Moors and Christians Festival (with the night beach landing 'El Desembarco')
Villajoyosa's biggest fiesta and one of the most spectacular in Spain, declared of International Tourist Interest. A week of lavish Moorish and Christian parades culminates in the famous 'Desembarco' before dawn on 28 July, when around 30-35 boats land on the beach to re-enact the 1538 invasion amid cannon fire, gunpowder and fireworks against the sea. It closes with the Santa Marta celebrations and a giant paella.
For the last week of July, Villajoyosa hands its streets to two rival armies. Festive companies parade through town in extraordinary costumes, each captain led by a band thumping out pasodobles, the rivalry building over several days. Pace yourself, though, because the real reason to be here happens in the dark.
Around 3am on 28 July, some 35 galleys flying crescent flags row in towards the central beach to re-stage the 1538 Moorish raid. By half past four the Christians are down on the sand, cannons and arquebuses going off, smoke over the water and fireworks overhead. A Moorish envoy rows in with a parchment demanding surrender; the Christians tear it up and the gunfire resumes. Stay on for the Santa Marta mass, the paella contest on the 30th, and the children's floats that close things out.
Source: https://turismolavilajoiosa.com/es/Disfruta/FiestaMorosYCristianos