Pure Gem - RetroAlacant 2026
For a coastal city like Alicante, annual festivals are quite common; it's just another staple of a tourist town, targeted towards intoxicated folk from abroad, and sometimes it serves as a justification for visiting the city.
(I'm not going to get shitfaced there! I want to experience the festival!)
And, as you can tell, I don't like festivals that much. Or, at least, those held in Alicante. Overcrowded streets, complete suspension of all public transport, and pure chaos in the city center. But there was one event that instantly grabbed my attention.
RetroAlacant2026, a retro-gaming festival held annually.
The plan for the day was very promising: Street Fighter tournament, live performances, a retro market, and lots of other stuff. So, despite my heavy hangover from 3 beers, I rushed to the place as soon as possible.
The first thing I saw was a huge collection of Amiga and Amstrad CPC consoles placed in a row, and completely occupied by kids playing retro games, which was really nice. There were also some 80's computers like Apple IIs on display.
Then I saw some really interesting stuff, something really close to me yet completely unseen before: cheap, shitty soviet knock-offs of Z80/Intel 8080 PC's. It was pure joy to see those consoles proudly displayed on huge white tables, encapsulated in transparent plastic, like pieces of alien technology. (But in reality, just a wicked low quality slop, a mix of shitty components and soviet mismanagement. And thats why I love em)
I immediately fell in love with ROBIK. It's hard to explain, but its design really resonates with the city it was built in. If someone asked me to describe Cherkasy through some color palette, I'd choose ROBIK's sleek, washed-out tones. And speaking of other soviet PC's at the fest, there was a huge collection. So huge that it probably represented every single Warsaw Pact country: Z80 Moldavian clones, placed right next to 8080 Bulgarian machines - what could be better?
After leaving the main hall, I went to the outdoor area, which hosted a retro market, a small food court, and an interesting futuristic car that I couldn't identify until I got back home.
This car was a replica of KITT from Knight Rider TV series, an "artificially intelligent electronic computer module in the body of a highly advanced robotic automobile." ("They don't make them like that anymore")
At the end, I decided to check out the retro market. There was a huge selection of games, consoles, gamepads, and some random merch, unrelated to the retro stuff. But still, it was really funny.
And to summarise, it was an outstanding experience, especially in a city like Alicante, where almost everything revolves around tourism, casinos, and businesses for "Digital Nomads" as well as Instagram influencers from Albania. Despite all that, Alicante proves its cultural value and significance, with sporadic and rare events like RetroAlacant. These events also attract a lot of locals, and being around Spanish people with a similar mindset/hobby is always a huge pleasure! (You might have an interesting 2-hour conversation about your favourite nerd bullshit, and then you end up partying together)
Moreover, the most interesting part: One of the event organizers was a retro gaming social club from Alicante, called "Retro Martians". It's a place with a bunch of arcade machines, old PCs, etc. It's an amazing place that I'd give 10/10. I used to go there every weekend, sometimes just to play some demos on their C64. But I'd like to keep all the details for a future post, so stay tuned :)