Gunpowder: a double date in Alicante this weekend

Two mascletás will provide Alicante with a spectacular fireworks display this weekend. The Don Bosco bonfire at the Glorieta de la Solidaridad, in PAU 1, will honour Pedro Luis Sirvent, the founding pyrotechnician of the Hermanos Sirvent fireworks company, who died in a tragic accident at the company’s headquarters in the Fontcalent district. The “Pólvora tot l’any” (Gunpowder to the Year) cycle will conclude with a launch on Paseo de Gómiz.

This Sunday’s mascletà, a fireworks show by the Hermanos Ferrández fireworks company, will take place on Paseo de Gómiz. Due to inclement weather, it was cancelled from its original March 2nd date. It can now be rescheduled for this Sunday, 31st March, at 2:00 p.m. without experiencing any significant setbacks because the weather forecast is more favourable.

Fifty kilogrammes of gunpowder will be used in the stunning fireworks display. Coloured smoke and aerial effects will open, then ground and air retention in a thunderous crescendo. A ground earthquake and subsequent aerial bombardment will cap the conclusion. The 2023 fireworks competition winner, Hermanos Ferrández, hopes to leave his stamp on this yearly cycle.

Pedro Luis Sirvent’s tribute

The other big event will be held at PAU 1, where on Saturday, March 29th, the Don Bosco bonfire will host a nighttime mascletà and a celebratory evening. Although there will be an evening celebration starting at 6:30 p.m., the highlight of the event will be the Hermanos Sirvent fireworks display, which will be launched from the Glorieta de la Solidaridad at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday. The children of Pedro Luis Sirvent will light Alicante’s first mascletà fireworks show after their father passed away in a terrible tragedy on March 6th.

Additionally, on April 12th, the Florida Portazgo bonfire will honour Pedro Luis Sirvent with another mascletà. The first shot in Sirvent’s honour was held in the Falla Carrera Sant Lluís-Doctor Waksman during Valencia’s Fallas festival. In Valencia, a moving shot was dedicated to him in the Town Hall Square by pyrotechnician Reyes Martí.