Six-day illegal rave in Spanish village “magnificently organised” according to mayor
5,000 attendees were reported to have attended, with music blaring 24 hours a day
An illegal rave lasting six days and attracting over 5,000 people took place in a small village in Spain over the New Year period, according to the Guardian.
Beginning on Friday (December 30) and wrapping up on Wednesday (January 4), the village of La Peza in Granada saw tents, stalls, caravans and seven stages pop up out of nowhere reportedly less than a mile from the village centre.
La Peza has a population of 1,200, which roughly quintupled in size when “by Saturday we were 6,000” according to Fernando Álvarez, the mayor of La Peza’s municipality.
Attendees were said to have come mostly from Spain, but there reportedly ravers coming from as far as Italy and The Netherlands.
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Álvarez told The Guardian: “Frankly it was magnificently organised.
“It was like a small town. They had a bakery, pizzeria, clothing shops, people who would braid your hair – they had absolutely everything,” he continued.
“I’m amazed that they managed to set that all up in the span of a few hours.
The mayor went on to suggest that the giant party could benefit the village in the future. He added: “We got six days of entertainment out of it, but we also recognise that this incident has given us a bit of publicity and put us on the map.
“We’re here if anyone wants to visit us – but maybe not 5,000 people all at once.”
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Local authorities were contacted once the party got underway, and police decided that it would be safer to keep the party contained, rather than attempt to evict 5,000 ravers.
After turning up Spanish police set up roadblocks and barricades to prevent people from entering the rave, as well as flying a helicopter to spot people attempting to arrive on foot.
The police said that the rave was mostly peaceful, with only a small number of arrests for resisting authority and drug-related offences according to The Guardian's report.
Intrigued members of the local village were reported to have joined in with the party, including young residents and one 80-year-old villager.
La Peza is a municipality in the southern region of Granada, Spain, set within the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
***Isaac Muk is Mixmag's Digital Intern, *follow him on Twitter****