I could have used the word ‘awesome’ but it has lost a lot of impact as an adjective due to overuse in everyday conversation. No, the only way to describe Almunecar’s annual firework display on the night of the 15th is that it inspired awe in just about everybody that witnessed it.
Personally, I think I must have watched most of them during the last 30 years here, but none touched me – and evidently those around me – as last night’s one. The synchronization with the music – all superbly chosen numbers from pop to classic was precision itself.
When the launching areas are multiple and distanced from each other, the computer synchronization of the ignition process depends entirely on the Internet – and on saturated Internet availability, at that! Last year the display was tarnished precisely for this reason.
We were lucky enough to have watched the display from the large-roof terrace of an apartment block near the Paseo del Altillo, it was not just a question of looking up, but trying to take in the whole scope of the celestial architecture above us, flowing out of the sky and cascading down.
No colour photo or video footage could even begin to convey the humbling effect of drinking in that ocular feast… and it seemed to last an eternity with one salvo firing into the descending canopy of the preceding one.
Rockets slashed up into the sky from on the beach, from up in the castle, from the Peñon del Santo, from the outer rocks and even from what appeared to be the moored platform off the beach. And all the time the music weaved its notes in streaking light.
At one point, the castle was awash with fire; the battlements stood stark against the red and orange glow within, with streams of sparks flowing out between them – you could have been witnessing a Medieval siege from a distance, it was that impressive.
And all the time the fishing fleet and private craft bobbed in the bay – each one marking its presence with navigation lights – huddled around the boat that carried the icon of the Virgen, itself ablaze with lights.
I apologies if this just sounds too wordy or overly flowery but the task of describing the firework display without such descriptions would be like taking a black & white photo of the sky, hoping to convey the vibrant colours of the spectacle.
As I stood there I couldn’t help but think that for all the atomic bombs, napalm, cluster bombs and destructive arsenal that Man possesses and uses, the poetry of fireworks in some little way, attenuates our destructive nature.
On a separate note, last night for the first time in all the summer, Almunecar heaved with people – like in the old days. In the many moments that the sky was so intensely lit, you could see thousands of people squeezed, standing or in picnic chairs, on the beach below. If you take all the viewing points chosen by spectators then there must have been at least 50,000 people staring up that night.
Finally, I used to think that the best option to view the Almunecar annual firework display was from a distance, so you can get perspective – I was wrong: you need to be right under it to have perspective; one that is all encompassing.
PS: I’d still like to murder that bastard that sets off rockets all day long for no other reason than to annoy people in the name of culture and religion.
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)