The festive season will soon be upon us and right across Andalucia the people of every village, town and city are working hard to ensure that their celebrations go off without a hitch and that both the locals and visitors have an enjoyable time.

There are many events planned for the whole of the Christmas period from the small fairs and parties to the massive events that attract visitors from all over the world.

One such event that is not to be missed takes place on the 28^th December on the outskirts of Malaga City. The Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales is the most important and largest Verdiales festivals of the year. It takes place at the Venta San Cayetano, at Puerta de la Torre on the A7011 C3311 (MA413) road to Almogía which is about 15 minutes outside Malaga and for those who don’t drive there is bus service from Malaga

The Verdiales festivals are celebrations of the traditional Verdiales dance style that is popular in Andalucia, It is a form of flamenco which developed around 100 years ago in the olive growing area of Malaga province known as Los Verdiales near to Almogia. It is one of the earliest forms of fandango

The origin of the dance style is uncertain but many believe it has roots in the Arabic music introduced by the Berbers in the eighth century. Predominant instruments are guitar, violin, castanets, and the lute. It is performed by groups that are known as “pandas”, and the music they dance to are upbeat happy tunes with the energetic dancers wearing costumes of unusual headgear decked with flowers and also festooned with mirrors, bells, beads and colored ribbons, The dances are fast paced and are performed by couples who are very agile and there is a lot of leaping along with hand gestures and finger clicking. The songs are divided into three “coplas”, or verses.

During the event on the 28^th 25 Pandas (Verdiales Groups) from the local villages compete on a stage in the three categories. which are known as Almogia, Montes and Comares. The Almogía version of Verdiales is the most energetic, with the violinist leading the other performers

Each group of about 20 will perform about 4 songs. One will feature a young member vigorously swirling the two sided Andalucian and Spanish Flag. Another the band and female singer conducted with a colorful tasseled baton, another featuring dancing pairs.

The home team “Raices de Malaga” has the most support

The event begins at 11 in the morning and runs throughout the day to around 6pm . Apart from the main event there are the impromptu practice and jamming sessions among the musicians During these fun sessions bottles of potent Málaga sweet wine and aguardiente (literally, fire water). This authentic competition is sponsored by Malaga Town Hall

It really is an event not be  missed if you love the traditional Spanish lifestyle.