Zaragoza.- The Ministry of Industry and Tourism, through the Secretary of State for Tourism, has declared the Festivities of San Roque de Calatayud, in Zaragoza, as a Festival of National Tourist Interest, in recognition of the uniqueness of a celebration that combines tradition, devotion and popular participation and that constitutes one of the main manifestations of the cultural identity of the town.
The Secretary of State, Rosario Sánchez, he stressed that the festivities “have managed to maintain a tradition deeply rooted in Calatayud and, at the same time, turn the participation of its neighbors into one of its main elements of identity”. Sánchez also pointed out that “the involvement of the rocks and the whole city has made San Roque a celebration with an important capacity to project Calatayud and Aragón”.
With this declaration, the festivities of San Roque become the twelfth Festival of National Tourist Interest of Aragon and the 165th in the country.
The festivities are held annually in mid-August and have as central days the 15th and 16th. Although its current configuration dates back to the fifties of the 20th century, there are documentary references to the celebration of popular events in honor of San Roque since the 19th century.
One of the central moments takes place in the early morning of August 15 to 16, when the peñists perform the traditional romery until the hermitage of San Roque, located on the hill of Armantes, where the traditional Gozos al santo are sung. The festive program also brings together various traditions linked to the rocks, among which the demand for cowgirls and the contest of goat dolls, which has been held since 1954, stand out.
The prominence of the ten Peñas Sanroqueras, one of them aimed at children under 16, is one of the distinctive features of these festivities. The modern rocks began to be shaped in the fifties, with the creation of Euqor in 1958 and Rouna in 1959, while in 1978 the Interpeñas Commission was constituted to organize the common events. The celebration has continued to grow until reaching a record of 6,024 supporters in 2025.
Together with the rocks, the Brotherhood of San Roque maintains a fundamental role in the celebration and preservation of traditions linked to the saint. Among them are the transfer of the image of the preboste, the pilgrimage, the mass and the traditional chocolatada that the Brotherhood prepares and distributes among neighbors and visitors.
The Festivities of San Roque contribute to reinforce the tourist projection of Calatayud, a town that has an outstanding historical and artistic heritage and a gastronomic offer linked to the products and wines of its territory.
With this declaration, the Secretary of State for Tourism recognizes the value of a festival that has maintained its identity throughout the generations and that, through its rocks, its Brotherhood and the participation of the whole city, has turned the celebration of San Roque into one of the main festive events of Calatayud.