Águilas keeps a carnival in which the mask is still the point. Its characters — the Musona, a horned creature, and Doña Juana, a man in widow's weeds — move through the crowd soliciting and teasing, and the cucañas involve participants pelting each other with flour, eggs and water in a licensed street battle.
The carnival is documented from the mid-nineteenth century, survived prohibition under Franco by being held in private, and was declared of International Tourist Interest in 2015.
No attendance figure is published.
The week moves with Easter. Águilas is a small port on the Murcian coast with modest accommodation; Lorca and Cartagena are the practical bases, and the night parades on Saturday and Tuesday are when the town is at capacity.
PlanningEaster-linked. Declared of International Tourist Interest in 2015; the night parades are the draw.