In Andalucia, there's a party every day - whether it's to celebrate a harvest (mostly in the autumn - grapes, olives, chestnuts, mushrooms) - a saint's day, or the town's own annual feria, when every town and village puts on a show, with casetas, sherry and dancing. Over 3,000 fiestas are celebrated every year in Andalucia, including fairs, pilgrimages, carnivals, mock battles between Moors and Christians.
The sevillana is a colourful and exciting style of song and dance that originated in Castile and not in Seville, a variation from a style of dance known as the seguidilla. The sevillana is not flamenco, although today it is performed by flamenco artists who give it that special flamenco touch.
Flamenco is a passionate and seductive art form, a mysterious and misunderstood culture that has been burning in Andalucía for nearly five hundred years, and today flamenco has thousands of aficionado’s worldwide.
There is no better way to get to know Andalucia than through its myriad of fascinating traditional festivals. The local fiesta is the moment when every town and village strives to put on a splendid show, not only for themselves but also for those who come from afar to admire and enjoy.
A guide to Whats on in Andalucia. Actually there is no fully comprehensive guide to every event, concert, exhibition held in Andalucia. There are so many events it is not posible to keep it up to date. Below we offer you a selection of links to help you search for an event that is of interest to you and in a location near you.
This beachfront hotel is named after a Roman bridge, which is at the centre of its lush grounds. Situated on Marbella's Golden Mile, the Puente Romano boasts nine bars and restaurants, including Japanese and Italian.
The Jaen Parador, also known as the Parador de Santa Catalina, has a spectacular setting: it is in a restored castle on a hill overlooking the ancient city of Jaen, and the countryside and mountains beyond. In Andalucia.
There are plenty of two star hotels just outside the city centre and in the outer lying districts of Malaga city.
There are half a dozen one-star hotels in Malaga, most located outside the city centre and in the outer lying districts of Malaga city. We also list two star hotels. There are also budget hotels to be found in Churriana and in Torremolinos.The latter is connected to malaga city centre bu the C1 Local train.
A successful businessman who established himself in Marbella in 1986. His current business provides a wide variety of office services, including graphic design and printing. Minoo has launched numerous successful projects in sales and Marketing.
Christopher Wawn was appointed Director of Andalucia.com in 2000 having been associated with the company since 1997. During this period Chris has led on many projects, such as the Pueblo Guide and Financial Services Section. His knowledge of Andalucia has been of great assistance to the site's content pages and he has contributed many articles based on his series of books, 'In Search of Andalucia'. In addition, Chris is a Chartered Manager and has assisted the Board and Company Secretary and been involved in setting many of the annual Budgets.
A graduate of Kings College London. Chris is a computer programmer based in Kingston upon Thames, London. Together with Chris Chaplow, they established their first internet venture in 1995 and inaugurated Andalucia.com the following year. Chris brings valuable computing and business skills to the company as a founding director.
Some important Feria terms so you can sound like a local. Albero - traditional yellow sand (its colour is emblematic of Sevilla) on the ground of the recinto - can get dusty in hot weather, turns to mud when it rains. Alumbra(d)o - when all the portada´s lights are switched on, at midnight on Monday. This is the traditional beginning of the Feria
Los Pinos is the principal ground for Sotogrande, offering two unique spectator spaces surrounded by 20 hectares of field and parkland.The high handicap matches of the International Summer Tournament and most of the winter tournaments are played here. The Los Pinos ground has four playing fields and one warm-up field.
Those from Seville, Andalucia or, in fact, anyone who really wants to enter into the spirit of the "feria" dress up in their finery, ideally the traditional "traje de corto" (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) for men and the "farales" (flamenco style dress) for the women.
Fiona Flores Watson has lived in Spain for 20 years, and has been a journalist since completing a post-graduate journalism course at City University in London. As well as her blog and other features for Andalucia.com, Fiona writes freelance articles for newspapers, magazines and websites including the Telegraph, Independent, the Sunday Times, and Food & Travel; she also wrote part of the Lonely Planet guide, Experience Andalucia, and has translated a book on sherry, The Book of Sherry Wines.
Sinéad is an experienced freelance communications consultant who writes and edits copy for various organisations worldwide. Her expertise also lies in developing communication strategies with companies. Writing for Andalucia.com enables her to share incredible insights into Andalucía, her second home.
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