'Terra de Festes' Congress brings together authorities and representatives of the main festivities of the Community in Benidorm

A packed Assembly Hall of Benidorm City Council hosted this morning the first 'Terra de Festes' Congress organized by the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP), an event in which the main cultural and festive organizations of the Community have participated. Valencian to share experiences and knowledge about festivities and traditions as an economic engine and social cohesion of the Valencian people.

The Congress has also served to reflect on the role of festivals and traditions, intangible cultural assets, as elements of cultural identity, in addition to positioning the Terra de Festes brand in the market and, consequently, the Valencian Community with its festivals and traditions. most notable and establish the guidelines to internationalize our festivals and traditions.

Among those present at the event were the mayor of Benidorm and president of the Alicante Provincial Council, Toni Pérez, members of the local corporation, the president of the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP) and mayor of Requena, Rocío Cortés, as well as such as the general secretary of the Federation, Miguel Bailach, the general director of Culture, Sergio Arlandis, and numerous authorities among which were the regional deputies Javier Gutiérrez, José Ramón González de Zárate, Manuel Pérez Fenoll and Mario Villar, general directors, mayors of numerous municipalities in the Community, representatives of the main festivals of the region and local ones. Also, of course, the greatest exponents of the city's Patron Major Festivities queens Angélica Morenilla and Daniela Talavera, accompanied by the new president of the Commission, María Dolores Cano.

At the congress, the launch of Terra de Festes app and web portal was announced, you can download the most complete calendar of festivals in the Community, which will allow you to learn about everything the region offers and be able to plan a visit.

At the inauguration, Mayor Toni Pérez thanked the FVMP and the Generalitat "for having launched this congress" and highlighted that the Community "is a land of parties." For this reason, Pérez stated that “when we talk about parties our eyes light up. In hundreds of municipalities, the festival in any of its expressions brings us happiness and coexistence.” Furthermore, he has noted, “it is an economic engine.” In his opinion, the festivals “can show the best of the municipalities.”

The mayor has highlighted the fact that in the Valencian Community, seven festivals are Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 13 Festivals of International Tourist Interest, 24 of National Tourist Interest and another 10 of Local Interest. “With that sum, we can almost enjoy every weekend of the year an attraction that must be valued and that is a driving force for growth and sustainability,” he said before emphasizing that the festival “also has a cultural aspect that makes us very unique, and which is especially evident in the Valencian Community. Is the music; “No one would understand the party without music, which is culture.”

For her part, Rocío Cortés has indicated that “the festivals are a fundamental part of our cultural identity, a reflection of our history and way of being.” For this reason, she has considered that “it is not only important to maintain traditions, but to evolve, to change with new technologies.” From there, she has continued "the importance of conferences like this, in which the speakers tell us their experiences and the mayors can share their traditions to improve their festivities."

Finally, the president of the FVMP has expressed the desire that the body she presides “lay the first stone for municipalism to champion the world of parties” because they are “a backbone from which many people live.”