An illegal rave lasting six days gathered 5,000 people in a small village in Spain over the New Year period.
According to The Guardian, from December 30 to January 4, tents, kiosks, caravans and seven scenes appeared out of nowhere, reportedly less than a mile from the center of the village of La Pesa. The village has a population of 1,200, which increased fivefold during the rave. “By Saturday, there were 6,000 of us,” said Fernando Alvarez, mayor of the municipality of La Pesa.
It is said that the participants mostly came from Spain, but there were also reportedly ravers from Italy and the Netherlands.
Alvarez told The Guardian: “Frankly, everything was superbly organized. It was like a small town. They had a bakery, a pizzeria, clothing stores, people who braided their hair — they had absolutely everything,” he continued.
“I’m amazed that they managed to install all this in a few hours.”
The mayor further suggested that a giant party could benefit the village in the future. “We got six days of entertainment out of it, but we also recognize that this incident gave us some notoriety and put us on the map.
“We are here if someone wants to visit us – but maybe not 5,000 people at a time.”
Continúa tras cinco días la fiesta ilegal en La Peza, Granada.
La Guardia Civil no desaloja por motivos de seguridad. Controlan que no lleguen más vehículos, pero no prohíben la llegada a pie de más asistentes#LaHora3E
📺 https://t.co/fT1q6lUlV3 pic.twitter.com/jC3VeLty9w
— RTVE (@rtve) January 3, 2023
While the local authorities were contacted about an illegal rave, the police decided it would be safer to contain the party than try to evict 5,000 ravers. However, they set up roadblocks and barricades so that people could not get to the rave, and also launched a helicopter to detect people trying to get there on foot.
The Guardian reported that police said the rave was mostly peaceful, with few arrests for resisting authorities and drug-related crimes.
The rave even attracted some intrigued residents of the local village who came and joined them, including young residents and one 80-year-old villager.
However, the authorities still have no idea who organized the rave or how an international event could materialize on municipal lands without warning. “We have no idea,” Alvarez said. “To be honest, if I knew who organized it, I would have hired them to plan our village holiday.”
