Festival Al-Kalat - Alcalá's annual music festival
In August 2004 Matthew Coman, an Englishman who had made his home in Alcalá, staged the town's first music festival. He invited colleagues from a group of classical musicians, known as The Soloists of London, to spend a week in the pueblo and give concerts in the beautiful patio of the Sagrada Familia school (SAFA), a former convent on the Plaza Alta. The Soloists of London in the SAFA patio Poster from the fifth festival in 2008 In 2009 the festival including a performance by a group of young musicians from around the province, after a week of rehearsals under Coman's supervision. This inspired a painting by the late Jesús Cuesta Arana, which was used for that year's poster. Poster artwork from the 2009 festival, by the late Jesús Cuesta Arana Young musicians rehearsing for their concert For the following few years the festival remained focused on classical music, even staging a production of La Traviata in the church. Tickets weren't available in advance in those da...