Laplap thank you for your help. I am intrigued by the thoughts of attending a festival. Years ago i attneded a festival in my mom's tiny hometown in Italy and it was wonderful so i can just imagine how great a larger festival would be.

I looked in to dates and from the Spain tourist board site it appears Santa Tecla will be Sept 13 to 23, 2009; Segorbe will be Sept 8 to 14, 2009. Found less info on Cardona but i saw somthing that suggested Sept 12 to 15.

So given my dates and the fact that I will probably be in Madrid for the last few days any thoughts on which of these festivals would be the best from say, Sept 10 to the 17th?

It sounds like Santa Tecla is the largest festival but it will not reach its climax until after we are gone. Segorbe and Cardona, if my dates are correct, may be smaller but we could be there for their climaxes (assuming we can find hotel rooms). So the decision would appear to be attend the more impressive Santa Tecla at the beginning or the smaller Segorbe or Cardona but be there during prime time. Any suggestions?