Calp faces 2026 as the 50th anniversary of its Moors and Christians festivities, with the goal of strengthening its cultural and tourist profile while maintaining the essence that has driven its growth since 1976. Recognized as a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest and aspiring to achieve National status, this anniversary is seen as an opportunity to explain the festival beyond the parades. To this end, the City Council and the Moors and Christians Association have created a commemorative commission to promote extraordinary events as well as cultural and promotional actions throughout 2026 and 2027.
The core element that defines this “difference” is El Miracle (The Miracle), a dramatized narrative that combines documented history and popular legend. The performance reenacts the episode from October 22, 1744, when an incursion of Barbary corsairs threatened the town. The action takes place in the Plaza Mayor, featuring a wooden castle that symbolizes the Portalet. The atmosphere is charged with the cry “Foc en Ifac!” (Fire in Ifach!), while the audience—residents and visitors alike—surrounds the scene, reliving the tension between the threat and the resistance.
At the center of the story are Moncófar, the traitor who guides the invaders, and the Parlamento (Parliament), a verbal duel between ambassadors that leads to arquebuses and battle. The decisive moment arrives when Caragol manages to close the gates of the Portalet, an act attributed to the protection of the Patron Saint, causing the threat to crumble. El Miracle is moving because it functions as a collective “mirror”: it transforms the square into a space of shared memory and allows the community to recognize itself at the exact moment the gates close and the festival finds its true meaning.