«Fuenteovejuna» open-air play

Lope de Vega published «Fuenteovejuna» in 1619. The play tells a true story: in 1476 the townspeople rose up against the Grand Commander of the Order of Calatrava, Fernán Gómez de Guzmán, because of his abuses. When the judges asked who had killed him, the answer was always the same: «Fuenteovejuna, my lord».

The play first came to the town in 1935 with Margarita Xirgu and Enrique Borrás. Since 1992 it has been performed by the townspeople themselves, who act, appear as extras and work backstage to tell their ancestors' story in the very place where it happened.

The 2026 edition was directed by José Carlos Cuevas and Pedro Hofhuis, who had already directed it in 2022. This time Lope de Vega appears on stage as the director of a Golden Age theatre company, and the set brings together a «corral de comedias» (an old open-air playhouse) and the town square. The original music is by Nacho Doña.

In Plaza Lope de Vega, in the town centre: the play is staged in the very place where the events it tells took place.

The town organises more around the play. In 2026 there was a medieval market with shows, guided tours of the Palacete Modernista (an Art Nouveau mansion), the church of San Francisco, the Caridad and Nazareno chapels, the parish church and the stage itself, a play area for children, a town bus service and a stargazing session from the Palacete.

As a new feature, in 2026 a comic of «Fuenteovejuna» was published and given to visitors. After the last performance there was a party at the fairground for everyone who had taken part.