Moratalla is surrounded these days with the sound of drums and the color of the robes with risky designs that wind through the steep and narrow streets of the town. The drumbeats once again filled an almost clear sky, although with some threatening clouds that dropped a few drops of rain in the middle of the morning, but that did not make the passion with which the inhabitants of these lands live, in a special way, Holy Week disappear. . The most enthusiastic, the earliest risers, were already beating the skin of their drums from seven in the morning on the first of the three days in which the Drum Festival is celebrated: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The area closest to La Farola, in the center of the town, is the place chosen for the first 'station', where there is a small stop to taste the sweets prepared, along with some 'copicas' of brown liquor, by the Association of Drummers to give the first greeting to those who get up early to give the first rolls.
On the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the new flags were placed along the main street which ended with the drumming by 'the officers', six drummers who represent the entire association and who recently traveled to the Teruel town of Andorra to participate in the National Days of Exaltation of the Drum and the Bass Drum and to pick up the baton for next year's events that will be held in Moratalla.
Mari Carmen Pérez, who is repeating her duties as president of the association, explained to LA VERDAD that they are “very satisfied with the innovations that have been worked on this year, such as the flags and the giant hood that has been made this year and in which A large part of our people have collaborated, there have been many hours of work by the hands of moratalleros that have resulted in a project full of color, which represents the image of our party.
The starting signal for the party took place during the Proclamation ceremony that was held last Saturday at the Tietra theater and was proclaimed by José Rodríguez Gómez, president of the Cultural Casino. The distinctions of Nazareno de Oro were also awarded to Jesús 'El Chato'; the Golden Drum, to Chanes, by Anselmo; and Drummer Woman, to Loli 'del Fabi'.
And, after the prologue, the first of the big days arrived in which the Moratalleros live this festival in a very special way, because the drumming in Moratalla is a festival in which passion, strength, and enthusiasm come together. , coexistence and a pinch of healthy rivalry to express, with energy in the drumbeat, the feelings that are carried inside and that appear wrapped in colorful tunics.
For three days, residents and visitors, who come from many other cities, take to the streets to beat the drums and enjoy the deafening roar that echoes in the highlands of the Murcia region. The old town fills with people, is adorned with the color of the tunics and expands into the sky with the beats of the drummers. There is also time for socializing and enjoying good gastronomy with friends and family, both in the bars and in the clubs that adorn the beautiful old town of the town.
Juan Soria is experiencing his first Holy Week as mayor of Moratalla. “It is a new time for me, but the important thing is that our town is open to all those who love the beating of the drums and who want to live different days, enjoying a healthy coexistence and the kindness of the moratalleros,” he explained. . The councilor is enthusiastic about the preparation of the National Days of Exaltation of the Drum and the Bass Drum that will be held in Moratalla in the last days of March 2025: «We went to Andorra, in Teruel, to pick up the baton and we are already working on the organization; An information stand has been installed in the La Farola area to offer all the details of the program that is being prepared for these days. Soria emphasizes that they are also waiting “with great expectations for the departure of Jesus Christ Apparited on the morning of Easter Sunday so that the drums can beat again in honor of our patron saint.”
since the dawn
At dawn on Holy Thursday, with our eyes focused on the weather forecasts, the drumbeats have once again enveloped the town with their thunderous sound. This acoustic and colorful demonstration will continue this Good Friday and, after a day of rest, will return on the morning of Easter Sunday.
The thundering of the drums could be heard from every corner; On any corner, alone or in a group, the drummers once again toured the city in a coming and going in which drum rolls were exchanged as a greeting. This cultural and festive manifestation is different from others in which the drum is also used, since the drummers are not part of the processional processions, they play before or after the processions, and they do so in a special and very unique way.
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