Santa Ana

I knew I would like Tudela before I even arrived for one simple reason: each summer they have a week long fiesta in honor of Santa Ana that starts on my birthday! I've always thought July 24th was the most important day of the year ;) And what´s not to like about a place where everyone agrees with me!

So what is Santa Ana? A week-long party is the short answer, but its really so much more than that. It's a week to celebrate Tudela: it´s past, present, and future, all of the unique traditions, culture, music of this town in any form they may take. There is a calendar of events for everyone from kids to grandparents about 20 pages long, stretching from 6 am to 4 am every day for a week straight: bulls, concerts, dances, a huge fairgrounds set up along the river, there's even a competition to see which Tudelano can gain the most weight during the week (with a leg of jamón as the prize) or grow the best tomate feo, one of Tudela´s prized crops. It´s an explosion of Navarran pride, the little sister of San Fermin in Pamplona (but minus the post-Hemingway tourists), a week of magical, overwhelming madness.

July 24th, the town wakes early, dressed all in white (the official fiestas uniform, complete with a red belt and red pañuelico) for an almuerzo (an early lunch) with friends and family before heading to the square at noon for the chupinazo, the official start of fiestas. The cries of "Viva Navarra! Viva Santa Ana! Viva Tudela!" are followed by the cohete (rocket). Only once the rocket has exploded and can the pañuelico be tied around your neck!

The best birthday party EVER

Viva Navarra! Viva Santa Ana! Viva Tudela!

This photo only begins to capture the number of people crammed into the square!

No te vayas de Navarra

I wrote this post back in July, heartbroken at the thought of leaving Tudela. But fate intervened and my last weekend in Tudela, I got an email: a spot in Tudela had just opened up, I could stay if I wanted to. It took all of about half a second to realize I didn't want to go to Madrid. Now that the dust is finally settling (turns out changing your plans at the last minute like that leads to a million logistical nightmares), I finally have time to get this posted, my goodbye to Tudela turned list of reasons why I can´t wait to be back in September!

Tudela. Its charming casco antiguo with perfectly cobblestoned streets, the colorful houses, and tiny plazas filled with fountains or statues.

Even the parts of Tudela´s casco antiguo that are falling into disrepair still manage to enchant, the run down houses converted into the perfect canvas for works of art.

The Plaza de Fueros, the heart of the town, beautiful every day of the year whether its glowing with Christmas lights during winter or bathed in sunlight on a perfect March spring day or packed with red and white during Fiestas in July. The gazebo adorned with the names of famous Navarrans, the tiles depicting the coats of arms of the surrounding towns in the Ribera, the umbrella covered terraces where I could sit for hours with a mosto or iced coffee or caña, just watching the steady stream of Tudelanos on their way to and from school, work, shopping, going about their daily life.