DKK 3.865

Tourist Information

 

Festivals

Spain is well-known for its many festivals and fiestas (local parties) and Andalucia has the reputation as being one of the best regions to enjoy them. They can be religiously-based, like those of Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week) or else along less secular lines. No matter their source, any festival in Andalucia is bound to be an exciting, eye-opening window into Spanish life and culture. You are likely to make a few new friends in the bargain. Below are a few of the more important festivals that you won’t want to miss.

Los Reyes Magos (Jan 5-6)

Los Reyes Magos (The Wise Kings) is a time of celebration in Spain. Throughout the country parades are held with actors dressed as the three wise men arriving to hail the baby Jesus. Candy and presents are also given to the children. It is a magical time for Spanish and tourists alike.

Carnival de Cádiz

Carnival centres in the days around Shrove Tuesday and the Carnival celebrations in Cadiz are among the best in the world. Cadiz celebrates the carnival with processions from the weekend before, to the weekend after. During the Civil War, General Franco abolished the Carnival in rebel areas. After the war there was still much opposition to the Carnival by the rulers so Franco abolished the Carnival in 1937. It continued in Cadiz, however. Local groups of funny fellows make up satirical ditties lampooning celebrities and big shots, in a parade which sends the whole city into a state of frenzy. The official competition takes place in the Gran Teatro de la Falla.

Semana Santa (Easter)

Easter is, in some parts of Spain, a larger religious celebration than Christmas. In cities like Seville and Malaga, for example, Semana Santa is marked with massive parades in which hundreds of men carry heavy religious icons through the streets. These people are often hooded and the sombre processions are guaranteed to make a deep impression on even the most secular-minded visitor. If you plan to attend Semana Santa in Seville or Malaga, be sure to make your arrangements well in advance because hotel rooms are hard to find.

El Rocío (Weekend before Pentecost Monday, usually in May)

Perhaps the most spectacular religious pilgrimage in all of Spain is the one devoted to the Virgen del Rocío, popularly called "El Rocío" for short. Nearly a million people from all over Spain and Andalucia make the long journey to gather in a small hamlet of El Rocio in the marshlands of the Guadalquivir River delta (south of Almonte, Huelva), where the statue of the "Madonna of the Dew" has been worshipped since 1280.

The pilgrims come on horseback and in gaily decorated covered wagons from all over the region, transforming the area into a colourful and noisy party. The climax of the festival is the weekend before Pentecost. In the early hours of the Monday the Virgin is brought out of the church.

Festival of San Juan (24 June)

Held on the night of the 24th of June, and is celebrated on Andalucia’s beaches with bonfires and fireworks. For good luck, the tradition is to dip their feet in the sea just after midnight. Tread carefully as sometimes people can end up in the sea fully clothed.

Virgen del Carmen (July 16)

On the evening of July 16, in the fishing villages and towns up and down the Coast, her much-loved effigy is not only paraded through the streets but also taken for a spin round the bay on a flower-adorned boat, accompanied by a flotilla of "jábegas" (fishing boats). Brass bands play, crowds cheer, rockets shoot off and fireworks fill the late dusk sky. Although long overtaken by tourism, many Costa towns still retain fishing communities and a strong attachment to "la Reina de los Mares" (the Queen of the Seas). It was once believed - perhaps in the days before water-purifying plants! - that the Virgin cleared up the waters with her presence and that only after July 16 would the sea be fit for swimming in.