MALAGA FAIR- SPAIN

14th-22nd August 2010

MÁLAGA IN THE HISTORY

The city was founded by the Phoenicians, who built a settlement near
the hill on which the Alcazaba stands today. During Roman times,
Malaga obtained the benefits of being declared a confederated city of
Rome.
Under the rule of the Moors, the city enjoyed an era of great progress,
however, in 1487 it was re-conquered by the Catholic Monarchs,
following which it fell into relentless decline.

By the end of the 18th century, beginning of the 19th, a high-class

bourgeoisie had been formed, comprised mainly of two families: the
Larios and the Heredia, thanks to whom Malaga became the second
most important industrial centre in the country.
Converted into a world capital of tourism, thanks to the development
of the Costa del Sol, today Malaga continues to grow.
Malaga Fair - History

The summer festivities in the city have their roots in the

commemoration of the incorporation of Malaga to the Castilian crown
of the Catholic Monarchs, who made their triumphal entrance into the
city on 19th August 1487.
In 1491, coinciding with the religious celebrations of the Cathedral
Chapter, the Municipal Town Council decreed the establishment of
popular festivities, which that year began on 15th August.

It was in 1887, with celebration of the 400th anniversary of the

Catholic Monarchs’ entrance into Malaga, that these festivities
regained their initial splendour. Malaga’s August Fair has come to the
present day as a Grand Summer Fair that is open, cosmopolitan and
international, all of this reflecting the character of the capital of the
leading tourist area in Europe: the City of Malaga as the key centre of
the Costa del Sol and its metropolitan area.
The First Night. Official Opening
Before midnight, thousands of locals and visitors gathered on the
beaches at La Malagueta to hear the " Pregón de la Feria ", the
inaugural speech that marks the official opening of the Fair. This year
is 13th August.
At 12 o’clock midnight, a magnificent sound and light firework display
begins. During half an hour over 4,000 kg of pyrotechnics fill the
Malaga sky with light, fire, music and colour, coinciding with the
lighting up of the Paseo del Parque’s artistic illumination.

At different sites on the Park and Plaza de la Marina, there are music
shows to suit everyone’s tastes: flamenco or verdial music, pop-rock,
etc. Thousands of people of all ages come out in force to have fun and
enjoy this first night of the Fair that lasts until the small hours.
The Piligrimage. From the Paseo del Parque to the
Victoria Shrine

On the first Saturday of the Annual Fair, a large number of pilgrims,

horse riders, and beautifully decorated carts and carriages gather at
11 o'clock in the morning in front of the Town Hall in the Paseo
Central del Parque, together with the many spectators who come to
watch the pilgrimage get underway.
Exactly at midday, on the Town Hall steps the Mayor hands the city's
flag to the flag bearer of the year, who will lead the multitudinous and
colourful pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Victoria, Patron Saint
of Malaga, where a pilgrimage mass will be said, followed by dancing.

Every year, the Historical Quarter Association chooses the flag bearer,
as a way of rewarding citizens, associations or institutions that have
given special dedication and attention to our city, with particular
public significance. This year has been chosen Fusionadas
Brotherhood.
Once the celebrations have finalised, the pilgrims continue the
festivities in the centre of the city and await the inauguration of the
Fairground, which takes place as night falls.
The City Centre Fair. A Festival of Light and Colour.
Every day during the Fair, from midday onwards, the city transforms
into an invitation to excitement and festivity. All its streets, with calle
Larios acting as host, become the focal point and an obligatory port of
call for both locals and visitors.

Music takes on a fundamental role in each and every one of the

events that can be enjoyed in the streets and squares of the city
centre, such as the “Fiesta de Verdiales” (traditional dancing) in calle
Larios and Plaza del Obispo, or the “International Folklore Festival” in
Plaza de la Marina.
And for the little ones, there is the “Magic Fair” (C/ Alcazabilla), with
multiple activities to excite their imagination and creativity, all of
them designed with the common denominator of ensuring that the
kids have fun.
In the bars, cafeterias and booths mounted for the duration, one can
savour the generous wines of the land, accompanied with a great
variety of “tapas”.

A particularly enjoyable pastime during these days is to taste our

Malaga wine. A wine linked historically to the Arts, its originality and
noble ascendance has made it the object of many literary references.
There have been mentions of the wines produced in the benign
climate of Malaga since the days of the Romans, although it was from
the times of the Muslim invasion that these wines became a literary
inspiration for a number of authors.
Our wines are whites: pale, golden wines with a varietal aroma,
elegant and clean, and a fruity flavour, fresh with acid overtones;
they are reds: full bodied, well structured wines, with prevailing
flavours and aromas that are particular to the wines of the region, of
minerals and, as well as a sweetness. There is a wide range of dessert
wines.
Going back to the festivities, thousands of people fill the streets in the
Historical Quarter and - drinks in hand -recoup energies to go to the
late afternoon bullfight at La Malagueta Bullring. Malaga’s Bullfight
programme during the Fair is one of the most prestigious in Spain.

Excitement, colour and brilliance are inherent characteristics of our

Fair, in which a succession of the most typical images can be seen in
every street of the Historical Quarter of the city.
Visitors will feel just as much a part of it as the Malaga people and,
without a doubt, they will be fascinated by the beauty of our Fair.

The Fairground. Nighttime Magic

At half past nine on the evening of the first Saturday of Feria, the
Mayor of Malaga, surrounded by thousands of the Malaga citizens, will
trip the switch that turns on the illumination that will light up the
Fairground for the next nine nights, thus inaugurating the annual fair
at Malaga’s Fairground.
A little later all the aisles, booths and attractions fill up with lively
public, out to enjoy the fair from the very first moment.
One of the elements that sets Malaga Fair apart from other is the fact
that none of the Casetas (individual entertainment enclosures) that
offer a multitude of different types of music and ambiences
(flamenco, as well as malagueña, verdial and sevillana dancing,
orchestras, music for young people, etc.) are private nor charge an
entry fee.
Top national stars perform both in the Municipal Auditorium and in
the caseta devoted specifically to young people ( Caseta de la
Juventud ). As always, the Fair has its Queen, chosen from the city’s
most beautiful women.
As the night progresses, the excitement and enthusiasm grows,
accompanied by wine, laughter and dancing, and in fact the activity
only begins to wane when the first lights of dawn announce the start
of another day, and that it is time to move the celebrations from the
Fairground to the city’s Historical Quarter.
With around 240 casetas , the Fairground prepares to welcome locals
and visitors. There is an area reserved for the traditional fair rides, as
well as a huge parking area with capacity for over 15,000 vehicles
and, of course, all the sanitary and support services necessary for a
fairground of around five hundred thousand square metres that
receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every day.
Every midday there are horse-drawn carriage drives around the
fairground, whilst dressage competitions are held in the exhibition
enclosure.
The closing ceremony of the Fair is held in the fairground on 22nd, with
an End of Fair show that culminates, at 12 o’clock midnight, with a
spectacular and enormous Fireworks Display.

An unforgettable day
The city during the Fair presents a multitude of possibilities.
Regardless of whether or not you have an itinerary, there are loads of
things to be enjoyed from the early morning until well into the small
hours.
Here we offer you a route, one of many that Malaga offers throughout
the year, but which during the Fair becomes even more inviting.
9:00
Time get out an about for a cool walk through the city streets.
Take a walk down to the sea for a walk along the beaches of Malaga.
At this time of the morning they are a delight.
10:30
The City Centre Fair has not yet begun. Make good use of the wait.
The Historical-Botanical Garden of La Concepción is an excellent
choice: You will be amazed, and if you have already been around the
Park you will not doubt identify the similarities.
You could also stay in the city: Take a walk around its streets and visit
any of the city’s museums: Pablo Ruiz Picasso’s Birthplace Museum,
the Picasso Museum of Malaga, the Malaga Contemporary Art
Museum (CAC), the Cathedral Museum, or MIMMA (Malaga Interactive
Music Museum), etc.

12:00
Time to get ready for the Fair
It you are taking the kids, or you yourselves are still game for a bit of
childish fun, take a walk round the Magic Fair (C/ Alcazabilla), an area
specifically designed for the little ones. A great time for all is
guaranteed.
13:00
Folklore takes centre stage. Look in on the International Folklore
Festival and you will be surprised to find the rhythms and dances
from all over the world gathered together in the Plaza de la Marina
where, with a universal language, they make contact with our own
forms of expression.
14:00
Time to lose yourself in the very heart of the Fair
In the City Centre Fair, throughout the Historical Quarter there are
several stages mounted for performances of verdial dancing and
music typical of Spanish fairs. The surroundings are an invitation to
have fun, to dance, enjoy a few “tapas” and a lot of laughs, and
epicurean trilogy that can be repeated time and time again, while
body and spirit are able.
17:00
It would be a crime to wind of the party, so five o’clock is as good a
time as any to take a break and partake in a southern custom envied
the world over, the “siesta”. There is no better way to recoup
energies to face up to what is still to come, which is quite a lot.
19:30
Out on the street again. The Fair Bullfight awaits and if you had the
opportunity of seeing Picasso’s works in the two aforementioned
museums during your morning walk, you will probably still have in
your mind’s eye the images you are about to see live.
21:30
With the murmuring of the crowds leaving the bullring still ringing in
your ears, you near, once again, the Historical Quarter of the city. The
City Centre Fair is done for the day, but you can still enjoy a classical
music recital within the Gibralfaro en Fiesta programme. Top line
chamber music orchestras and soloists provide an intimate and select
musical interlude.
23:00
Now the Fair has reached its maximum splendour as the Fairground
explodes with colour, light, music and laughter. A FIESTA, with capital
letters. Right from the morning there has been activity, but at this
time of the night the way to discover it is to walk through its the
aisles and visit a few of its casetas (entertainment booths). Everyone,
from the young to the not so young, will find something to enjoy in
the ample areas of mechanical rides or in the area reserved for the
casetas, full of activity and excitement. The different municipal
casetas offer the opportunity to have a great time. There are casetas
for the children, for verdial dancing, for flamenco dancing and
singing, for young people, as well as the recently inaugurated
Municipal Auditorium.
The time to go is when you decide. You can start it all again at 9:00,
which is a good time for some hot chocolate with its typical
accompaniment of “churros” (fritter like rings); or you may think that
there is no better way to end the day than just as you began it,
watching the first rays of dawn bring you another “unforgettable day”
by our beautiful Mediterranean.

José Luis Bola Barrionuevo is the painter of the poster Malaga Fair 2010