San Antón Bonfires and Noche de San Antón International Night Race

The San Antón bonfires have been held in Jaén for more than seven centuries, according to the City Council. It is a festival of religious origin closely tied to farmers and livestock keepers: on the eve of Saint Anthony the Abbot, 16 January, residents lit open-air bonfires in their districts, probably to ward off evil and protect livestock and pets.

Since 2016, following a popular request, the lighting of the bonfires has been moved to the Saturday closest to 16 January. More than forty years ago the Noche de San Antón International Night Race was also created to revive the festival and encourage people to come out into the streets, and today the bonfires and the race are considered inseparable.

The San Antón festivities were declared of Andalusian Tourist Interest in 2011, according to the City Council, and in 2019 the Secretary of State for Tourism granted 'San Antón y Carrera Urbana Internacional Noche de San Antón' the title of Festival of National Tourist Interest.

The bonfires are spread across districts all over the city: 38 were lit in 2026. The official bonfire is organised in the square in front of the church of San Juan, which holds an old sculpture of Saint Anthony. The race runs along the city's main avenues; in 2026, because of an incident at a building in calle Unicef, the start and finish were moved from avenida de Andalucía to calle Virgen de la Cabeza, near the former teacher-training school.

The bonfires are built with 'ramón', the leftover branches from olive pruning, plus old furniture and junk known as 'tirajitos'. On top goes the 'pelele', a rag figure whose burning represents the end of bad luck; the City Council runs a pelele competition among the groups registered to light a bonfire.

Around the fire people roast meat, black pudding, bacon and chorizo, and eat 'rosetas' (salted or sweet popcorn), roast pumpkin and squash, with local wine for the adults. Many residents wear the traditional 'chirri' and 'pastira' costumes and dance in a ring to the melenchones, folk songs with cheeky lyrics recovered by the music teacher Lola Torres. During the race, spectators cheer the runners on with lit torches, and some residents take their animals to be blessed during these days.