The Burial of the Sardine is a magical festivity worth visiting

It is a pagan festival in which mythology and fire are mixed, and above all, an overflowing joy that invades every corner of Murcia.

The “Entierro de la Sardina” is a unique and original celebration in the Spring Festivities of the city

Declared International Tourist Interest, this festivity closes the Spring Festivities on the Saturday following Resurrection Sunday. Together with the Bando de la Huerta, it is the other great festivity of Murcia. It is a pagan parade in which mythology and fire are mixed, and above all, an overflowing joy that invades every corner of Murcia.

The parade is several kilometers long and consists of two distinct parts; a headboard with charangas, comparsas (musical groups walking through the streets), animation groups, the articulated dragon of Conte that, for decades, has impressed spectators by throwing fire through the mouth, giants and big-headed; and a second part composed of floats dedicated to the Gods of the Olympus that, adorned with allusive motifs, accompany the sardine to its burning next to the Town Hall.

Thousands of toys, of all imaginable forms, are handed out from the floats, including the whistle that everyone sounds.

Burial of the Sardine Parade - Tourism in Murcia

Burial of the Sardine Sardine Groups - Tourism in Murcia

That day Murcia attracts tens of thousands of visitors

The organization of the festival is carried out by the ‘Sardine Groups’, who during the previous days extraordinarily animate the city with its small parades. In particular, on Saturday morning, on the boulevard of Alfonso X the Wise, where a crowd and informal parade takes place.

That day Murcia attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the Region and from many other provinces fascinated by a festival that spreads joy to the city.

At the end of the parade the sardine is burned under a sky lit by impressive fireworks

At the end of the parade, with no fixed hour but already in the early morning, the sardine, a cardboard-stone monument similar to those used in the Falles, is burned in a purifying fire under a spring sky lit by impressive fireworks.

The Burial of the Sardine is accompanied by various festivities that are held the week of Spring Festivities. The most striking one is the Testament of the Sardine, the night before the parade. "Doña Sardina", embodied in a woman chosen by the Sardineros, reads the will from the balcony of the Town Hall, alluding in a humorous way to facts and characters of public life.

The origin of this holiday in Murcia dates back to the 19th century and was celebrated before Lent. Over time, it has varied its date of celebration, but it has not lost its carnival character.