Identity plays. Festivals of Moors and Christians as diffusers of a national historical narrative

Abstract

The festivals of Moors and Christians exist in many Spanish regions and constitute one of the most important moments for these villages and cities during the year. Taking the example of the festivals in Alcoi (Alicante), this article analyses its history since the nineteenth century as a case study for “invention of tradition”, following the concept of the historian Eric Hobsbawm. Beyond its carnivalesque character, the festivals have exerted an educative function in popularizing historical narratives and have tried to create a sense of local and national identities for a broad public, including the school.