Actos Bands

The bands affiliated to each Church are interesting in themselves, and their structure is similar, other than the one with a goat as a mascot. They have 30-40 uniformed members in four or five sections, headed by a “fighting group” of young men, who carry rifles, but also ceremonial practical tools on their backs, such as spades, axes, picks and saws (see pics). They are followed by the buglers of all ages (5 -60 years), followed by the percussionists and drummers, who together play a loud tuneless march. Some bands have youth sections with their mini rifles and small ceremonial tools (trowels, saws, axes etc..).

On the move, they march in a mincing shuffle, which can be slow or very fast, with frequent stops, when the “fighting groups” perform drill routines. These include twirling and throwing their rifles in the air, and to each other, each band trying to out perform their rivals.

Actos continued

The ceremony involved the soldiers firing their muskets in the air 4 times, and another team firing a canon 4 times over the valley, followed by a ceremonial flag raising with National Anthems of the four participating countries, and speeches and the unveiling of the plaque and a wreath. The only glitch was that the Spanish flag got stuck at the bottom of the flagpole, (despite a last minute rehearsal beforehand).

The VIPs then walked back to la Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture) for an inauguration of a collection of miniature soldiers commemorating the event, followed by them sitting on a makeshift stand whilst the Napoleonic soldiers and the bands marched past them. All in all, it was quite enjoyable and typically chaotic in the Spanish way, over-runing by a couple of hours until 3 pm.

Actos del dia 25 Octobre 2008

Saturday was an important day in Alhaurin, with the commemoration of the bicentenary of the war of Independence in 1808, involving France, Great Britain, Portugal and Spain. There was no evidence of this being celebrated either Nationally or locally, other than in Alhaurin – the reason remains a mystery.

The day kicked off with deafening bangs from a dozen or so thundercrack rockets, heralding the start of proceedings. Four church bands (cornets, drums and tambourines) set off from their respective churches, and criss-crossed the town and a fifth musical band also marched round. We followed the purple band with their mascot – a very well-behaved goat.

In addition, there was a parade of soldiers dressed in Napoleonic uniforms from each of the four countries involved, together with assorted women dressed in costumes of the day, who marched to the Plaza Baja outside the Blue Church, whilst assembled VIPs and local worthies attended a brief service in the Church.

This was repeated twice more as the parade and VIPs marched to the next church (San Sebastian) for another quick service, and then on to the Green Church (Vera Cruz) for the same, and then on to the Town Hall Square next door for a formal ceremony of inaugurating a plaque commemorating the bicentenary. Meanwhile, the five bands arrived before the ceremony, along with hundreds of spectators thronging the route.