The Blusas and Neskak groups of Vitoria-Gasteiz are making steady progress towards implementing a single parade route. The departments of Culture and Citizen Security have already laid the groundwork with the Commission and the Federation to ensure there is only one parade in 2026.

While the route is not yet 100% finalized, it is clear that it will not be the traditional parade to the Bullring, nor the one initially proposed by the Local Police. The aim is to utilize the pedestrianized area during the festivities as much as possible and avoid closing La Paz street. Passage through Dato Street will be maintained in any case.

Keeping La Paz Street open is a requirement from the Local Police. Previously, traffic was diverted to Olaguibel Street. With a new route, cars will be able to use La Paz and, from there, continue at least towards Rioja and Canciller Ayala. Whether they can also proceed to Ortiz de Zárate will depend on the final parade route.

The Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council insists that there must be a single parade in two senses: there should only be one route, and both the Commission and the Federation must follow the same path. This will significantly extend its duration, estimated to be around three hours, especially considering the length of the outbound parade on July 25th and August 5th.

For now, although both parties hold joint meetings with the city council, both the Commission and the Federation are working separately on their proposals. Some cuadrillas have even called extraordinary meetings to analyze alternatives and possible solutions, while others are managing it through their directives.

Only four months remain until La Blanca 2026, and there are two key issues: how the Commission and the Federation will depart, and at what time the parade will begin. The Federation's cuadrillas have been departing before the Commission since the split occurred. This happens despite the Commission's rejection, which views it as a privilege for the breakaway groups.

Therefore, it is not clear if this arrangement will continue. The parade will not start at 4:30 PM, as it did previously. The current alternatives are three: the Federation continues to lead, cuadrillas from both the Commission and the Federation mix, or the Federation follows the Commission.

Considering the duration of the kalejira, the timeframe being discussed by various cuadrillas is for the first group to depart between 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM. Starting later would be difficult to manage, and earlier seems unnecessary given there is no return route. However, among the cuadrillas surveyed by Gasteiz Hoy, there is no unanimity regarding the most suitable start time. Everyone acknowledges the importance of this change, and many are aware that this will be a trial year.

Once the schedule is defined, the cuadrillas will need to program their activities for the afternoons of La Blanca. Typically, by April, the Culture department already has all requests and proposals from the cuadrillas, and the locations and times for various events are practically allocated. As usual, each cuadrilla will express their opinions here, based on the parallel activities they organize.

The cuadrillas Hemengoak and Txinpartak remain in limbo. These two groups (one new and the other a split from the original Txinpartak) already held their kalejira during La Blanca 2025 every Saturday at 8:00 PM along Independencia and Fueros streets. Despite this, they are not currently involved in the negotiations for the single parade. Neither the Commission nor the Federation allowed these cuadrillas to join at the time, so they operate outside their umbrellas. It remains to be seen what decision will be made regarding their participation.