The legend lives on

The Armengola at the Moorish parade	The Armengola at the Christian parade

Moors and Christians’ is all about the re-enactment of the expulsion of the Moors from the region by the Christian armies during the re-conquest of Spain many centuries ago.

There are lots of legends that surround this piece of history, the most famous probably being that of the Armengola in Orihuela.

She was the maidservant of the Arab governor of Orihuela. He’d warned her not to be in the town on a specific night because he refused to surrender and prepared to destroy all his people before the arrival of the Christian king . Instead, she decided to save her people and opened the gates of the castle to let the Christians in. She then went to the highest turret and set an Oriol free. Flying high in the sky the bird was a clear sign to the Christians that the gates were open and they could enter the castle and reclaim it as there own.

They have even made a film about the legend which was premiered at the Teatro Circo on 14 July this year.