So you might have thought that the UK and the USA had the monopoly on Harvest Festivals … well, you’re wrong!
Torrecuevas, just North of Almuñécar, (approximately 10 km inland) has been hosting the local chirimoya Festival for the past 42 years and clearly this fruit is of huge importance to the area as the orchard runs right, bang, smack through the valley of the Rio Verde, all the way through to the coast.
The lucky saint to be honoured this weekend (11th-13th October) is of course the Virgin Mary herself; an effigy of whom you will see parading through the main street of Torrecuevas on Saturday evening. But don’t let me get ahead of myself, as you need to enjoy Friday evening’s events as well!
Topping the agenda, is the local theatrical production of ‘Aquí No Paga Nadie’ (sounds like my kind of place!) from 8pm and scheduled to take place in the Centro Socio-cultural de Torrecuevas.
If you’re looking for another kind of drama, from 8:15pm you can enjoy a fashion show with doubtlessly precocious tots dressed in the latest Flamenco costumes. (The older girls have their turn at 11pm, so watch out for some real head-turners, with the local beauties!)
Hang onto your hats as 8:30pm sets the scene for the nocturnal race of MTB bikes. The fiesta lights and decorations are switched on at 9pm and it’s off to the Caseta for drinking, eating and merry-making!
Saturday 12th kicks off with lots of activities for the kids during the morning, including ‘Paint your own chirimoya’ – if they can get them to sit still long enough – that’s the chirimoyas, not the kids, you know!
And as I mentioned earlier, the procession of Our Lady at 7pm, accompanied by the local choir and famous, local dancing group, Andalucía Baile.
At 10:15pm you can enjoy the fabulous firework display and then look forward to another night of eating and drinking, accompanied by music and dancing.
Sunday morning starts off with sporting and children activities. If anyone is interested in a Duathlon that begins at 10am, please contact David on 665 810 012 or Joaquín on 647 278 635 to sign up for the event.
If you’re a bit peckish after all this physical exertion, you can hang around for the lunch funded by the Partido Popular of Almuñécar and normally free to locals and visitors! Speaking of food, at 6:30pm you can see who wins the prestigious Gastronomic competition and maybe get some tips yourself on just how versatile our humble, little, local chirimoya is!
As you can imagine, partying will go on well into the night as the locals make the most of their very own take on the Harvest Festival. Pop up and take a look for yourselves!
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)