They are verses dedicated to a Saint, the long 'Credo' or the nice 'Salve' to the Holy Virgin.

The Inmaculate Conception Brotherhood organizes a meeting of 'auroros' in the context of this Feast, where several groups coming from different points of the Region of Murcia participate every year.

Auroros music and chants can also be listened on Christmas Day.

More about La Copa

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Saint John’s Night

The shortest night of the year has in Bullas its own events. There are plenty of rituals and traditions typical of this magical night. One of them is the making of the so called 'sweet wine of Saint John', elaborated with wine, sugar and always thirteen green walnuts. It will be enjoyed six months later, accompanying the traditional Christmas sweets.

But Saint John’s Night is also famous for the 'Moorish Princess of the Mount Castellar', who goes every year down to the Salto del Usero in the River Mula. Hundreds of people attend to this emblematic place to enjoy the old legend just at midnight.

Feast of Saint James

Since 1992, this celebration is held in the place of the Clock Tower on the next weekend after Saint James Day (July 25th). Several festive and religious activities take place. We can remark that of the 'tarascas burning', a particular 'execution' of two puppets representing Bermudo Menéndez (the treacherous Templar commander of the Castle of Bullas) and his wife Raquel.

Feast of Saint Blaise

One of the most recent celebrations in the local calendar is that of Saint Blaise which takes place in the quarter of La Cruz around February 3rd (Saint Blaise’s Day). In the highest point of this quarter of Bullas it is located the saint’s hermitage (that it is really a newer one from the 19th century built near the place of the original one). A great fire is made and the public can taste the different products that are offered.

This fire reminds the ancient tradition of the 'castillos', small fires made all over the countryside to ask for protection to some saints in their respective days. These days are those of Saint Ignatius (February 1st) who protects the house, Our Lady of Candelaria (February 2nd) for women in childbirths, the above mentioned Saint Blaise, for mouth and throat deseases, Saint Agatha (February 5th) breasts, and finally Saint Lucy (December 13th) who protects sight and eyes.

 

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Ayuntamiento de Bullas - Pza. de España, 2 - 30180-Bullas-Murcia - Tel. +34 968 652 031 - ayuntamiento@bullas.es