Malaga enjoys night of San Juan more than New Year's Eve

Culture

Locals and visitors spent the night celebrating the start of summer despite more than half of the work week still ahead of them

Cristina Vallejo

New Year's Eve is cold and we take stock of the good and the bad. We celebrate, yes, but with a touch of nostalgia. On the night of San Juan (23 June), however, all the negativity burns away and we make wishes with feet in the sea, a warm breeze caressing the skin, music, fireworks and the promise of a summer still almost untouched.

This is what Sheila Zamora and her friends told SUR on Tuesday night. "We have more fun on San Juan than on New Year's Eve."

They said this while devouring a delicious-looking tortilla and sprinkling a bag of chips with pickled anchovies. For Sheila, this night is always the most special because it's her birthday. This year, she turned 33.

Next to her and her friends, a family was getting ready for dinner. Francisco Deose was happy because this year his work schedule worked out well enough for him to enjoy the night of San Juan. They respect the tradition, burning the bad things and making wishes, but Francisco knows that they "will have to keep fighting" for what they want.

Yara, María, Jennifer and Juncal have known each other their whole lives. They're part of the same group of friends from Espinosa de los Monteros (Burgos), although they live in Bilbao. They said that the heatwave in the Basque Country had led to the cancellation of many festivities these past few days.

Fortunately, they were on a holiday in Malaga, where they'd found more pleasant temperatures and a lively celebration. "We won't forget this San Juan, because we've known each other forever, but it's the first one we've experienced together."

The Kizomba dance school was an unexpected part of the night. They had decided to move to the Misericordia beach to celebrate the night of San Juan. "Dancing brings people to life. I'm sure that when we start dancing, people will join in," Cornelius, the director of the dance school, said. Shyness, however, prevailed.

Everyone celebrates the night of San Juan in their own way. As dusk approached, some were still playing volleyball, others were running and others were cycling. There were also many people carrying tables, chairs, bags full of food and coolers.

Although a midweek night, with more than half the work week still to go, the beach was full. San Juan is especially popular with teenagers and university students, like Marco Arenas, who had just turned 18, and all his friends.

"We'll hang out, even though we're really hot and tired: we've hardly slept since Malaga won," he said.

The bonfire at midnight cast a spell: "From a stormy winter to a balmy summer." Everybody manifested a hot summer without storms. Well, thermometers say the spell has materialised.

Orquesta Ipop provided the music at La Misericordia and winter died in the warmth of the bonfire and the sounds of the music. The night culminated with 15 minutes of fireworks.

Wednesday will be tough for the workers who decided to celebrate on Tuesday, but it's unforgivable not to conspire against the bad and attract the good when you have the chance. Even if your wishes sink to the bottom of the water and you have to keep fighting.

Before the night of San Juan, for the public to enjoy themselves, other workers had put in long hours to make sure everything ran smoothly and that safety regulations were followed.

Then, there were those who never rest, those who prepared sandwiches to eat on the beach and then went back home for a moment to give their over-90-year-old mother dinner, before going back to their family with more food to watch the fireworks.

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