Colors of Malaga - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Malaga celebrates a lot of interesting holidays that will allow you to get acquainted with the most beautiful traditions of local people. Many annual celebrations have a religious theme, one of the main events for locals is the celebration of Holy Week. This holiday is considered to be the most spectacular, its main event is the solemn processions that are held on the city streets. During such processions, statues of patron Saints are carried around the city, which are kept in local churches and cathedrals throughout the year. They are presented to the public only once a year, in addition to the solemn processions, the celebration of Holy Week includes a lot of other events. Musical concerts, performances of dancers and street performers, theatrical performances on religious themes and gastronomic programs-these are just some of the events of the important holiday.

In March, Malaga holds an interesting historical festival called the Capture of Gaussian. The small ancient town Gaussian became famous for the fact that its inhabitants fought back the army of the French conquerors at the beginning of the 19th century. For more than 200 years a magnificent celebration is held in Malaga in honour of this important historical event. On a solemn day, the city holds interesting theatrical performances in the open air, every one together with the indigenous people can put on beautiful historical costumes and take part in folk festivals.

In the first summer month, guests of Malaga can participate in the symbolic holiday of San Juan. It is held on 23rd June, it is the shortest night of the year. Throughout the day, the city streets and squares are full of performances of artists, and at nightfall, all participants of the holiday go to the coast. There are dozens of large bonfires, locals believe that this ancient ritual helps to scare away evil spirits, which are especially active in the shortest night of the year. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

For many years, one of the main types of fishing for the inhabitants of Malaga remains fishing, local fishermen also have their own symbolic holidays. Every year on July 16 they celebrate the day of their patron – Virgen del Carmen. The main events of such a celebration are religious processions, where the sculpture of the saint patron is carried through the main city streets. After that, the solemn procession continues on the sea, the sculpture is loaded onto a boat and set sail along the coast. After the return of the Saint to the temple, a series of entertainment events, street performances and lush fairs in the city begin.

The traditional fairs of Malaga also worth special attention, some of them have long acquired the status of important international events. The largest is the fair which is held in August, now it is visited annually by more than 6 million people from all parts of the world. The colourful fair has become the best way for travellers to get acquainted with the beautiful Andalusian traditions. On the days of the festival, locals decorate their houses and balconies with beautiful garlands, and hundreds of fairgrounds are opened on the main city streets and squares.

You can see locals dressed in traditional costumes and dresses, luxurious flamenco performances are always held during the fair. In colourful tents, guests of the fair are offered to buy beautiful national clothes and special shoes necessary for the performance of national dances. Hundreds of handicrafts and works of art are sold here, as well as delicacies brought from different parts of the region. During the fair in Malaga, you can have fun all day, many entertainment programs are held at night.

There are some gastronomic symbols, "rebujito" is considered to be the main drink here. It is a simple cocktail that is made from sherry with the addition of sweet lemonade. Guests of the fair will have the opportunity to try the original snacks "tapas", which are sold literally everywhere, and even try the best varieties of ham. You can escape from gastronomic entertainment on a colourful musical performances "verdiales", where artists perform Spanish folk songs. In recent years, Malaga began to carry out a lot of interesting festivals dedicated to contemporary culture and art. It hosts the annual Spanish film Festival de Málaga Cine Español, which is one of the most important and largest in Spain. The festival is held annually in April, the very first film festival in Malaga was held in 1998.