Bétera Celebrates Rodà de les Alfàbegues with Confetti and Tribute to Women

The festival introduces female names for the 16 Alfàbegues for the first time, drawing large crowds of residents and visitors.

Generic image of a popular festival with confetti and Mediterranean architecture.
IA

Generic image of a popular festival with confetti and Mediterranean architecture.

The town of Bétera, in the Camp de Túria region, celebrated its traditional Rodà de les Alfàbegues on August 15th, a day marked by devotion, color, and an emotional historical tribute to women.

For the first time in the festival's history, the 16 Alfàbegues that are central to the procession have been given female names through the municipal initiative ‘Va de Dones’. This milestone honors the Obreras 2026, their families, and key figures in Bétera's culture and history.
The procession, which began at 10:00 AM from the Hort de les Alfàbegues, lasted over four hours. Eight impressive specimens flanked the First Single Obrera, Mireia García Ricart, dressed in a pearl white handmade design, and another eight accompanied the Second Single Obrera, Daniela Ferriol Fuentes, who wore a champagne-colored silk dress. Both were sheltered by traditional embroidered parasols, alongside the Mayorales 2026 and the mayor, Elia Verdevío.
The visual spectacle was enhanced by the use of 11,600 kilograms of confetti. 9,000 kilograms were distributed along the route, and in the Placeta del Sol, the Mayorales showered attendees with 2,000 kilograms of red confetti, the distinctive color of their mayoral term.
The most moving moment occurred in the Plaza de la Iglesia, where the Married Obreras, Nathalie Martínez Arnal and Gely Garañana Escribano, dressed in black, welcomed the Single Obreras. After an emotional exchange of mantillas, the four representatives entered the temple of the Purísima Concepción to offer the Alfàbegues, which now adorn the altar.
The event was attended by institutional figures including the second vice-president of the Diputació de València, Reme Mazzolari, and the director general of Diversity of the Generalitat Valenciana, Stephane Soriano.
As night fell, the celebration shifted to pyrotechnics with the traditional ‘Coet de Luxe’ by Pirotecnia Rausell. Subsequently, a monumental 400-meter Cordà took place. The Mayorales 2026, along with the firecracker groups Vol Lliure, Amics del Coet, Fogoners 1.5, and Fills de la Pólvora, used nearly 100,000 kilograms of gunpowder in what the Councilor for Festivals, Manuel Pérez, highlighted as «the only Cordà in Spain performed on a rope».