Vilagarcía de Arousa Water Festival
Every 16 August, the Festa da Auga transforms the centre of Vilagarcía de Arousa into a collective celebration of water, brass bands and popular participation. It was born spontaneously along with the San Roque procession and today it constitutes the best-known event of the patron saint's festivities.
Celebration date
The Water Festival is celebrated on 16 August, San Roque festival. It is part of larger patron saint festivities, but the water fight has its own sequence: it begins after the mass and the procession, when the image has already returned to the chapel.
The date coincides with San Roque Day, which may appear as a local holiday in the municipal work calendar. This working condition and the popular celebration are different realities and must be verified each year.
Lugar y zona húmeda
The festival is experienced in Vilagarcía de Arousa, especially in the urban environment through which the procession passes and within the zona húmeda delimited for the collective bathroom. Water is thrown from balconies and streets with buckets, guns and hoses, and fire trucks also participate.
After bathing, part of the public continues the day to the beach and the city's festive spaces. The exact delimitation and security measures depend on the device of each edition.
Also check out the festivals of Vilagarcía de Arousa.
Spontaneous origin in 1984
Tourism of Galicia places the birth of the Festa da Auga in the summer of 1984. At the end of the transfer of San Roque to its chapel, those who had carried the image asked the neighbors for water to cool off. A glass thrown from a building on San Roque Street was followed by more containers and hoses, and the scene was repeated in later years.
In the 1990s, due to growing participation, the City Council officially incorporated the celebration. Its origin therefore does not respond to an independent ancient rite, but to a popular episode that was integrated into the patron saint's festivities.
From the procession to the water fight
The day begins with the solemn mass and the massive procession of San Roque. The procession advances to the sound of the pasodoble Triunfo and the image even "dances" during the journey. Only when the saint enters the chapel is the signal given to open the Festa da Auga.
Brass bands, sirens, buckets and hoses then accompany a massive bath. The Xunta's tourist portal estimates the concentration at up to 30,000 people, a figure that reflects the size reached by the festival, not a guaranteed capacity for each edition.
Participación y recomendaciones
Neighbors, clubs, visitors, musicians, municipal services and firefighters participate. To enjoy it, it is advisable to follow the signs, enter only the authorized area, protect mobile phones and documentation, wear shoes that support the foot well and respect those who do not want to get wet outside the authorized space.
The organisation and device change from one edition to another. The container restrictions, the opening hours of the wet zone and the mobility indications must always be consulted in the Concello channels.
Tourist recognition and patron saint festivities
The Patron Saint Feasts in Honour of San Roque de Vilagarcía de Arousa are declared Interés Turístico Nacional. The Festa da Auga is one of its central events, along with the procession, the Naval Battle of fireworks and other cultural and gastronomic events in the patron's programme.