November 30, 2024

Malaga feria

By W2SFadmin

Malaga feria is one of the biggest fairs in Spain. It is held in summer and is a fun time with family and friends. Dancing, eating, dressing up and celebrating. Malaga feria goes back a long way, to the Catholic kings, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. It marks the Reconquest of Malaga by the Christians after centuries of rule by the Moors. The original feria was a 15th century religious event. However, over the years the Malaga feria evolved to include Andalusian customs, music and a market for local farmers to sell wine, grapes and olives. Today’s feria is a festive event for both locals and tourists.

Malaga feria takes place in mid-August, starting on a Friday and typically going through to the Saturday of the next week, about nine days in all. It opens up with a firework display at La Malagueta on Friday evening.

There are in fact two Malaga ferias! One is known as the day feria, which takes place in the city centre around the Calle Larios area. There are street stalls selling everything flamenco, and both locals and tourists have a grand old time. You are very likely to see impromptu flamenco shows and dancing, with singers and guitarists strolling around the central area and performing on stages built for the feria. Why not join in and show off your flamenco dance skills? The tourist information at the end of Alameda Principal has full information on all the events of the feria. And there are dozens of them. If you are lucky, for example, or prepared to queue, you could get in to see performances at the legendary Flamenco Museum, Peña Juan Breva, located a short walk from Calle Larios.

The other Malaga feria has its own ground (el Real Cortijo de Torres), just a little outside the city centre, with connecting buses laid on by the local transport consortium. This is a very large scale event. It includes a huge fun fair and around two hundred booths, known as casetas. These can be exclusive to private events, but most are open to the public. Each caseta has a different theme and some are sponsored by local associations and businesses. They are decorated in traditonal style and there is food, music, partying and sometimes dancing on stage. Flamenco is performed in some of the casetas, and you may get a chance to see the very traditional Malaga flamenco styles of malagueñas and verdiales.

There are other attractions to at the feria ground, such as Andalusian style dressage horse shows. There you can see an extraordinary mastery and rapport between rider and horse. Some horses dance to flamenco music!

Regarding costume for the feria, it is very much Andalusian. Ladies wear high heels, flamenco dresses and perhaps a flower in their hair. Men can be seen in smart tuxedos and hats.

The Malaga feria is one of the largest in Spain and for a whole week of partying on down it is difficult to beat. If you are in Malaga in mid August, it is pretty much unavoidable.

Some practical information and links to the venue:

Very comprehensive guide to the feria in 2024: Guide to Malaga Fair 2024 – GuideToMalaga.com

Getting to the two Málaga ferias:

The day feria is right in the heart of the city and centres on Calle Larios and surrounding streets. Take a bus to Alameda Principal or the Parque de Malaga. The night feria is a little outside the centre, but is easily accessible by special buses laid on by the Malaga transport consortium, or via the Cercanías suburban train line (station Victoria Kent), or it is a short taxi ride from María Zambrano train station, for example.