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While much of Spain headed to the beach on Tuesday night, Cádiz did things rather differently. As the sun dipped over one of the country's most beautiful and characterful cities, crowds began filling the squares of the historic centre, ready La Noche de San Juan and the burning of the Juanillos.

 

These are elaborate handmade effigies, created by local groups and associations, each one taking satirical aim at a political figure, a social issue or a cultural moment, before being set spectacularly alight.

 

The burning is rooted in the spirit of San Juan itself, the idea of leaving behind negativity and welcoming good fortune with the arrival of summer. Part Bonfire Night, part editorial cartoon and entirely Cádiz, it is one of those traditions that reminds you just how brilliantly creative and politically sharp this city can be.

 

This year, eight figures went up in flames across the city between 6.00pm and well past 10.00pm, the highest number of participants in recent memory.

 

The idea is simple enough: local groups and associations spend months building elaborate satirical effigies, each one taking aim at a political figure, a social ill or a cultural moment. Then, on the night of San Juan, they burn them. This year, eight figures went up in flames across the city between 6.00pm and well past 10.00pm, the highest number of participants in recent memory.

 

The crowds were a real mix of all ages, families with children perched on parents' shoulders, teenagers, older couples and plenty of visitors, all moving from square to square as the evening unfolded. Between each burning, circus performers, jugglers and live musicians kept things lively, making it feel as much like a street festival as a political statement.

 

One of the most striking effigies of the night was "Human Barbarisms", created by La Chirigota del Tejada and burned at 8.30pm in the Plaza de España. The towering figure, roughly two and a half people high, depicted Donald Trump as a puppet-master, strings in hand, perched atop an oil tanker surrounded by references to pharmaceutical companies, money and oil.

 

A brass band nearby played pop songs to a smiling, foot-tapping crowd, before the effigy was set alight and went up in spectacular fashion in little over a minute. The heat was felt several rows back, drawing gasps and cheers. The bomberos moved in promptly once it had burned down, which happened all in under two minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

At 9.30pm, in the Plaza de San Antonio, New Acropolis Cádiz burned 'Juanillo Reads!! Let's Burn Ignorance', a charming human-sized figure crafted from newspaper, perched on a stack of books and clutching a tablet. Alongside it, a sign carried the message 'No hay nada superior a la verdad', or 'there is nothing greater than the truth', a quietly powerful reminder about truth and the dangers of ignorance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came the finale. At 10.30pm, in the Cathedral Square, the municipal Juanillo "Trapped" was set alight against one of the most breathtaking backdrops imaginable. The effigy featured colourful human figures standing on boxes bearing social media logos, all connected to a large brain at the centre with an artificial intelligence symbol. With the cathedral towering behind it, it was a genuinely unforgettable image.

 

For the first time this year, a school parent-teacher association entered the competition, with La Salle Mirandilla winning the new AMPA category prize of 600€. The main prizes were 1,000€ for first place, 500€ for second and 300€ for third.

 

Cádiz, as ever, managed to make serious commentary feel like a very good night out indeed.

 

 

Image: Andalucía Today