Theatrical performance of the finding of the Virgin
The performance has been taking place since 1971.
In September 1971, at the suggestion of the Patron Saint Festival Committee, which wanted to stage a reenactment of the Discovery of Our Patron Saint, a group of amateur actors from the town square were enlisted to perform the event, with a script written by the Honorable Pere Maria Orts i Bosch. This reenactment has been performed uninterruptedly ever since.
The text written by Pere Maria Orts i Bosch was published in 1972 in Valencia as a 28-page booklet entitled “Arribada d’una imatge de la Verge a Benidorm” (Arrival of an Image of the Virgin in Benidorm). In 1997, the Alicante Provincial Council’s Tourism Board published another edition.
Pere Maria Orts i Bosch found documentation in the Simancas archives about the true history of the Virgin of the Suffrage and then wrote the script for the reenactment.
The actors are members of the Barqueta brotherhood.
From the initial 26 actors, the group has now grown to almost 70, including adults and children.
Declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest in 2015
Pere Mª. Orts asked José Bayona Vives, the President of La Barqueta, to play the role of his ancestor, Antonio Bayona, the owner of the lute. José Bayona played this role from 1971 to 1988, and his son, Antonio Bayona, has done so since 1988.
The number of Benidorm residents and visitors attending the reenactment grew steadily over the years, and as a result of its success, in 2009 this reenactment of the arrival of the Virgin Mary was declared a “Festival of Provincial Tourist Interest” by the Valencian Regional Government. Later, in 2015, it was declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest.
Last year, 2023, given the large crowds, the Festival Committee listened to two long-standing requests from La Barqueta and implemented them. Screens are being installed in Elche park so that more people can see the discovery live, a thunderous barrage of fireworks at the apparition of the Virgin.
The reenactment takes place in November.
The reenactment takes place in November, but since the arrival of the image occurred in March (March 16, 1740), the event is commemorated that day with a procession in which an image of the Virgin is carried from the Barqueta headquarters to the Paseo Colón, at the beginning of Poniente Beach. This is the place where, according to tradition, the boat carrying the image was towed and the children found it intact among the ashes.
The audio recording of the discovery was already old and of poor quality. Since it was impossible to re-record it, the decision was made to remaster and clean it. This work has been completed.
The discovery had been planned for 20 years with the intention of covering the park wall with a large mural depicting more houses, a mural created by Ribes Sogord, to give it greater depth.
Theatrical performance
