![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01C-moros-y-cristianos.jpg\")
The Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy, April 2026: the Christian captain shooting, flanked by his guard, in a street thick with blunderbuss smoke. Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\nThe Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy, April 2026: the Christian captain shooting, flanked by his guard, in a street thick with blunderbuss smoke. Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\n
In Alcoy, the Moros y Cristianos festival remains central to the city\u2019s identity \u2014 but many locals feel excluded from it<\/p>\n
![\"Graham](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Graham-Keeley-1024x1024.png\")
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Dressed in flamboyant medieval costumes, soldiers blast their blunderbusses<\/a>, sending clouds of smoke into the air as bystanders clutch their ears.<\/p>\n The deafening roar marks the final day of Moros y Cristianos<\/a>, a centuries-old festival in Alcoy, south-east Spain<\/a>, that reenacts the Reconquista, the Christian conquest of Muslim-ruled Iberia<\/a>.<\/p>\n For three days, residents stage mock battles between Christian and Muslim armies, spending thousands on elaborate costumes to take part in what remains the city\u2019s defining annual event.<\/p>\n Today, around 12%<\/a> of Alcoy\u2019s 62,000 residents were born outside Spain, with Moroccans the largest group. Yet Muslims are largely absent from the festival itself.<\/p>\n The pageant is organised through fil\u00e0s, long-established social clubs that stage the performances. While they do not formally exclude Muslims, membership is limited, often passed down through families, and subject to long waiting lists.<\/p>\n In practice, that structure has meant that Muslim residents \u2014 now a significant part of the city \u2014 are largely left out of the festival. The question is not only whether they are welcome, but whether they are able to take part at all.<\/p>\n Among Alcoy\u2019s Muslim residents, reactions to the festival vary. Fatima Toutouh, 18, said her community is not invited to take part.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not mean anything to us, even though it is about what happened to Muslims and Christians and it shaped our history,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Others, like Rau Maissae, 23, who moved from Morocco<\/a> three years ago, would like to join in.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is fun and it is a big part of the community. I would quite like to be part of this,\u201d Maissae said. \u201cFor me this is something that anyone can join in and it does not have to be about religion.\u201d<\/p>\n Some describe a more ambivalent position.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any problem with the festival. But others are using it to celebrate a conflict between Christians and Muslims,\u201d said Hassana Bichiri, 48. \u201cIt has been misused by some groups for racist<\/a> ends.\u201d<\/p>\n These views point to a central tension: a festival built around the defeat of Muslims remains central to the city\u2019s identity, even as Muslims make up a growing and established part of the community.<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s historical framing has also taken on renewed political significance.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s far-right Vox party<\/a> has repeatedly drawn on the imagery of the Reconquista in its messaging, presenting it as a symbol of national identity in opposition to immigration, including in campaign materials invoking Christian conquest and medieval battles.<\/p>\n In Alcoy, organisers insist the festival itself is not political. But the symbolism it draws on has become part of a wider national conversation.<\/p>\n Javier Ortega Smith<\/a> \u2014 a former Vox spokesperson recently expelled from the party for WhatsApp messages critical of its leadership \u2014 attended this year\u2019s festival alongside other politicians, including Diana Morant, Spain\u2019s Socialist Party science minister. Locals said his presence was not unusual in a festival that regularly attracts figures from across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n Francisco Garc\u00eda, president of the San Jorge Association<\/a>, which organises the event, said all residents are welcome to take part.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a religious festival. It simply commemorates an event in our past,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Muslim people from Alcoy want to be part of it, they are welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n However, in practice, who takes part is shaped by the long-standing system of local fil\u00e0s.<\/p>\n Participant Jorge Ba\u00f1os does not see why this might be seen as excluding.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone can take part, but local people are traditionally involved,\u201d he said. \u201cMuslim people do not want to join. They keep themselves to themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n But that view is contested. Some Muslim residents say they would like to take part but face barriers to joining the groups that organise the festival.<\/p>\n For others, the issue is not only participation, but how Muslims are represented within the festival itself.<\/p>\n Some participants portraying Muslim characters wear blackface-style makeup \u2014 a practice that has drawn criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cI see the blackface custom as something ugly as it makes people of colour seem like something bad and it can be exploited by some in this day and age,\u201d said Bichiri, who has lived in Spain for nearly 30 years.<\/p>\n Others defend the practice as historical re-enactment.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless people take offence, there is no problem with this,\u201d said a spokesman for the Spanish Union of Islamic Communities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Organisers similarly reject accusations of racism, saying the costumes are intended as respectful representations.<\/p>\n Other elements of the festival have been adapted. A statue of Saint George killing the Moors at a local church is now covered with flowers during the celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not because we have had complaints. We do it so as not to offend Muslims,\u201d said Ba\u00f1os.<\/p>\n![\"Dancers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/02-moros-y-cristianos.jpg\")
Ballet dancers form part of the Christian captain\u2019s retinue. Alcoy, April 2026. Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/03-moros-y-cristianos.jpg\")
A woman poses for a photograph at the gates of the festival castle. The inscription, written in Arabic, reads: \u201cPraise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.\u201d Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/04-moros-y-cristianos.jpg\")
The conductor of the festival anthem receives the baton from Mateo Vilaplana Blaak, Sant Jordiet 2026, currently based in London. To his left stands Diana Morant, Spain\u2019s science minister. Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/05-moros-y-cristianos.jpg\")
The main square fills with spectators as Sant Jordiet appears atop the festival castle, accompanied by a fireworks display. Photography for Hyphen by Jordi Arques<\/p>\n