Sofía Fonte Blanco and María Rubio Villalba were chosen last Saturday as the adult and children's queens, respectively, of the 2026 Calp Festival.
The selection was made by lottery, with last year's queens drawing the names of the new queens from among the 18-year-old and 8-year-old candidates. Nearly 2,000 people attended the event.
The gala, organized by the 2026 Festival Committee, was held in the Plaza Mayor and hosted by festival organizers Jorge Fernández and Ximo Morató. The senior and junior ladies were accompanied by children and young people from the 2008 and 2018 graduating classes who are part of this year's Festival Committee, as well as by members of the 1988 graduating class.
The 2025 Queens, Neus Santos Tur and Neus Díaz Fernández, drew the balls containing the names of the 2026 Festival Queens, and the presenters called out each of the ladies and young people who make up this year's court of honor. Emotion ran high when the names of the new Festival Queens were announced.
After the election, the President of the Festival Committee, Marga Baeza Ortolá, the Councilor for Festivals, Mariola Mulet, and the Mayor, Ana Sala, addressed the new queens and the Festival Committee in general, which will be organizing this year's patron saint festivities.
All members of the Festival Committee, comprised of the graduating classes of 1988, 2008, and 2018, participated in the closing gala, which concluded with all of them on stage, a performance of the regional anthem by tenor José Luis Luri, and a fireworks display.
This Saturday's event serves as a prelude to the patron saint festivities in honor of Our Lady of the Snows, which take place during the first two weeks of August.
