Full programme for Feria del Corpus

JIMENA/Tesorillo The complete programme for the Feria del Corpus at San Martín del Tesorillo - click on Read more below. It includes activities and events for all ages and sizes, such as a parade of floats, with prizes; children's games and activities; a water battle; comedians and musicians; religious ceremonies dedicated to Corpus Christi ... and lots more. See for yourself below.

No flowers, please ... only food for the needy

Christ with flowers

CASTELLAR In an unprecedented gesture (in these parts, anyway), the organizers of this year's annual romería at Castellar -scheduled for next Sunday, May 6, as the culmination of the village's feria- have requested the devotees of the Cristo de La Almoraima, one of the most venerated images in the region, not to spend their money on the traditional carnations. Instead, they are asking that the same amount as would be spent on flowers, be used to buy food for the needy of the parish. The image itself will be carried through the streets on a simple mound made of moss, a big departure from tradition aimed at supporting a food-raising campaign the parish is sharing with Cáritas, the Catholic charity. The beneficiaries of the food collection will be the 32 families that are presently receiving bags of it from the charity, a long list that includes several members of the Brotherhood. "You don't have to go far," says the President of the Brotherhood, José Carrillo Rojas, "to find people having a very hard time of it these days." Usually, people bring several dozen carnations to pave the way for the Christ through the streets, but this year, "We want the money to be used for food," adds Carrillo.

Castellar castle feria coming up this weekend

CASTELLAR The village's traditional annual Velada del Divino Salvador, which celebrates the patron saint of the castle at Castellar, has been extended to three dayas: August 5, 6 and 7. The newly elected government has thanked the neighbourhood association at the castle for working hard at getting the feria going despite severe financial constraints. The result is 20 hours of different activities and events, the full programming of which we offer below. We must point out that this velada ('mini-feria') has no connection with the following weekend's Full Moon Flamenco Festival (more details later), except that both are in the castle grounds - and that is an excellent reason to be there.

JIMENA'S FERIA DE MAYO PROGRAMME IN ENGLISH

As promised, below, is the full programme for the Feria de Mayo 2011 in ENGLISH, thanks to TranslationHELP, our very own translating enterprise that is moving soon and in full to the offices just around the corner from the Post Office (Correos) in Jimena (956 648 169 or 685 298 820) and ready to help you with anything related to Spanish, such as hospital/medical/legal visits or translations, form filling, complaints, neighbour relations, home management - you name it, if it's in Spanish, we can help. Twenty years in Jimena is their guarantee. (Commercial over, go to feria programme below)>

Jimena's Feria de Mayo starts on Friday

Jimena's annual Feria de Mayo gets under way this year next Friday, starting at 7pm with the traditional cork loading contest. As usual, there are numerous activities involving animals through the weekend (mules, horses, dogs, donkeys and drunkards - oops!). It used to be called Feria de Ganado (Cattle Fair) and equines (you know, horses, mules and donkeys) feature prominently as buying and selling goes on, plus all kinds of horsey events as well (See full programme when we post it). Aside from the equine, there is also the canine (yes, dogs) with a very popular dog show on Sunday. But there's all sorts of things that you can see on the full programme below in Spanish that our friends at TranslationHELP will be putting into English as soon as possible.

First of Campo ferias starts the season off at Castellar

The first of a string of ferias in the Campo de Gibraltar gets under way this evening at Castellar. Top of the list of events is the crowning of the Queen of the Fair, infant and older, which is interesting (to foreign residents) because both of them are of British origin. Anna Daphne Brophy (with her cortege: Mireya Rubio, Natalia Sierra, Cristina Espinosa and Aroa Márquez) is the Queen of the older ones, and Mara Emberley of the younger ones, with her cortege: Patricia Ledesma, Davina Gómez, Cristina Hernández and Alicia Gavilán. The feria comes together with a romeria, which will bring in some of the best horses and riders of the area. There is More (See complete programme below), but it is good to know that the fairground rides are at a special reduced price today and tomorrow.>

To smoke or not to smoke at the Ferias

SPAIN/ANDALUCÍA One of the consequences stemming from Spain's new anti-smoking law, which came into effect on January 2, is a great deal of confusion about whether smoking is or is not allowed in the casetas (marquees) at the innumerable ferias throughout the country. The largest of these in Andalucía(Sevilla, Jerez and Algeciras) began asking their local councils about how the new law would applied, and the same could probably be said of any town or village anywhere with an annual fair.>

Hunting, shooting, fishing fair coming up

LOS BARRIOS The fourth edition of FICAPT (Feria Internacional de Caza, Pesca y Turismo Rural de Los Barrios) is scheduled from October 7 to 10 at the fair grounds in Los Barrios. Held every two years, the presentation last week heralded a large variety of events, including an exhibition of taxidermy from the Parque de las Ciencias in Granada (a superb natural science 'museum' well worth a visit there), a canary breeding exhibition, as well as an indoor shooting gallery, police dog shows, hunting dog show and much more. Exhibitors in all sectors of the rural lifestyle come from all over the country, and some 30,000 visitors are expected. (More info in Spanish here.)

Jimena's Novena celebrations get under way!

The kids loved it, especially Nuria Peña Pérez, who became this year's Queen once the cavalcade arrived at Plaza Práxedes Gómez having ridden around the streets of Estación in the company of her Ladies in Waiting. This was the beginning of an intense weeekend of festivities in honour of Jimena's patron saint, Our Lady Queen of the Angels, whose procession will bring things to an end on Sunday. Last night, too, was the 29th edition of our Flamenco Festival (which was supposed to have been presented by José María Macías, but who died very recently and who received a special, emotional tribute - and about which more later), as well as a series of other activities: that included the Michigán Urban Mile race, among other things. SEE TODAY'S FULL PROGRAMME HERE. The full programme and that for horses and riders are only a click away on the sidebar. Use it!

Why horses at the Novena? See programme here

Anyone remotely interested in those (usually) tall four-legged things with long noses and fur they call horses, will know that the Novena celebrations in honour of Our Lady Queen of the Angels, patron saint of Jimena, includes a whole area, plus marquee, for them, as well as their mounts. It is run by the Peña Caballista El Estribo, a large group of local riding enthusiasts whose aim is to promote the world of horses and associated activities. Among other things, they take part in most if not all the parades around the village, have donkey and/or mule races, riding exhibitions and games and a lot more. See the El Estribo programme below, and check the Novena's FULL PROGRAMME HERE.>

The ladies meet tonight in Jimena

Another annual event associated with the Novena celebrations in Los Ángeles (a.k.a. Estación) is the dinner for Women Only of the municipality, though this year budgetary restrictions have set it 'off programme' (the official start is tomorrow evening). So, if you are of the female persuasion, you could book yourself a dinner (€12 per head) and turn up tonight at 10pm at the Municipal Marquee. But there's more: music & dancing (the men sort of hang about, 'off limits), prizes for best dancing, best flamenco costume - and a whole lot of fun. The spirits behind this event are the tlocal wo women's organizations: Mujeres del 91 and Patio del Chato.

Working up to this year's Novena in Jimena (September 3, 4 & 5)

As any good Catholic will tell you, a Novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. In Jimena, this liturgical aspect begins next Saturday, August 28, with daily Masses held at 7am and 7.30pm until Sunday, September 5th, at 7.30 (See Parish blog). In fact, this last is also when the procession begins in honour of Jimena's Patron Saint, Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles (Our Lady Queen of the Angels - and the reason so many women in the area are called Ángeles, or María de los Ángeles, or Mariángeles, the short version - and why Estación wants to be officially renamed to Los Ángeles, its traditional name). The procession (photo of 2008) is the culmination of several days' festivities. And we have the programme - in translation right now, by The Translation People - to be published soon. As usual, La Novena, as the festivities are called, are plentiful and fun! There are all kinds of things going on, including the 29th edition of the annual Flamenco Festival. The booklet with the programme in Spanish begins to be distributed this weekend. WATCH THIS SPACE.