That alcohol consumption is intense at popular festivals is evident. That in certain mass events that reality can cause problems, too. For this reason, the Alcoi city council and the San Jorge Association established in 2018 alcohol and drug controls to which both the beaters - who ride horses - and the drivers of the floats that participate in the famous parades of theirs must submit. popular Moors and Christians festivals in honor of Sant Jordi.
These controls are carried out by the Local Police throughout the festivities with the intention of guaranteeing the maximum possible safety, both for the horses themselves and for the public and people who participate in the Moorish and Christian Entrances, which is what these spectacular events are called. parades.
The controls were launched in 2018 for the floats and in 2019 for the corporals beaters, which are the riders who go before the special squads or the charge ranks.
The Moors and Christians festivals of Alcoi have been declared of International Tourist Interest since 1980, and are considered the precursors of all those celebrated during the year in various locations in the Valencian Community.
They commemorate the historical events that took place in 1276, related to the uprisings of the Muslims who inhabited the area and which gave rise to the patronage of Sant Jordi, to which tradition attributes its intervention in defense of the new settlers, on the occasion of the attack that They suffered, and in whose battle the leader Al-Azraq died.
Next Monday, April 22, the two Entries will take place, in the morning the parade of the Christian groups and in the afternoon those of the Moors. The richness and color of the costumes, the music, the banners, the displays of the riders and their mounts attract a large audience and are reproduced every year by visitors and the media from all over the world.
The second day, the 23rd, is Sant Jordi, and the procession of the relic is celebrated. It is a day in which children take on great prominence, especially the little one chosen to embody the figure of Saint Jordiet, a child under eight years old who dresses as a Roman soldier.
On the 24th, the day of the Alardo, skirmishes take place, blunderbusses and harquebuses, armor and Moorish capes reproduce the battle that, like every year, since 1276, the Christians win. Once the fight is over, Saint Jordiet appears on the battlements of the castle, acclaimed by the crowd, closing the festivities until next year.
