ARCHIVED - 20th to 29th September Romans and Carthaginians fiestas in Cartagena

Fiestas de Carthagineses y Romanos Cartagena 2019

This colourful and enjoyable festival celebrates the history which shaped the Region of Murcia, and Cartagena in particular, into what it is today. There are footprints of the Iberian tribe who occupied this land, the Carthaginians who sought refuge here as the Romans decimated their culture and the Romans themselves, and for the duration of this festival the city is filled with the sounds of marching feet, the cries of battle and the tastes and scents of sacred rituals and celebrations.

Its hugely popular with ex-pats and their visitors, who enjoy watching the parades and activities, visiting the encampment (where 48 separate groups will be setting up their headquarters for the ten-day duration of the fiestas), the artisan fair and the big fairground which accompany this event, and visiting the rest of Cartagena during the week.

See below for background information, location information, and the full programme below it.

As always, there have been changes to the programme from previous editions.

Programme for the Romans and Carthaginians 2019

Friday 20th September

12:00 Prelude to the opening speeches throughout the centre of the city

15:00 Iter Ignitun. The sacred flame is lit alongside the lighthouse of cabo de Palos then carried in a relay by runners, arriving at the Cerro del Molinete between 19:00 and 19:30.

19:30 to 20:15 El fuego sagrado en el templo de Isis taking place in the original temple of Isis on the Cerro del Molinete, In this first representation the native Iberians invoke the sacred fire and remember the splendour of Qart Hadast, the Punic City which was invaded by the Romans and became Carthago Nova.

From here, the participants move down from the Molinete Park to the Roman Theatre Museum via Plaza San Francisco, Calle Honda, Puerta de Murcia and Calle Mayor where the second part of the act takes place.

20:15 to 21:00 Invocación de la triada capitalina. In this act Roman Soldiers beseech the gods to look favourably on the festivities to follow.

21:00 to 22:00 The Pregón, or official opening speech of the fiestas, is given to around 2,000 costumed participants in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento from the balcony of the Palacio Consistorial.

22:00. The participants march together from the plaza del Ayuntamiento in an informal parade towards the festival encampment near the football stadium and Eroski hypermarket, which will be open all week.

Route: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Calle  Mayor, Puerta de Murcia, Calle Carmen, Plaza de España, Alameda de San Antón, Soldado Rosique, across the bridge and into the encampment.

23.00: Official opening of the festival encampment, and official switching on of the lights. The big fairground is open alongside the encampment for entertainment throughout the week.

Saturday 21st September

11:30 to 12:00 Children's entertainment in the Plaza San Francisco prior to the children's activities.

The Founding of Qart Hadasht.

This is a 2-part theatrical representation, taking place in two different venues. It commemorates the agreement between the Carthaginians and the Mastian tribe, in which the Carthaginians took peaceful control of the city and renamed it Qart-Hadasht.

12.00 to 13.00: The children’s version of the Founding of Qart Hadasht is staged in the Plaza San Francisco

20.30 to 21.30 : The First Act of the Founding of Qart-Hadasht, the death of Hamílcar Barca and the naming of Hasdrúbal as General and heir. The Carthaginian army wait at the gates of Mastia, discontented, complaining amongst themselves, unsure whether they will enter the gates or not. This First Act is performed on a stage set up in the port area opposite the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

21.25 to 21.30 The Carthaginian flag is raised in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento

21.45 to 22.00 : The Second Act of the Founding of Qart-Hadasht, and naming of Hasdrúbal. Mastia decides to accept the Carthaginian army and the protection it offers and Hasdrubal is named the protector of the city Qart-Hadasht, formerly Mastia. This takes place in the Cerro del Molinete at the top of the archaeological park and on the site of the former palace of General Hasdrubal.

22.00 to 23.00 March to the fiestas encampment departing from the Cerro del Molinete

Sunday 22nd September, Rome turns its attention to the Carthaginians

12.30 to 14.00: Venue: Plaza del Ayuntamiento. During the event known as the “Dies Lustricus Nasciturus” the youngest and newest members are welcomed into their festival family, in a symbolic act in front of the Town Hall, each child marking his or her fingerprint onto a certificate. It’s a moving and heartwarming ceremony and can easily be combined with a visit to one of the attractions in Cartagena.

19.00 to 20.00: Living chess alongside the stage in the port area

20.30 to 21.30: Performance: The destruction of Sagunto, taking place on the stage in the port. The Carthaginians have committed the unthinkable and crossed the river Ebro to storm the city of Sagunto, breaking the treaty established with Rome for peace. This means only one thing: the spark which set off the second Punic wars and war between Rome and Carthage.

21.30 to 22.30: The Roman Senate in full session on the stage alongside the port of Cartagena.

Monday 23rd September

21.00 to 22.00: The Wedding of Hannibal and Himilce on the stage alongside the port of Cartagena. This is a theatrical representation of the acts leading up to the wedding and is about an hour and a half long. It’s quite interesting to watch, with lots of special effects, but is in Spanish.

Hannibal is used as a political pawn in an alliance forged with the Iberian tribes who occupied the lands around Jaén and were powerful allies for the Carthaginians. He is betrothed to a girl he has never met, a marriage of convenience, the Princess Himilce, daughter of the great Iberian king named Mucro. In this version, they meet and although attraction is not immediate, grow to love each other and celebrate the wedding.

(The real version is they met at the wedding, got married, and he disappeared off to kill Romans, so it wasn’t quite so idealistic, but this version makes for better theatre.)

22.30 to 23.30 March to the encampment

23.30: Wedding celebrations for members of the fiestas groups and federations in the encampment.

Tuesday 24th September

11.00: The annual Roman bicycle ride through the city. There is no actual historical evidence to suggest that the Romans were actually great cycling fans(!!!!), but this event has become a part of the Cartagena fiestas over the last few years and is always well supported. Leaving from the festival encampment.

19.30 to 30.30 La Noche de Asteria: Punic rituals in the Auditorio Parque Torres

21.00 to 22.30: “Oráculo de la diosa Tanit”, the Oracle of the goddess Tanit, in the open air auditorium in the Parque Torres

This is a melodramatic and spectacular version of the visit by Himilce to the oracle to ask about the future of her husband’s campaign against the Romans.It was common in Roman society to pay a visit to the oracle, who would see into the future and advise on business enterprises, wars, family undertakings and unions, and in this case the oracle foresees woe, woe, woe.

Wednesday 25th September

19.30 Inauguration of the Roman market in the Parque Vallejo Alberola Alberola (next to the football stadium).This includes lots of artisan items and food, and will remain open in the evenings during the festivities.

18.30 to 20.00: A grand children’s party, featuring the trials of Aspar versus Ludi Romani, games for youngsters in the festival encampment.

22.30 to 23.00: The Feriae Latino fiesta in the encampment, including gastronomoic delights to be sampled by members of the public. This is focused on the celebrations of the festival of Jupiter which would have lasted three days in the Roman world. In this act, the Roman legionnaires offer hospitality to those visiting their encampment, so there are lots of different bits of entertainment, music and free food on offer all over the fiesta encampment. The aim of the evening is just to enjoy yourself!

Thursday 26th September

11.00 to 12.00 Children's parade from Calle del Carmen to Plaza de España and on to Plaza San Francisco

12.00 to 14.00 Children's entertainment and activities in Plaza san Francisco

12.00 Swearing in of the junior Hannibal

The main events today commemorate Hannibal’s march on Rome with an enormous army and his elephants. Fired up by his successful attack on Sagunto, Hannibal decides to take on the Romans in their own heartland and attack Rome itself. Troops land in the port area, Hannibal contracts the mercenaries and the new army march through the streets. This army actually comprised over 100,000 infantry, 12,000 horsemen and 37 elephants. The reality is that it would have also been accompanied by a large entourage of wagons and camp followers - feeding and caring for an army of that size, travelling by foot would have been an enormous logistical nightmare, and in the end was his downfall, over-extending his capabilities instead of defending his home, although the demise and death of Hannibal is still several years in the future. In the end, this one decision to attack Rome doomed the Carthaginians as a nation to oblivion.

20.30 to 21.30: The Carthaginian army land in the port and hire mercenaries from the Iberian tribes across Spain. Taking place in the principal port area of Cartagena.

21.45: Parade of Hannibal and his troops leaving for Rome. Route from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento to the fiesta encampment.

23.59 Theatrical act: Designio de los dioses. The Carthaginian troops swear to defend Cartagena (at this point Qart Hadasht) in a ceremony which takes place in the encampment.

The Roman market and funfair are open in the evening in the Parque Vallejo Alberola Alberola (next to the football stadium and encampment).This includes lots of artisan items and food, and will remain open in the evenings during the festivities.

Friday 27th September

This is the day of the big battle. Today the Romans land and take the city for themselves. Hannibal is away with the army, the city is vulnerable and the Romans attack. By the end of the day, they have taken the city, they march in triumph and the city of Qart-Hadasht no longer exists. It is now Carthago Nova, a Roman city, and will remain so for several hundred years to come.

Many visitors say that this is their favourite part of the fiesta. There’s a big mock battle, smoke, fire, writhing bodies and lots of shouting and running around. Every year various innovations and novelties are introduced, and this year there are several major changes to the format of the battle, with more set moves, and betrayal as forces fighting for the Carthaginians desert to join the Romans.

10.45 to 11.45: Sea battle in the port of Cartagena aboard rowing boats. This starts off seriously, but normally ends with lots of splashing and everyone in the water. Non-costumed.

17.00 to 18.00 The Roman army disembarks in the port, (on the main stage) and the troops then march down to the Cuesta (alongside the wall) for the battle.

18:00 to 19.30 The Battle for Qart Hadasht.

This takes place on the Cuesta del Batel (the green patch of land running around the base of the city walls), and the best advice is to get there in plenty of time to grab a patch of grass, as it gets very crowded. Anywhere in the middle zone is best as the two armies mass at separate ends of the field and then the battle is in the middle. Seats are sold for the main seating stand in the centre.

19:45 to 20.00 The Romans, as history demands, win, and an official victory ceremony takes place in the port stage area. Hostages taken in the battle are freed and crowns of victory are awarded to the most valient soldiers, the first to scale the walls of the City. Roman rule is then proclaimed and the city is renamed Carthago Nova while the Roman flag is raised in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento

20.15 to 20.25: Proclamation of Roman rule and raising of the Roman flag in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento

20:30 to 22.30 Grand victory parade. Route: From the Cuesta del Batel to the encampment. This year the parade will be even more spectacular than usual, with more floats and more special effects. The parade is being limited to two and a half hours, so every effort will be made to move the troops through quicker than in the past. This is a hugely popular event for tourists and is well attended. Tickets are sold for the seats, although there are plenty of places to stand and watch the parade pass.

23.00: Victory party in the encampment.

The Roman market and funfair are open in the evening in the Parque Vallejo Alberola Alberola (next to the football stadium and encampment).This includes lots of artisan items and food, and will remain open in the evenings during the festivities.

Saturday 28th September

13.30 to 14.00: Homage is paid to Roman soldiers who fell in battle at the Torreciega monument in the outskirts of Cartagena.

19.00: The last  grand parade, featuring all the troops and legionnaires as well as floats and carriages. Route: Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Calle Mayor, Puerta de Murcia, Calle del Carmen, Plaza de España, Alameda de San Antón, Soldado Rosique, Puente Carthagonova and into the encampment.

The Roman market and funfair are open in the evening in the Parque Vallejo Alberola Alberola (next to the football stadium and encampment).This includes lots of artisan items and food, and will remain open in the evenings during the festivities.

Sunday 29th September

12.30 Munera Gladiatorio- Taking place in the portable bullring erected alongside the Eroski supermarket; the gladiators battle

18.00 to 20.00 Grand circus Máximus "The blood of heroes" in the portable bullring alongside the Eroki supremarket by the encampment

20.30 Act of the victory of Rome in the festival encampment

22.00: The sacred flame, as at the Olympic Games, is extinguished in the encampment.

22.30: A spectacular firework display marks the end of the Cartagineses y Romanos fiestas in the encampment.

The history behind the Cartagineses y Romanos 

A "Janet and John" guide to who is who.

What is now the Region of Murcia was once an important stop-off point in the trading routes of the Phoenicians, a great trading nation who established business links throughout the Mediterranean, sailing along these coasts with cargos of raw materials and trade goods. Their presence is recorded by three boats which sank in the region’s waters around 600 BC (click for more info, Following the Phoenicians in Murcia) and it is likely that these people traded in what is now Cartagena: it is certainly known that they were operating in Mazarrón and Águilas at this time.

They originally came from what is now modern day Lebanon, but were driven out of their homeland by invaders, and settled in many of their trading colonies, founding a great city called Carthage on the African coast. The people of this city were known as the Carthaginians.     

By 250 BC, the Romans were set on becoming the most powerful nation in the known world, and embarked on a series of devastating wars, the Punic Wars, in which they attempted to take control of the trading routes and ports occupied by the Carthaginians.

These wars eventually drove the Carthaginians down along the Spanish and African coast to their trading settlements, one of which was run by a powerful tribe called the Mastians who ruled large swathes of land, in a sheltered natural cove, which is believed at this time to have been called Mastia (now Cartagena).

Although undoubtedly the Carthaginians had been trading in this area for centuries, and may have had a population already established here, they were now being forced to establish new settlements for their people.

In 223 BC Hamilcar Barca, from the powerful  Carthaginian family of the Barcas, landed in Mastia with an army, proposing to the chief of the tribe that they "move in to the settlement and help to protect it against the Roman armies," and, given that the army was considerably larger and better equipped than their own, the Mastians conceded and accepted a peaceful takeover.

The Carthaginians decided new beginnings should have a new name, so re-named the settlement, Kart-Hadath or Qart-Hadasht, which later evolved to become Cartagena.

Now the Romans had plans for world domination, but even an empire as mighty as that of Rome has its limitations. The Romans occupied large tracts of Spain, which provided them with invaluable mineral exports, olive oil and esparto grass, so rather than spread their troops too thinly across Europe, the Romans decided to negotiate a settlement with the Carthaginians that they would stay north of the River Ebro within their own settlement of Sagunto, further along the Spanish coast, and would not come further south.

The Carthaginians agreed and there was peace, but only for a short time.

Humans will be humans, and amongst the Carthaginians was a man named Hasdrubal, a general who was the son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca, and who assumed command of the colony when Hamilcar died. His armies were commanded by a General called Hannibal, who could have been his son, although no-one is completely sure, a man who refused to hold treaty with the Romans and wanted to continue the fight.

So in 219 BC he marched right along the coast, attacked Sagunto, and took the city from the Romans.

Hot on the trail of Roman blood, Hannibal then departed for Italy across the Alps in 217 BC with his famous elephants, 100,000 infantry and 12,000 horsemen, but although he achieved one great victory he failed to actually attack Rome, even though his campaign lasted for several years. Thousands of his men died and deserted and his army fell apart, his absence leaving the door open for the Romans.

His departure had left the city vulnerable and short of troops, and in 209 BC the Romans attacked Qart Hadasht.

At this time, the settlement stood on a series of small hills contained inside a city wall and surrounded by a shallow lagoon and the sea.

Roman invaders waded across the lagoon and attacked front and back, the city fell, was looted, burnt, then rebuilt as a great and important Roman settlement. The Roman Theatre, the Casa de Fortuna and many other wonderfully preserved remains date from this period of re-building.

Carthago Nova, modern day Cartagena, emerged from the ashes of Hannibal’s thirst for Roman blood as the city which we can now discover through its historical sites and this fiesta.

A more detailed account of the History of Cartagena can be read here; Click History of Cartagena.

Locations

The fiesta encampment

The fiesta participants are based in an encampment on the grounds by the Cartagonova football stadium, near the Eroski supermarket. Here they have a wonderful encampment with artisans and handicrafts, each group building its own area where they can mix socially, eat, drink and enjoy themselves during the week. Some of the structures are remarkable, colossal statues towering over the encampment, with columns and pillars all over the place: very atmospheric, and a must-visit location for any trip to the Fiestas.

The market opens on Wednesday evening and is open in the evenings until the close of the fiestas.

There is also a large fairground at this location, with plenty of food and drink available.

Look at the map on the link. There are several ways to get to the stadium which is on a large piece of open ground in the Rambla area in front of the Eroski supermarket. Click for map, Estadio Cartagonova. There is plenty of parking near to the stadium.

Most of the other locations are along the waterfront in the port, between the Cuesta de Batel, past the cruise ship terminal and to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

A list of car parks is provided below, and if you are coming into any of the events within the city, it is advisable to park in the port car park, or the two car parks in Calle Real, which are the nearest. The processions take a route towards the encampment, in which case visitors could also park in the Plaza de España car park and watch it pass along that route. There is also parking for high topped vehicles near to the Plaza de Toros, although this involves a 10-minute walk to the centre.

Alternatively, those intending to visit the festival encampment or watch the conclusion of the parades, will find plenty of parking around the stadium. Click for Cartagena car parks.

Most of the events in the city are in front of the Town hall, or in the port area opposite the Plaza Heroes de Cavité where stages are set up. Link to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Tourist maps are available from the office on the corner of the Palacio Consistorial in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Enquiries should be directed to the tourist office.

Visitors to the fiestas may also enjoy visiting the Roman Theatre Museum, the principal Roman attraction in the city, located in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and very close to the principal settings for these festivities.