CAM Xàbia offer exceptional fiesta music concert for its 20th edition
Sunday night was filled with the music of the Moorish and Christian marches in a packed concert.
It was in 2013, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Moors and Christians fiesta in Xàbia, that the Junta de Festes (the organising committee), chaired by Jaime Ortuño (Premi Sant Jaume 2025), decided to promote the Fiesta Music Concert as a celebration of one of the main pillars of these festivities: music and the musicians who perform it.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of that first concert, and once again, it has proven that the initiative is a huge success with the public and a haven amidst the power of the celebrations in honor of Sant Jaume. The Music Band of the Centre Artístic Musical de Xàbia was responsible for guiding the audience on a journey through classic music composed for the Moros i Cristians fiesta and more innovative compositions.
In fact, one of these new scores touches Xàbia directly, as it premiered the pasodoble “Pirates de Xàbia,” a work by Antoni Catalá specifically dedicated to the Filà Pirates de Sant Jaume on the occasion of their 25th anniversary and the Captaincy they hold this year. Catalá himself took the stage to conduct the band in the presentation of this colorful and powerful composition.
The concert was divided into two distinct parts, with the participation of several conductors associated with the band and the world of fiesta music.
Under the direction of Gonzalo de la Guía, the first half of the concert featured iconic pieces such as Als Llaneros Dianers by Rafael Mullor (a dianero pasodoble), Tarde de Abril by Amando Blanquer (a Moorish march), Sala i Soler by Francisco Valor (a Christian march), Lloança by Jaume B. Santonja (a Moorish march), and Santos, Poetas y Guerreros by Enrique Igual (a symphonic Christian march poem with a reading by Joan Bou).
The second half of the evening was conducted by Antoni J. Catalá and Rubén Penadés, two musicians and composers with roots in Xàbia. Particularly noteworthy were the performances of Pirates de Xàbia (Catalá’s pasodoble), Alnahaal (Moorish march), Aidil (Christian march), and Al Nostre Fester (pasodoble), all composed by Penadés. The affection for the fiesta and local identity was evident in every measure, especially in the final encores: III Centenario and Xàbia, two pieces that brought the finishing touches to an unforgettable evening for fiesta music lovers.
The Moorish and Christian Flag Bearers, the Pirate Captains, the President of the Festival Board, the Mayor of Xàbia, and the Councilor for Festivals presented commemorative plaques to De la Guía, Catalá, Penadés, and the Artistic Music Center in gratitude for their work and collaboration.
