La Semana Grande Fireworks

What do competitive fireworks look like? First, they are done without music. It is all about the explosions and the visuals. Second, they take place on several levels: there are fireworks just above the ground, some that go up to a middle altitude and others that go to the high altitudes, which is what we are used to seeing during a fireworks show. Finally, they involve A LOT of fireworks - each night lasted from 15-20 minutes of almost constant fireworks.

We did not see the fireworks every night, and several nights we watched from a vantage point that only allowed us to see the fireworks at the middle and high altitudes. But, on two nights we stood on the walkway above La Concha (the main beach in San Sebastian) and had a great view of everything. First thing to note is that literally tens of thousands of people come out to see these fireworks. Here is a shot of just some of the people watching from the beach:

The lighted building with the two towers is City Hall and the lighted statue to the left of and above City Hall is Jesus on one of the hills overlooking the city.

This picture was taken from across the river:

Here is one from the walkway above the beach (notice how much is going on):

Finally, on the last night, they did a fireworks exposition, which was set to music. Strangely, the music selected was entirely in English and mostly was from American artists who died drug-related deaths: Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston and Elvis. Then they threw in a dead Brit (David Bowie) and finally a living artist named John Miles (another Brit) who we did not know. The fireworks were pretty spectacular that night (photo taken from the city center closer to launch point):

While we learned that there are official judges of the competition who determine a winner, we have not been able to find out who won yet (we are sure you are all anxious to know). Our conclusion is that the fireworks are spectacular, but after awhile they mostly look the same. At this point we are happy to be done with them.

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana