Xàbia will once again revive this year one of the trades that marked its history agricultural. The municipality will celebrate for the first time the Festa de l'EscaldàIt will be added to the Ruta dels Riuraus calendar, reviving a tradition that disappeared more than 50 years ago. The event will take place next September 20 in the Riurau d'Arnauda, where the scalding oven built during the recent renovation of Montaner Park will be inaugurated.
With this addition, Xàbia becomes part of the regional circuit of escaldà reenactments, an initiative promoted for years by the Ruta dels riuraus to preserve and promote one of the most representative agricultural processes of the Marina Alta.
A tradition that returns to the Riurau d'Arnauda
The revival of this festival has been made possible thanks to the construction of a traditional scalding oven next to the Riurau d'Arnauda, an element that will allow the faithful reproduction of the process by which the muscatel grape was formerly transformed into a raisin.
The Riuraus del Vernissa Association highlighted the symbolism of holding this first edition in Xàbia, recalling that It has been more than half a century since an escaldà was held in the Riurau d'Arnauda, one of the largest publicly owned riuraus preserved in the Valencian Community.
The organization believes that the addition of Xàbia is an important step in further expanding a network of municipalities committed to the recovery of the region's agricultural and ethnological heritage.
This is how raisins were made
The scaldà is the process by which the muscat grape It is transformed into raisins, one of the products that boosted the economy of the Marina Alta during the 19th and much of the 20th centuries.
The process involves immersing the bunches of grapes for a few seconds in a cauldron of boiling water mixed with lye and olive oil. This bath slightly breaks the skin of the fruit, facilitating its subsequent drying in the sun on reed mats, where it remains for several days until it becomes a raisin.
For decades, this activity was part of the everyday landscape of numerous riuraus in the region and constituted one of the main economic drivers for many farming families.
The Riurau d'Arnauda, scene of recovery
The choice of Riurau d'Arnauda This is no coincidence. It is one of the largest surviving riuraus and one of the most representative ethnological buildings in Xàbia. The structure, moved years ago to its current location to ensure its preservation, has fourteen double arches and is over 56 meters long.
The recent renovation of a space in the well-known Montaner Park has allowed this heritage site to be completed with the reconstruction of the traditional oven, thus recovering an essential element to once again celebrate the escaldà as it was done in the past.
L'escaldà calendar: a new stop on the Ruta dels Riuraus
This year's edition will travel through different municipalities in the region. The schedule will begin on August 23th, XNUMX in Ròtova and Pedreguer, it will continue August 29th, XNUMX in Teulada-Moraira, the August 30th, XNUMX in Jesús Pobre, the September 6 in Llíber and will conclude September 20 in Xàbia.
Furthermore, the poster announcing the 2026 edition has been created by the artist from Xàbia Joana Bisquert, also reinforcing Xàbia's presence in an initiative that seeks to keep alive one of the most important cultural legacies of the Marina Alta.
A commitment to agricultural memory
La Councilor for Culture, Mavi PérezRepresentatives of the promoting association began preparing this incorporation last June with the aim of Xàbia being able to join the Ruta dels Riuraus this year.
The first Festa de l'Escaldà will thus be much more than a historical reenactment: it will be the recovery of a tradition linked to the agricultural past of the municipality and an opportunity to bring to new generations a trade that for decades was part of the identity of the Marina Alta.
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