Festivals form a major part of the Spanish lifestyle. They find a whole host of reasons to celebrate from deep routed religious traditions to modern day music festivals.

The month of April sees two completely different celebrations in two of Andalucia’s towns

From 22 to 27 April, a very traditional and interesting festival takes place when the inland town of Cártama will hold the festival honouring Our Lady of Remedies where the local residents pay homage to their Patroness, recalling miracles and healings, and painting the streets in a special shade

This fiesta has been designated a Unique Event of National Interest for Tourists by the Andalusian Government and the event attracts visitors from around the world.

The two most important days are the 22 and 23^rd of April when a procession carrying Our Lady of Remedies from Her chapel to San Padro Parish Church and a parade along the streets in town, when devotees and pilgrims can come into contact with Virgin Mary takes place

During the festival there’ll be music and dancing as well, and even a cattle fair with itself has a a long history.

ThwVirgin Mary taken back to Her Chapel on the 1^st June where She’ will remain until the fiesta begins again next year.

While in the town take your time to explore some of the landmark which include : the González Marín House Museum, the San Pedro Parish Church and, of course, Our Lady of Remedies’s Chapel.

For further information, please contact the local Department of Festivals.
Telephone: 95 242 70 97
Website: www.cartama.es

While the religious festivals in Spain are very important, food festivals are also extremely important to the people of Andalucia and on the 27^th April the town of Sierra de Yeguas in the Guadalteba region pay tribute to their main export Asparagus

The town produces around 1.5 million kilos of asparagus every year, with a turnover of some 4 million euros and around one third of the town’s population work within the Asparagus industry

The Asparagus Fair attracts around 5000 visitors each year who flock to the town to enloy the palnt which is cooked in the traditional ways: in omelettes, scrambled, or grilled

Apart from the Asparagus there’ll also be paella and all sorts of homemade products offered by about thirty of the towns companies plus -cheese, olive oil, wine, even furniture!

Organic products will play a key role at the fair, as will do music: there’ll be concerts and shows to make your meal even more enjoyable.

For further information, please contact the local Town Hall.
Telephone: 95 274 60 02
Website: www.sierradeyeguas.es

These are just two festivals that show the diverse types of festivals and fairs that can be found in Andalucia. Go and try one of or maybe both out.