Alardo

The alardo is the mock battle of the Moors and Christians fiestas, in which festeros (fiesta members) from the two sides fight it out with arquebus fire for control of the castle. It’s the loudest event, and most towns with Moors and Christians hold one. In Alcoy it gives its name to an entire day, Alardo Day.

What the alardo is

The two sides advance through the streets firing blanks of black powder from arquebuses and blunderbusses. In many towns it comes straight after the embajada: first the castle’s surrender is demanded with words and, when the parley fails, it’s settled by force. In Alcoy, for example, the Moors win the morning alardo and the Christians the afternoon one; in other towns the battles are spread over different days.

Where the word comes from

Alardo is the fiesta form of alarde, a word the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) dictionary traces to the Hispano-Arabic al‘árḍ and defines, among other things, as a military parade in which soldiers and their weapons were inspected or put on show. It goes back to the medieval review in which the king inspected those who were obliged to keep a horse and arms at the ready. In Elda, for example, Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism places the fiesta’s origin in old local militias that honoured the patron saint with arquebus volleys.

Alcoy even has a starting date. According to the Valencian government decree that made the fiesta part of Spain’s protected intangible heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural inmaterial) in 2019, the town’s “Companyia de Soldats” joined the fiesta around 1511 with its crossbow and arquebus displays, and an arquebus competition in 1552 eventually gave rise to today’s alardo.

Alardo Day in Alcoy

It’s the third day of the Trilogía Festera, after Entradas Day and St George’s Day (around 23 April). According to the decree, it runs like this:

When	What happens
Early morning	El Contrabando, a comic scene in Spanish and Valencian, and arquebus skirmishes (guerrillas) through the old town
Mid-morning	Moorish estafeta (messenger) and embajada at the castle
Morning alardo	A battle lasting about three hours that ends in a Moorish victory
Mid-afternoon	Christian estafeta and embajada
Afternoon alardo	Another battle, this time ending in a Christian victory
Night	St George appears on the castle battlements

In each alardo, the captain and the alférez of each side lead seven filaes along two different routes and come face to face with their opposite number in the encaro.

In other towns

In Elda, the arquebus alardos are part of the five days of fiesta, along with the embajadas, according to Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism. In Aspe, the official tourist office lists la guerrilla among the events.

Gunpowder comes with rules

Firing in an alardo isn’t a case of turning up and pulling the trigger. Technical instruction 26 of Spain’s Explosives Regulation requires a special muzzle-loader licence, valid for five years, and training certified by the town council. Each porteador or porteador-tirador (powder carrier or carrier-shooter) may normally carry one kilo of black powder per event (up to two with permission from the central government’s regional delegate), in sealed flasks that mustn’t be metal. The Valencian government itself acknowledges that the legal limitations, along with waning interest, have cut the number of participants in the arquebus events.

Alardo, entrada and embajada: three different things

Event	What happens
Entrada	The comparsas parade in costume with their bands
Embajada	A verse parley in front of the castle
Alardo	A mock battle with arquebuses

The alardo and fiesta food

An alardo day starts early and finishes late, and meals have to fit in between one battle and the next. If you’re on the committee of a comparsa and want to fit the almuerzo (mid-morning breakfast) or lunch around the programme, see our article on the comparsa or filà meal and our catering for Moors and Christians.