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The 15th of August is the most important day of the most spectacular event, the patron saint festivities or Feria of the oldest town in the Spanish Mediterranean, Almuñécar, as well as being the day on which the patron saint of the town, La Virgen de la Antigua Coronada, is celebrated, it is the culmination of a whole week of festivities, culminating in the spectacular, beautiful and much awaited procession of the Virgen de la Antigua de 2.022.
The aforementioned procession will leave the Church of the Encarnación at six o’clock in the afternoon, in the historic centre of the town, going through many of its intricate streets on the shoulders of the costaleros, until it reaches the well-known San Cristóbal beach, where it will set sail by boat, continuing the procession followed by a multitude of boats, which can be seen from the shore and numerous viewpoints in the town, to the Puerta del Mar beach. It should also be noted that this procession has been declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia.
But the most spectacular and awaited moment of the most important event of the year in the city comes when the land-maritime procession makes its way through the Peñones del Santo, another of the historical and most identifiable symbols of the oldest city of the Spanish Mediterranean, when the boat carrying the image of the Virgin will start, as is tradition, the grandiose pyro-musical fireworks display, which illuminate the sky of Sexitano with colours and sound, which can be seen from several kilometres around.
It can be enjoyed from all parts of the town and its surroundings, even from the beach of La Charca in the neighbouring town of Salobreña, also bathed by the Mediterranean, the fireworks can be seen.
The fireworks are launched into the sky from several different and strategic points of the city, such as the Castle of San Miguel, the rocks of the Saint and the beach of San Cristóbal, creating in the starry sky of the night a display of light to the rhythm of the music that will leave even the most sceptical people with their mouths open.
It is important to arrive in Almuñécar in good time on that day to enjoy the show in the front line and find a suitable place, as there is always a large influx of people, especially this year 2022 after two years of restrictions due to Covid19.
Although it is true that the Town Hall surprised locals and strangers alike when in full confinement there were fireworks, and although on a smaller scale they lit up the sky of Almuñécar in honour of the Virgin patron saint of the city in the summer of 2020 and filled the desolate streets of that summer of restrictions with sound.
Come and enjoy tradition, faith, devotion and spectacle in all its splendour in Almuñécar, on Sunday 15th August 2.022, which will be the culmination of the week-long Fiestas Patronales of the oldest town in the Spanish Mediterranean.
August 15 at the Almuñécar Fair
This week, August 15 is the busiest of the year. Tourists and residents enjoy the many activities that the municipality offers.
From eleven in the morning you are invited to wake up with rockets so that you can enjoy the urban center, enlivened with music bands, shops. An excellent option to search among its shops or just walk around. Later you can enjoy the aperitif in the town hall square or in the Kelibia square.
During the afternoon, when the sun is not so strong, you can enjoy a bath or a coffee a few meters from the shore in any of its beach bars, or in one of the pubs in the Phoenician Lowlands. .
After resting on the sand, we return home to prepare for the busy night that awaits us. We have time to dine in a restaurant and prepare for the star event that every year brings together thousands of people around the rocks and the castle of San Miguel.
Where to the rhythm of the music we will contemplate the impressive pyrotechnic show that marks the end of the fair and the festivities of Almuñécar. After the fireworks display, we can attend the fair or one of the nightlife venues.
Booths, attractions for the little ones, have a place in the 15,000 m² occupied by the fairgrounds of the August festivities of Almuñécar.
The fairground is set up for about a week and is located at the entrance to Almuñécar next to the national road 340, easily accessible.
From the arch located at the beginning to the end of the avenue, the typical attractions of the fair are located in the first place where the smallest of the family enjoy.
Then the booths of the different brotherhoods of Holy Week and at the end of the avenue La caseta municipal where there are live performances.
With shows in the municipal booth that close to the absolute full, booths of Easter brotherhoods and attractions for the little ones in the fairgrounds of the August festivities of Almuñécar.
Every year in the second week of August Almuñécar celebrates the Fair coinciding with the day of the Virgen de la Antigua. The Virgin Mary is the patron saint of the town.
If you have the opportunity to visit Almuñécar during these days, it is essential that you do not miss the Fair because it is a whole week to enjoy full of food, drinks, music, carnival rides and a procession.
Finishing on the 15th of August with the most important night of the Almuñécar fiestas and the most spectacular fireworks display on the Costa del Sol and Costa Tropical, from the Peñones del Santo.
It’s almost a full week of fun all over the town, and for all visitors and locals alike, all over the town you can find the different activities taking place, from the fairgrounds, to the Majuelo Park and its surroundings, and also in the Casa de la Cultura, the Town Hall and of course on the beach.
The most important activities range from leisure and recreational to cultural, both during the day and at night, for children and adults. There are even some sporting events open to anyone who wants to participate, such as a beach volleyball competition near the beach bars of Los Bajos.
Marvel at the atmosphere that pervades the streets of Spain’s oldest Mediterranean town, as this is the time when the locals will be wearing traditional costumes and also riding horses through the main streets of Almuñécar.
The fiestas come to a climax on the 15th of August, coinciding with the day of the Assumption of Mary and the Virgen de la Antigua, patron saint of Almuñécar, for which there is a large procession.
Its brotherhood carries the image of the Virgen de la Antigua first through the streets of the historic centre of the town until it reaches the shores of the Mediterranean, then it goes aboard a boat and sails around the Rock, always escorted by a small army, until it returns to land at Playa Puerta del Mar at around 23:00 hours.
And just as it returns to land, the long awaited fireworks display begins, the most spectacular fireworks display to be enjoyed on the Costa del Sol and the Costa Tropical, which can be seen from the beaches of Salobreña and Motril.
Because it is not only in the sky, but also cascades down from the castle to the beach and the sea. That is why it is worth to be seen at least once in a lifetime.
And of course, when the fireworks are over, everybody goes to the fairground to eat, drink and dance until dawn.
The patron saint of Almuñécar
The patron saint of Almuñécar has been the Virgen de la Antigua since 1569. This invocation of the Virgin Mary is represented with the Child Jesus and a white rose, and is also known as Nuestra Señora de la Antigua.
The Virgen de la Antigua became the patron saint of Almuñécar on 15th August 15.569, because it was on this day that the Moorish leader of the Alpujarras, Aben Humeya, surprised the Christian troops when they tried to take the Castle of San Miguel.
But the Moorish troops were defeated by the army of Felipe II, commanded by Don Lope de Valenzuela. The Sexitanos attributed the victory to the miraculous intervention of the Virgen de la Antigua.
On the other hand, the feast of the Assumption of Mary is the Christian belief that God assumed the Virgin Mary into heaven after her death. This event is also celebrated on 15 August in many parts of the world.
This day is celebrated all over Spain, but in Almuñécar it coincides with its big week.
So, if you have the opportunity, be sure to visit Almuñécar during the second week of August and until the 15th, when the fireworks display is a spectacle for all the senses.
