Feria de Agosto
Encyclopedia
The Feria de Agosto or Feria de Málaga ("Málaga Fair") takes place every August in the city of Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

History

The Feria de Málaga commemorates the taking of the city by the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...

 (Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

 and Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...

) 18 August 1487 (five years before the completion of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

), at which time Málaga was incorporated into the Crown of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

.

The Catholic Monarchs gave the city the religious statue of the Virgen de la Victoria ("Virgin of Victory"). The recently formed city government began a tradition of commemorating the taking of the city. The first such celebration took place in the form of a procession on the Feast Day of the Assumption, 15 August 1491. The following year the celebration was shifted to 18 August, the feast day of Saint Louis
Louis of Toulouse
Saint Louis of Toulouse was a cadet of the royal French house of Anjou who was made a Catholic bishop. The California mission, city and county of San Luis Obispo, California, are named after him....

. That year there was a procession and a bullfight
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...

 with four bulls. The celebrtion continued on an annual basis. In the 17th century, fireworks and rockets became part of the celebration. The procession carried the royal standard from the conquest of Málaga, and proceeded from the Cathedral
Cathedral of Malaga
Cathedral of Málaga is Renaissance church in Málaga, Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located inside the limits that the missing Arab wall marked, forming a great architectonic set with the nearby Alcazaba and the Castle of Gibralfaro. It was constructed between 1528 and 1782, following the plans...

 to the Church of Saint James Apostle (Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol) where a mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 was celebrated. The festivities eventually went into decline, and the celebration of the Feast of Saint Louis became little more than a mass and sermon.

Later, coinciding with the liturgical celebrations of the chapter of the cathedral, the municipal government of Málaga established the popular festivities now celebrated on 15 August. In 1887, to commemorate the fourth centenary of the conquest, the festival was returned to the traditional date for the taking of Málaga by the Catholic Monarchs, with a procession of the Virgen de la Victoria, a procession simulating the entry of the Catholic Monarchs and their army, expositions of plants and flowers, regattas, concerts, bullfights, etc.

The Fair has had various locations in the course of its history since 1887. Initially, it was located along the water at the Muelle de Heredia, then in the nearby Parque de Málaga, the grounds of the Theatines
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...

, before finally settling in the Cortijo de Torres district, site of the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Málaga.

Nowadays, the fair begins just before midnight on a Friday and runs ten nights and nine days, ending on a Sunday night.

Activities

The fair today has two entertainment zones. The main one is the Real de la Feria in the Cortijo de Torres district, active in the evening for the "Feria de la noche" ("Night Fair"). Separately, in the historic center of the city, is the "Feria de día" ("Day Fair"): by day, the city center swarms with people, in part because the festival coincides with the enormous summer influx of vacationers to the Costa del Sol
Costa del Sol
The Costa del Sol is a region in the south of Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the Mediterranean coastline of the Málaga province. The Costa del Sol is situated between two lesser known costas: Costa de la Luz and Costa Tropical...

.

During the Fair, the streets of the city center are adorned with paper lanterns and floral displays. Booths are set up, there are performances for children and adults, music and dance (especially verdiales
Verdiales
Verdiales are a Flamenco music style, and song form belonging to Canté Chico.Originating in Almogia, near the Spanish port of Málaga in Andalucia, it is based upon the fandango...

, the most characteristic local variant of flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

), and decked out horses and carriages attempting to make their way through it all. The sounds of flamenco and copla
Copla (music)
The copla or copla andaluza is a form of Spanish popular song, deriving from the poetic form of the same name. The genre arose in the 1940s, and is epitomized by songwriters Antonio Quintero, Rafael de León and Manuel Quiroga.One of the first singers of coplas was Raquel Meller...

 are everywhere, along with less traditional music.

There is bullfighting each afternoon at La Malagueta, and after sunset the fair continues at the Real.

The city's public transit network is considerably reorganized during the fair, including the addition of several special buses to the fair districts from various parts of town.

External links

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