A Maltese feast tradition in Spain

Although I am a festa enthusiast, I would have never imagined that a Maltese festa tradition would find itself incorporated within a feast in Spain! But, today, thanks to social media, the world has become a smaller place.

I was born and raised in Mosta, where we celebrate the feast of Santa Marija, but, since 2019 or earlier, I have been following the feast of Santa Maria in Cantillana, Spain, a small town with a population of approximately 12,000, situated about 45 minutes from Seville. Through Facebook, I had made some friends from Cantillana, and we used to share photos of our feasts with each other.

Then, in September 2022, the rector of the Hermandad of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y Santísimo Rosario (the Brotherhood/Confraternity of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Most Holy Rosary) contacted me, telling me a delegation from the brotherhood was coming to Malta to discuss a proposed project related to their feast. They wanted to create for their feast celebration a set of Maltese decorative hanging pavilions and another set of eight hanging banners.

The group came to Malta for the first time in December 2022, for the feast of the Immaculate Conception in Cospicua, where they experienced how we Maltese celebrate a traditional festa.

Jeremy Cachia working on the design of the banners.

The first step was creating a design for these banners. I took them to Jeremy Cachia, who designs many hanging banners for Maltese feasts. By March 2023, Cachia had completed the designs and enlargements. I took them to Spain myself during my visit there for Semana Santa (Holy Week). There, I met with the brotherhood’s committee, showed them the designs and explained how we carry out this kind of work in Malta. At first, I thought this would have been done in Spain itself but, after a couple of months, they sent me back the designs and enlargements and told me they wanted a Maltese-made product.

This should be an honour for Malta

Since the brotherhood wanted the project to be ready for this year, the anniversary year of the Dogma of the Assumption, time was short, and several artists needed to work on it simultaneously.

Henry Attard from Qormi sewed the pavilions, while Cachia, who had prepared the design, did the shading of the same pavilions. Alfred and Sharon Bonnici sewed the banners, while Ryan Stivala did the shading of the banners.

Everything was completed around March 2025. By the end of that month, the brotherhood rector himself came to Malta to meet with everyone who had been involved in the project.

The author (left) presenting the first Maltese festa hanging banner to be used in the Cantillana feast to Hermano mayor Jose Antonio Ortiz Muñoz in May 2024.

When the pavilions and banners arrived in Spain, there was still the final work to be done. Ricardo Pueyo, an artist from Cantillana and a member of the brotherhood, painted the wooden tops of the pavilions and banners  as well as images of the apostles in the centre of each banner.

The Maltese festa pavilions and banner decorations in Martín Rey Street were inaugurated on August 13. I was present, and I was amazed by the positive reaction of the people of Cantillana. The number of videos and photos that appeared on social media in Spain, especially in Andalusia, was remarkable.

The author (centre, carrying camera) and the Hermano mayor Jose Antonio Ortiz Muñoz (centre) and confraternity members at the inauguration of the Maltese festa decorations in Martín Rey Street in Cantillana, Spain, on August 13, 2025.

The climax was reached on August 15, when, shortly after midnight, the statue of Santa Maria passed for the first time below these valances. It was an emotional moment for me as well as for the Hermandad of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.

I believe this should be an honour for Malta.

If one goes to Seville and walks through the streets of this magnificent city, one sees many art shops and craftsmen working in silver, carving wood and painting, yet the Brotherhood of Santa Maria wanted this work to be created in Malta. This is a tribute to the Maltese festa tradition and a name for our country.

Martin Rey Street in Cantillana, Spain, as it was decorated on the feast day on August 15, 2025.