Calpe is preparing to celebrate its patron saint's feasts in honour of the Virgen de las Nieves, one of the city's most traditional and warmest. Musical performances, evening events and orchestras in the Plaza Mayor and, above all, "els bous al carrer" (bulls in the street) are the most characteristic acts of these festivities, which will take place from 31 July to 11 August. Moreover, this year is the first time that these festivals and the Castell a la Mar fireworks take place, after it has been declared a festival of tourist interest of the province.

The festive programme begins today at 8 pm with the "entrà de la murta", in which the members of the committee walk through the streets of the municipality dressed in typical costumes and distribute flowers.

On the 4th of August, in the parish church, the offering to the Virgen de las Nieves takes place and on the 5th of August, the biggest day of the festival is celebrated. On this day there is a solemn mass in honour of the patron saint and a large mascletá (firecracker) at noon, and at dusk a procession with the image of the Virgen de las Nieves takes place, which leads through the streets of the old town. At midnight, the spectacular Castell a la Mar on Bol Beach.

The celebratio culminate with a whole week of "bous al carrer" (from 7 to 11 August), the traditional spectacle in which the bulls run through the streets of the municipality amidst the joy of the most courageous runners.

Take a look at the program

The Calpe City Council will tighten the monitoring and control of cuttings and irregular rubble containers by private individuals and companies after the repeated presence of this type of spill has been confirmed around containers and in areas not intended for this purpose.

The size and disperson of the urban area favours the deposition of uncontrolled waste and building rubble complicates its orderly collection. For this reason, and in order to avoid health problems, the local police have been instructed to be extremely vigilant in all cases of uncontrolled dumping and to identify and, if necessary, punish the persons who undertake such dumping.

Private individuals can deposit their cuttings in the Punto Blanco on the Avenida del País Valencià. In the case of gardeners and other professionals in the sector, they must take their cuttings to the authorised landfill. It is strictly forbidden to dispose of this type of waste on public roads, land or open spaces, whether public or private.

Calpe has received two grants for social services from the Diputación Provincial. These are a grant of 24,876 € for the SAD and a second grant of 22,716 € for individual emergency situations.

The primary objective of SAD is to improve the quality of life of older people or people with limited personal autonomy and to promote their life in their own home or familiar environment. This is a family care service that responds to situations of personal, psychological and social disadvantage.

The SAD consists of a total of six well-trained helpers and a team leader. The team makes home visits to facilitate daily life, such as eating, clothing, personal hygiene, mobility and personal care (medication control, postural problems) and to provide support in family and social life (home organization, accompaniment).  The aim is to promote the acquisition of habits and skills that improve the autonomy of dependent persons.

As far as individual benefits are concerned, these are exceptional economic aids designed to alleviate situations in which people may find themselves affected by a state of vulnerability or a risk of social exclusion. The aid is intended to cover the costs of basic needs or exceptional expenses in cases of serious social need.

Calpe City Council members and citizens observed this morning a minute's silence outside the doors of the Town Hall to express their rejection of what is probably the last case of gender-based violence in the city.

The Mayor of Calpe, Ana Sala, has expressed her "repulsion and condemnation" for the alleged murder of a woman by her partner, both of Belgian nationality, who had been registered in the municipality only four months earlier.

She recalled that this is the fourth murder by gender-based violence to be registered in Calpe since 2011. It is also the fourth case to have occurred in the province of Alicante and 35 in Spain since the beginning of 2019. At the same time, the mayor has conveyed her "deepest sympathy" to the victim's relatives.

The city council has also decreed two days of official mourning and decreed that the flags in public buildings be waved at half-mast.