History of the Dragon Festival
March 14th 1997 the almost mythical dragon banner was raised on Alex's field and this legendary event was born.
In those final years of the last millennium there was a real positive anxiety and excitement about the coming of a new era. Here in Cigarrones we were buzzing on our own collective creativity and the luck at living in such a paradise. It's no wonder those first few Dragonfests created such a stir and its reputation as the most 'avin it' party snowballed so quickly, everyone was on such a good tip.
The festival continued to grow, freaking out a few locals with its anarchic unpredictability and increasing size, peaking in 2001 with close on 7000 people reveling in the ambience. By the following year the local authorities and a few panic stricken locals, forced a prohibition order, mainly on public safety grounds. Sadly their greatest fears were confirmed when two people died at the festival but paradoxically it condemned the prohibition because every other year adequate first aid had been provided and at least one of those deaths may have been prevented.
In 2003 the cops came in force with full on paramilitary nasty boys and two mounted divisions. The dragon responded by fluffing them up in a classic fashion. We formed a pink parade and daily danced our way up to the police lines to offer them tea and cakes. It was utterly non confrontational and helped by Spanish objections to the impending Iraq war, our songs of peace made a mockery of their heavy handedness. Those magic moments when the commandant parted his troops allowing the pink parade to welcome the people through, will stay with us forever.
2006 celebrated the Dragon's first decade of anarchic frivolity. It surely represented a milestone and hopefully a watershed in our fight to invite a peaceful gathering in the place where we live. And it seemed that the greater community, media and authorities included, realised the positive and honest impact of people rather than profit motivated fiestas.
Our aim has always been to share the beauty of the Alpujarran springtime with our friends from everywhere, whilst doing our utmost to minimise any negative impact a gathering might have, both environmentally and otherwise.
We can safely say the dragon has stood the test of time and a few other heavy tests besides. It's our festival, the peoples festival and we deserve it. Keep it real, keep it free.