La toma de los Reyes Católicos (Granada)
If there’s one important day in Granada, it’s the 2nd January. This is the day when Castillian troops took the city in 1492, the same day the king Boabdil handed the keys to the Catholic Kings. From that moment on Spain’s history changed. Note its importance that it was even reflected in the coat of arms of our country: you’ll see at the bottom is a fruit of Granada on a white background.
So during the second day of January every year, the council of Granada marches from the Plaza del Carmen to the Royal Chapel – where the remains of the Catholic Kings lie. There the city’s banner is raised and at the end of the corresponding mass they return to the town hall, from the balcony of which the mayor shouts the name of Granada three times, waiting for the population below to answer “viva”.
It’s a simple, historic, but very emotional celebration. Neither is it exempt from controversy: must we keep celebrating a conquest that took place after a lengthy war more than 500 years ago? There are opinions like this, and you’ll hear them if you’re in Granada on the 2nd.
For that reason we think it’s a party worthy of seeing: an historic date that’s still relevant for better or worse in people’s hearts. That’s why, then, they say history is only a matter for academics and dusty books!