Today is held the Ascension Day, the day when
the Blessed Virgin rose from the ground to the sky. Today, more than one
thousand towns will start its official parties in Spain. Once more Spaniards
will try to forget crisis through eating and drinking. I could talk about many
places cause every town in parties has something interesting to talk about. This
time I have picked Malaga. The Malaga’s fair commemorates the city takeover by
the king Fernando II from Aragon and the queen Isabel I from Castilla. Since
then every year in August there are seven days of party in this lively city.
The streets in the city centre are decorated with flowers and people wear
Flamenco cloths. In these days people set up “casetas” (stands) where people
eat, drink, dance, sing and some of them even fall in love. This last thing is
not difficult to happen since Andalusian women are very beautiful. If you like
flamenco you can watch concerts every morning in the city centre completely
free. At 2 o’clock people crowd the city centre streets while drink typical
Andalusian wines such as “cartojal” “fino” or “manzanilla” . Be careful with
cartojal. It is a very nice wine. Soft, fresh and very easy to drink. Many
people drink this wine quietly and suddenly they end up performing a
streaptease, kissing a streetlamp or waking up in the wrong bed. At six o’clock is time to watch the bullfighting
at the “Malagueta’s bullring” where well-known bullfighters will fight fierce
bulls. However if you are against this bloody
tradition like me, you could take a nap in order to keep strength
for night. There are many restaurants where you can have your dinner. I would
recommend you any Andalusian restaurant where you will be able to taste
“Gazpacho” , “sopas perotas” (soup) , cocido andaluz (Andalusian stew) or
“pescaito frito” (fried fish) . At night the party is in the fairground. There are more than one hundred stands, the big
wheel, roller coasters and so on. And there is area to see concerts. Rock and
Pop music groups will perform for the whole night and you will be able to watch
for free. The last time I was at Malaga’s fair I went to the stands at night
with my girlfriend and she taught me how to dance “sevillanas” . If you ever go
to Malaga’s fair try to learn. It is a very funny dance. You will need a lot of
energy because the party lasts until the dawn so try to eat during the night.
There are a lot of yummy Andalusian dishes at the various stands. As far as
weather is concerned you can relax. At night you will not need any jumper cause
temperature usually is around 25º - 30º celsius. To sum up, if you have the
chance, go to Malaga’s fair. You will not regret. If
you have ever been in Malaga and have something to tell, post a comment on this
blog. Happy summer !!!
