This year’s annual gastro fair is once again scheduled to be held in Majuelo Park. Dates for this year are Fri, Sat & Sun the 31st May, 1st & 2nd June. Around 20 odd local restaurants and tapas bars will again be competing for prizes, showcasing local dishes prepared freshly at their stands for you to enjoy.
Opening times are 12~:00 to 18:00 and 20:00 – 24:00 with dishes priced on average between 3 and 6 euros.
The entrants for this year’s Cruces de Mayo competitions have now been finalised, and are shown on the attached PDF. This covers both Almunecar & La Herradura.
As much a demonstration of pagan tradition as it is of Christian faith the origins of Cruces De Mayo are rooted in a confusion of legend and folklore. For full information on the meaning and history of the May Crosses please see our dedicated meaning of Cruces de Mayo post.
Times for the displays are still as before – Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May 2019 from12:00 on the Friday until 22:00 on the Sunday, but must be closed at 02:00 in the mornings.
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This year’s annual May Crosses fiesta is confirmed for Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May 2019. The crosses and tableaux must be on display from 12:00 on the Friday until 22:00 on the Sunday, but must be closed at 02:00 in the mornings to respect the neighbours.
As always, they will be judged on multiple criteria, with classes for children as well as communities. Prizes range from €700 for 1st place, to €500 and €300 for 2nd & 3rd places, plus €100 spot prizes.
As and when the entrants and the locations are known we will post the details…
The April itinerary is now out. As always “right click” to download onto your phone for later reference. Blues, Soul, Flamenco, Funk and much more, as well as local bands and open mike nights. Also, don’t forget the annual Ruta De Tapas is still running on Fri, Sat & sun the 5th, 6th & 7th April.
Around 30 restaurants and bars are now signed up for this year’s annual “Ruta de Tapas” running on Friday March 29 to Sunday March 31 and from Friday April 5 to Sunday 7th.
As always there will be ‘passports’ available at the participating venues, as well as at the tourism office for your use in navigating your way around all the entrants and voting for your favourites. 60% of the total score will be from your votes, with the remaining 40% being made up from a panel of 5 “secret shoppers” who will sample the delights on offer in total and absolute secrecy by means of wearing spectacles with false moustaches attached.
Each entrant will be submitting a fixed price tapa and drink for €3 during the competition period. More details of each venue, as well as their individual tapas can be seen on the official ruta de tapas web site
Please do vote for your favourites, as it means a lot to the winners and runners up. In order for your votes to count, you will need to have visited at least 5 establishments, and have had the corresponding box on the passport stamped. Completed passports can be filed at the Town Hall, or the tourism offices on Paseo Altillo or by the Aquarium. Each correctly completed passport will be entered into a raffle for some superb prizes as well!
The itinerary for the 2019 San Jose fiesta has now been released. Running from Fri 15th to Tue 19th March this is one the main local fiestas for La Herradura. A huge variety of things to see and do, including the ever popular “ribbon race” for the horses on the beach, which this year appears to have a bit more publicity surrounding it
The program runs to some 56 pages (!) so may take a while to download:
As always, here is this month’s cultural agenda. Flamenco, Blues & Soul. Rock, Choral and much more. Also don’t forget to look out for local flyers for local bands, and for live flamenco in bars in the old town. Just click on it for a larger version – It’s also “right clickable” so you can download it onto you phone for reference later…
Sierra Nevada is hosting a 12 hr endurance race on Sat 26th January from 08:00 to 20:00. 
Sponsored by HEAD, the race is open to teams of 2 – 3 entrants, and simply consists of a 12hr endurance race passing through set control points. The winner will be the team that successfully completes the most descents during the 12 hrs.
A full support infrastructure, with entertainment, food & drink, and evening prize giving dinner at 20:30, raffles, music and more is on the cards, so this should be a good spectator sport as well as one for the keen skiers. Entries are €60 per team.
FFI see the HEAD site or Sierra Nevada web site
The next few days the town goes Tango mad, with over 400 participants in a 2 day frenzy of passionate foot stomping. Tonight, Friday 18th, the weekend starts at 19:30 at the Casa Cultura, with Instantes de Vida, which promises theatre, dance, music, songs and poetry, along with the most famous tangos, vibrant melodies and the occasional “world-famous surprise”.
This is followed with a spectacular on Saturday night, La Noche Que Me Quieras, showcasing several well known names in the tango world and honouring Carlos Gardel. This show premiered in Valencia and it is a great coup for Almunecar for it be performed here.
The two main concerts are supported by Milonga dancing in Parque de Majuelo. This is a form of Tango which originated around the River Plata in Argentina & Uruguay and was at its height in the 1870s.
Hotel Almunecar Playa is also hosting a series of exhibitions and workshops over the weekend, with over 60 registered dance partners.
Tickets are available at the Casa de Cultura, or at Viajes Ecuador as well as on-line at bravoentradas.com
Anyone who has been here will know of the fabulous heladerias / geletarias around the town and sea front with their fabulous displays of home made ice-creams. One of our local ice cream craftsmen, José Muñoz Frontana, of Heladería Daniel on Paseo San Cristobal, has got through to the final 12 of the national “Best Ice Cream Maker Of Spain” competition.
The finals are being held in Madrid from 23 to 26 February. Each contestant will have 9 and a half hours per day to create their entries, with the judges looking at their skills, flavours, composition, texture, decoration, techniques and creativity .
You can skip the advert in the video when the text in the video reads “Saltar Anuncio” – or if the video does not work try this direct link: 2018 Ice Cream Championship. and the interview should start after the advert finishes (small timer at bottom right).