The lights become a symbol of collective effort
Cada año, cuando el frío anuncia la llegada del invierno, seis pueblos de España compiten por algo más que unos focos: compiten por el derecho a brillar ante los demás. Ferrero Rocher celebra la décima edición de 'Juntos brillamos más', una iniciativa que convierte el voto ciudadano en luz colectiva, transformando municipios en destinos y vecinos en comunidad. Detrás del concurso late una verdad antigua: que la belleza compartida tiene el poder de unir lo que el tiempo y el olvido tienden a separar.
- Seis pueblos de rincones muy distintos de España —desde los Pirineos hasta la costa asturiana, desde Andalucía hasta Galicia— se disputan una instalación de luces navideñas que puede cambiar el rumbo económico y social de su municipio.
- La competición avanza por rondas eliminatorias: el tiempo apremia, los votos cuentan, y cada semana que pasa reduce el campo de aspirantes hasta que solo quedan dos finalistas cara a cara.
- Alcaldes, vecinos y comerciantes se movilizan para conseguir apoyos, convirtiendo un concurso de marca en una campaña de orgullo local con consecuencias reales para el turismo y la cohesión comunitaria.
- El ganador, anunciado el 11 de diciembre, no solo recibe luces: hereda una década de precedentes que demuestran que el brillo navideño atrae visitantes, reactiva negocios y deja una huella duradera mucho después de que se apaguen las guirnaldas.
Desde hace diez años, Ferrero Rocher entrega uno de los premios más singulares que puede recibir un municipio español: una iluminación navideña completa que convierte sus calles en un destino. La décima edición de 'Juntos brillamos más' enfrenta a seis pueblos en un concurso decidido por el voto popular a través de la web de la marca chocolatera.
El proceso se desarrolla en tres rondas. La primera, del 2 al 16 de noviembre, selecciona a cuatro finalistas. La segunda, del 17 al 28, deja solo dos. El duelo final se resuelve entre el 29 de noviembre y el 10 de diciembre, con el ganador proclamado el día 11. La mecánica es sencilla, pero lo que moviliza es mucho más complejo: la posibilidad de que un pueblo entero se vea reconocido y transformado.
Los seis candidatos de este año trazan un mapa de la España menos visible. Benasque, en el Pirineo oscense, con su observatorio astronómico y sus cielos despejados. Celanova, en Ourense, con siglos de historia benedictina y la sombra literaria de Emilia Pardo Bazán. El Burgo de Osma, villa medieval amurallada en Soria. Iznájar, pueblo andaluz de casas blancas encaramado sobre un embalse cordobés. La Alberca, conjunto histórico-artístico salmantino donde las tradiciones centenarias siguen vivas. Ribadesella, en la costa asturiana, con su largo puente sobre el Sella y sus cuevas prehistóricas.
Lo que hace relevante esta competición va más allá del patrocinio. Cuando un pueblo entra en liza, sus vecinos se organizan, sus comerciantes se implican y su identidad colectiva se activa. Las luces que llegan tras la victoria no son solo decoración: son el símbolo visible de ese esfuerzo común. Y los turistas que acuden a verlas dejan dinero en los bares, los hoteles y las tiendas locales. Es un ciclo que la marca ha aprendido a construir y que los pueblos han aprendido a desear.
For a decade, Ferrero Rocher has been handing out one of Spain's most coveted prizes: elaborate Christmas lights. This year, the chocolate brand is running the tenth edition of 'Juntos brillamos más'—Together We Shine Brighter—and six towns are competing for the honor of having their streets transformed into a glittering winter wonderland.
The competition works like this: voters choose their favorite town through multiple rounds of balloting on Ferrero Rocher's website. The first round runs from November 2 through 16. Four towns advance to the second round, which runs November 17 through 28. Then the two finalists face off in a final vote from November 29 through December 10. The winner is announced December 11. The whole thing hinges on public participation—whoever gets the most votes wins.
What makes this competition matter is what comes after the voting ends. The winning town doesn't just get bragging rights. It gets a complete Christmas lighting installation that transforms the municipality into a destination. Over the past ten years, the initiative has generated measurable economic impact: increased tourism, business activity, and something harder to quantify but just as real—a sense of community mobilization and pride. Towns that have won in previous years report lasting effects on their local economies and social cohesion.
This year's six finalists represent different corners of Spain. Benasque sits in the Pyrenees in Huesca, a stone village surrounded by dramatic mountain landscape and home to an astronomical observatory that makes its night sky particularly striking. Celanova, in Ourense, Galicia, carries centuries of history—Roman ruins, a Benedictine monastery that inspired writer Emilia Pardo Bazán, literary heritage woven through its streets. El Burgo de Osma in Soria is a walled medieval town with religious and civil monuments, surrounded by caves and rocky cliffs. Iznájar in Córdoba is an Andalusian hilltop village of whitewashed houses, crowned by a castle and church, ringed by a reservoir. La Alberca in Salamanca, declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1940, preserves the traditional architecture of the Sierra de Francia with century-old customs still alive in its streets. Ribadesella in Asturias sits on the coast, known for caves, nature reserves, and a long bridge over the Sella River that frames sunsets over the estuary.
Each town has submitted videos and descriptions to the competition website, making their case to voters. The competition is open to anyone who wants to participate. Jesús Vázquez, a television personality and Ferrero Rocher ambassador, helped announce the finalists at an event launching this year's campaign.
What's interesting about this competition is that it's not really about the chocolate company's generosity alone. It's about what happens when a brand creates a mechanism for communities to mobilize around something tangible—in this case, the chance to make their town visibly special during the season when people travel and gather. The towns campaign, residents organize, local businesses get involved. The lights, when they arrive, become a symbol of that collective effort. And the tourists who come to see them spend money in local restaurants, hotels, and shops. It's a virtuous cycle that the company has learned to engineer, and that towns have learned to want.
Notable Quotes
The action has generated strong social momentum and direct impact through economic revitalization, tourism development, and community cohesion— Ferrero Rocher (via competition description)
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a chocolate company care about Christmas lights in small Spanish towns?
Because it works. The lights draw tourists, tourists spend money, and the towns remember Ferrero Rocher as the brand that made it happen. It's marketing, but it's also real—the economic impact is documented.
So the towns are essentially competing for free advertising?
Not just advertising. They're competing for infrastructure that transforms how people experience their town during the holidays. A small village suddenly becomes a destination. That changes things.
What happens to the towns that don't win?
They go back to their regular Christmas decorations. But they've also built momentum—they've organized their communities, shown what's possible. Some of them will try again next year.
Why does the voting matter so much? Why not just let Ferrero Rocher pick?
Because public voting makes it a campaign. It gets people invested. Residents of each town are mobilizing their networks, sharing videos, making the case. That's the real prize—the community coming together.
Is there a risk that this becomes just about tourism and money?
Maybe. But these are small towns in rural Spain. Tourism and money are survival. The lights bring both, and they bring them in a way that feels celebratory rather than extractive.