The long-awaited announcement took place around 8:00 p.m. in the Plenary Hall of the Miguelturra Town Hall, which was attended by the Mayor, Victoria Sobrino, Minister of Economy, Business and Employment, Patricia Franco, President of the Provincial Council, José Manuel Caballero, Delegate of the Regional Government in Ciudad Real, Carmen Teresa Olmedo, Provincial Director of Economy, Business and Employment, Agustín Espinosa, Provincial Director of Education, Francisco Navarro, Vice President of the Provincial Council, David Triguero, Councilor for Celebrations, Diego Rodríguez, Councilor for Culture, Fátima Mondéjar, councilors of the Miguelturra Town Hall, Aurora López and Miguel Angel García, King of the Carnival, Serafín Delgado, President of the Miguelturra Carnival Association, Raúl Domínguez, Major Masks of 2017, José Cañizares and Antonia Nieto, Major Masks of 2018, Orestes Corral and Mª del Carmen León.

Victoria Sobrino, Patricia Franco, and José Manuel Caballero expressed their enormous satisfaction at the announcement. Years of work by the City Council, the Provincial Council, and the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha have borne fruit with the long-awaited declaration of the Miguelturra Carnival as a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest.

The Miguelturra Carnival is a different kind of carnival, a popular and traditional one that even prohibitions have not prevented from being celebrated. A carnival whose main protagonist is the Street Mask, and above all, a carnival whose history is lost in time, passed down verbally from generation to generation.

First written documents from 1898

The first documents referring to the Miguelturra Carnival date back to February 19 and 26, 1898, and we have been able to access them thanks to the Center for Studies of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). These documents can be consulted on this website on the page dedicated to the History of the Miguelturra Carnival.

From the City Council, Sobrino indicated, they will work on the adaptation, management, and operation of the CERE (Cultural Center) and the Carnival Museum, a unique museum in Spain, turning it into a tourist attraction for the city and part of the Campo de Calatrava strategic tourism plan. He also indicated that they will work on the creation of an international association of carnival cities, whose founding charter will have Miguelturra as its founding location, and on the creation of the Miguelturra open-air shopping center, as a link between the capital and Campo de Calatrava.

José Manuel Caballero also highlighted the support for the festival from the Provincial Council of Ciudad Real, with national advertising campaigns, as has been the case with other festivals in towns in the province also declared of national tourist interest, and encouraged visits to the Carnival Museum by groups and schools in the province.

To conclude the round of speeches, Patricia Franco indicated that the regional government will also have a partner in promoting and expanding the festival. She thanked the Ministry of Tourism for recognizing the Miguelturra Carnival as a festival of national tourist interest and encouraged everyone to work 365 days a year for the Carnival.