I live in a Spanish town called Jumilla, which is renowned for its wine. One of the highlights of each year is the
Feria y Fiestas de Agosto, which includes the infamous
Fiesta de la Vendimia (Wine harvest Fiesta).
On the last Saturday of the
Feria all the participants are soaked in red wine, so don't wear your best clothes if you come along! During August there are several other fiestas in Jumilla, including the Folklore Festival, Moors and Christians, plus the celebrations for the patron saint of Jumilla,
La Virgen de la Asunción, whose saint's day is on August 15th.
Each year I desperately try and get information about the August fiestas well in advance so that I can spread the word via my blogs and expat magazines. This year I was delighted to spot the announcement that there would be a press conference in the Jardín del Rey Don Pedro on Tuesday morning. Would I be able to get the information that I needed a month in advance?
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| The Professionals |
I was slightly over-awed when I arrived and spotted that the professionals were there from the local newspaper
Siete Dias, the website
El Eco de Jumilla and our local TV company
Telecable Jumilla. My lovely Canon Ixus camera looked a teeny bit insignificant in comparison with their complex professional cameras.
The first surprise was that they started the press conference more or less on time: almost unheard of in Jumilla! The second surprise was that I could understand most of what was being said in Spanish. That was the good news, but the bad news was that they stood right in front of the fountain so the noise from that drowned out most of their words!
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| Unveiling the poster |
The Councillor in charge of fiestas, Antonio Valero, together with the designer Francisco Lencina, unveiled this year's poster to warm applause.
Antonio then told us that there will be even more bars and restaurants participating in the
Ruta del Tapa during the Feria - 26 compared to last year's 14 - and the price will be the same at only 2€ for a glass of wine and tapa. This offer will be available every day between 12.00 and 15.00 from 9 to 18 August.
I came home clutching a poster that Antonio had kindly given me. He has told me that the full programme of activities will be available towards the end of next week, in which case I will easily be able to meet my deadlines. Watch this space!
I hope you have fun. I'm curious as to why you're living in Spain!
ReplyDeleteLani, we were living in London, working hard and facing a daily commute, before we decided to retire to Spain. We wanted to live somewhere warmer, with a more relaxed lifestyle, and where our pensions would go further. I have written a book about our experiences: Retiring the Olé Way. My friend Jacqui, who has commented below and who writes the blog "Fancy a coffee and a chat?", also features in my book!
DeleteHow exciting. I remember how difficult it was to find anything out in advance, our events news used to be posted on lampposts around the village. Miss reading a lamppost notice at your peril.
ReplyDeleteJacqui, that's so true! The August Feria and Fiestas, plus Semana Santa, are the main events here in Jumilla, so in theory there should be lots of advance information. However for smaller fiestas like San Fermin you've got to look out for the posters: it's so frustrating when you see a new poster and then realise that the event was the night before!
DeleteHow did you pick Jumilla specifically? We were in Barcelona once on vacation so I see where it is located relative to what we saw. I envy Europeans ability to live anywhere in the European Union!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful setting! Also I loved your description of why you settled in Spain. Sounds heavenly.
ReplyDeleteJuhli and Heather, I am writing a post expanding a little on how we ended up in Jumilla. I hope that you find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteBarcelona is a lovely city, though there are many other fascinating places to visit in Spain such as Granada, Seville, Madrid, Valencia etc etc!