Villena’s Moors and Christians and other fiestas

Villena’s Moors and Christians hold National Tourist Interest status and, according to the fiestas website, more than 33% of the population takes an active part. Villena is also one of the few towns in the area with its festival food well documented, so this page can tell you what people eat, too.

Villena’s Moors and Christians: 4 to 9 September

Villena’s fiestas revolve around the Virgen de las Virtudes, the Morenica, whose day is 8 September. Villena Tourism places the origin in the late fifteenth century, when she was proclaimed patron saint and protector against the plague, and the people of Villena made a vow to climb to her sanctuary, seven kilometres away, twice a year. Today it is the image that comes down in pilgrimage at the end of August. The Moors and Christians run from 4 to 9 September, according to Villena Tourism and the festeros’ website; if you see “from the 5th to the 9th”, they are not counting the first day. Among the events are the Entrada (the grand entrance parade), the Cabalgata (the cavalcade), the Embajadas (the “embassies”, staged parleys between the two sides) and the Guerrillas (the skirmishes).

They are organised by the Junta Central de Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos (the central fiestas board).

Fourteen comparsas and their cuartelillos

Villena has fourteen comparsas (troupes), seven on each side. Moorish: Moros Viejos, Moros Nuevos, Bando Marroquí, Moros Realistas, Moros Nazaríes, Moros Bereberes and Piratas. Christian: Estudiantes, Marinos Corsarios, Andaluces, Maseros, Ballesteros, Almogávares and Cristianos. In the glossary you will find what a comparsa and a cuartelillo are.

If your comparsa is looking for someone to bring the lunch or the fellowship dinner, we set up kitchen and bar in a marquee. Our approach is described in Moors and Christians and in the guide to the comparsa or filà meal. September books up early: get a quote in good time.

What people eat at the fiestas

The fiestas website devotes a whole section to festival food. At the almuerzos (mid-morning meals) gachamiga (a traditional fried flour dish) rules, and pelotas de relleno (stuffed meatballs) are the star dish of the big September days. The table is completed by gazpachos villeneros (a hot stew of meat and flatbread, nothing to do with the cold soup), triguico (a wheat-grain stew), the typical pastries and the local wine. After the diana (the early-morning parade), the communal almuerzo at the cuartelillo is fried egg, pepper, sardine, chorizo, longaniza and patatas al montón (potatoes fried in a heap).

Fiestas del Medievo

In March, the Rabal neighbourhood celebrates the Fiestas del Medievo (the Medieval Fiestas), of Regional Tourist Interest. Their official website already announces the 2027 ones: 12, 13 and 14 March.

Local holidays

Villena had two local holidays in 2026, according to the DOGV (the regional official gazette): 13 April, for St Vincent, and 10 September, the day after the fiestas. The 2027 ones are not published yet. To see how we work in the area, go to catering in Aspe and the Vinalopó; and for the neighbouring town, here are the fiestas of Sax and the public holidays calendar.