The Madrid Food Festival takes place in restaurants and bars around the city centre from the 23rd January through to the 5th February 2012. This is an ideal time to take a winter sun holiday to Spain and take in this lip-smacking festival which is certain to tantalise your taste-buds.

Gastrofestival Madrid 2012

This two week gastronomic festival, called the Madrid Gastrofestival, puts Spanish cuisine under the spotlight, giving food lovers the chance to sample some of Spain’s amazing gastroculture in the restaurants, bars, food shops and markets in Madrid.

Top chefs, including Heston Blumenthal and Joel Robuchon, will be at the 10th edition of Madrid Fusion from the 24th to the 26th of January. This is a three day event which includes workshops, demonstrations and talks relating to gastronomy, not to be missed on your holiday packages to Madrid in January.

This exciting food festival includes food tasting, special set menus at affordable prices and guided visits to museums and art galleries. The event is attended by world famous chefs who

Madrid

offer special menus in various restaurants across Madrid. You can eat at Michelin starred restaurants, bars serving tapas washed down by a few beers, delicatessens where you can sample a wide-range of foods and also visit the Mercado de San Miguel. This is an amazing restored historic market with food and wine stalls where you can sample a whole variety of gourmet goodies, including oysters and champagne, Galician octopus, Catalan canelones, artisan cheeses, Jamon de Bellota and a choice of wines such as Ribera del Duero, vino de Rioja, Cava, Sherry and Priorat.

Take advantage of the many late deals to Madrid which are available throughout the internet and don’t miss out on this tasty Spanish event.

Held August 3rd-13th 2011 in the Market Building, La Union, Murcia.

Every August the small Murcian town La Union in the south-east of Spain plays host to the Cante de Las Minas Festival (Song of the Mines Festival), one of Spain’s premier flamenco festival. Flamenco dancers, singers and guitarists of all ages take part in the twelve day festival hoping to take away one of the coveted awards on offer. With more than €30,000 in prize money up for grabs it is no wonder that the the festival is so popular.

The festival first took place as a flamenco singing competition (the cante por mineras) in 1961 with the guitar (toque) competition being added in 1980 and the dance (baile) competition added in 1993.

The whole town gets involved in the festival which not only includes the competitions but also includes performances from top flamenco stars, lively parties (juerga) and open-mike sessions. This year the festival will include artists like Antonio ‘Pitingo’, Estrella Morente, dancer Juan Manuel Fernandez ‘Farruquito’, guitarist Jose Fernandez Torres ‘Tomatito’, dancer and choregrapher Blanca del Rey and singer Ramon Jimenez Salazar, Diego ‘El Cigala’. On August 4th journalist Carlos Herrera will officially open festivities and on the same day last years winners Miguel Ortega (Mining Lamp), Francisco Moncayo (Mining Pilgrim’s Staff), Jesus Fernandez (Trowel Trophy) and Abdon Alcaraz (Instrumentalist Award) will perform.

To understand the history and culture of the area, La Union should be included for a day out on your direct holidays to Murcia. La Union was originally a mining town and fishing port in Roman times, transporting rich minerals all over the Mediterranean area. Known to the Romans as Porto Magnus, the town was named La Union when the small villages of Herrerias and El Garbunzal became united. After the First World War the mines fell into recession but a few decades later the mines were opened again, remaining open until 1991 when they were finally closed for good. The hills where the mines are located are dry and rugged but the old mine chimneys are clearly visible thanks to the hard work of the miners who have lovingly restored them. At the top of the hills, at the Hermitage of the Virgin del Rosario there is a look-out platform (Mirador) offering wonderful panoramic views. There is a mining museum in the old miners institute which has crystals and old semi-precious stones on display.

You will be amazed by the passion and spectacle of this Flamenco festival whilst on your cheap holidays to Spain’s Costa Calida.

Date 6th July – 14th July 2011

The annual San Fermin Festival takes place in July every year. Thousands of people celebrate this nine day action event which includes a wide range of events starting with the launch of a huge rocket (the Chupinazo) from the Plaza Consistorial at midday on the 6th July. The launching of the firework

San Fermin Festival

 marks the start of the festival. All morning crowds flock to the public square, getting into the party spirit by drinking cava and waving red neckerchiefs. There is something for everyone to enjoy at the festival including firework displays, sports competitions and traditional Basque music.

The first main event is The Day of San Fermin which takes place on the 7th July. The colourful procession which marks the day travels from the town hall, winding its way through the streets to the local cathedral and is an amazing sight.

The most famous part of the festival is the running of the bulls (encierro). Every day bulls are let loose in the city’s old town district, running along the streets until they reach the Plaza de Toros de Pamplona (local bullring) about half a mile away. On their journey to the bullring the animals are joined by brave and daring people who run alongside the bulls as they journey to the Plaza for the nightly bullfight. Before the bulls are released the gathering crowds and runners sing to the image of San Fermin, asking the Patron Saint of Fermin to guide them through the Bull Run and give them his blessing.

Pamplona, the capital of the Navarre region, is a modern yet traditional city.

Plaza Consistorial

The Plaza Consistorial is centrally located and it is here that you will find the town hall with its majestic Baroque facade. Pamplona is steeped in history and has many wonderful buildings and places of interest to visit. Holiday packages to Pamplova should include a visit to Santa Maria la Real Cathedral, the Gothic Church of San Saturnino, the Gothic Church of Santo Domingo, Camara de Comptos (the oldest building in the city), the Palace of Navarre (whre the Navarre government sits) and the Museum of Navarre. Visit the old town and sample the varied Navarre cuisine. Here you can enjoy traditional meals with some fine Navarra wine. In the area surrounding Pamplona there are some beautiful sites of natural beauty. To the west is Urbasa y Andia Nature Reserve and the Atlantic Pyrenees where you will find the Bertiz Nature Reserve. To the north of Pamplona are the Navarre Pyrenees where you will find beautiful little villages set in the valleys.

There is so much to include when booking your holiday deals to this amazing city, one thing is for certain, you will always have something to do or see.

La Tomatina (the Tomato Party) is the name of the famous Tomato fight that happens every year in Bunol (Bunyol), Valencia, Spain. It occurs as part of the festival on that day, which takes place every year on the last Wednesday in August. The festival itself warms up during the week before the tomato fight with lots of partying and also a paella cooking contest the night before.

la tomatina

The festival starts with a “palo jabon” whereby a pole is greased and a ham is placed at the top. The aim is to climb the pole and knock the ham off, thereby signalling the start of the tomato festival and fight. The tomato fight usually starts at about 11am, once the ham has been knocked off and a shot is sounded or water cannon started. Crushed tomatoes are then thrown at the crowds of people waiting from large trucks. The trucks usually start in the Plaza del Pueblo area. The actual tomato fight usually only lasts about an hour and the end of the fight is signalled by a single shot into the air or the water cannons are switched back on, announcing the end.

Thousands of people line the streets to experience La Tomatina, with thousands of tourists visiting the area or taking escourted trips to the town of Bunol just to experience La Tomatina Festival, such has its popularity grown. There are so many people on the day of the festival that if you attend you may not actually get to see the trucks in the centre of the town throwing the tomatoes into the crowd. However, the streets all around are lined with partygoers and the atmosphere is lively and electric. Many people attending the festival wear goggles and gloves to help protect themselves from the tomatoes and tomato juice that covers every building and street in the area.  It’s advised if you plan to attend to take a set of clean clothes to change into afterwards!

After the tomato fight has ended, the streets are washed clean using fire trucks and hoses and they sparkle from the being cleaned by the acidity of the tomato juice.  The partying goes on into the night afterwards as the festival goers congregate in Bunol and Valencia.

La Tomatina is thought to have originated around the 1950′s although there is debate as to how the original festival and fight first started.  What is clear is that the town council tried to ban it a number of times, finally agreeing to the tomato fight in 1959 as long as the fight started and ended at agreed times with the sound of a shot/horn was sounded.  There are a number of rules now in place to ensure safety/security of the participants which are: 1) bottles or other items that could cause harm are not allowed 2) T-shirts must not be torn 3) you must stop when the second shot/horn/bang/water cannon is sounded 4) the tomatoes must be crushed before being thrown 5) you must carefully avoid the lorries carrying the tomatoes so as to ensure you don’t get run over/hurt.

As the town of Bunol (Bunyol) only houses about 9000 people there is limited accommodation for the tens of thousands of people attending the tomato fight.  Many tourists book cheap package holidays to Valencia instead and then make their way to Bunol via train, bus or car in the morning of the festival.  Some tour operators even offer La Tomatina short break holiday packages to the festival with hotels and transfers included plus souvenir t-shirts.

Top Tips:
1) Wear old clothes that you don’t mind never wearing again
2) Bring a change of clothes (there are public showers in Bunyol)
3) Check out the timetable of local trains/buses beforehand and plan ahead as it will be very busy!
4) Book your accommodation early especially if you want to stay in Bunol as it gets booked up very quickly.
5) Wear shoes or trainers that you don’t mind getting covered in tomato juice and that have a good grip.
6) Wear goggles and gloves to protect your eyes and hands from the acidic tomato juice and to help you grip.

Christmas is celebrated in different ways in the various regions of Spain.

The majority of families enjoy their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve before they attend Midnight Mass which is also known as The Mass of the Rooster (La Misa Del Gallo). It is known as this as it is believed that a rooster crowed on the night that Jesus was born.
After Mass the people walk through the streets playing guitars and drums, and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

A traditional Spanish Christmas dinner is turkey stuffed with mushrooms whilst in Galicia (north-west Spain) seafood is more popular.

Spanish children open most of their presents at Epiphany (January 6th) as this is the day that they believe the Kings bring them presents. Epiphany is when the three wise men brought gifts for the baby Jesus. The Three Kings of the Epiphany are Gaspar representing frankincense, Melchior representing gold and Balthazar representing myrrh. The children leave gifts for the Kings, a glass of cognac, a satsuma and walnuts.
In many of the larger towns an Epiphany parade is held with each King riding on a camel shaped throne.

Roscon

Roscon, a special cake, is eaten at Epiphany. This doughy type cake is filled with chocolate or cream and contains a small gift.

On December 28th the Day of The Innocent Saints is celebrated. This is when people play tricks on each other, very much like April 1st in the UK. This day is when the babies that were killed on the orders of King Herod when he was trying to kill the baby Jesus are remembered.

In the Catalan region of Spain they have a Christmas character called Tio de

Tio de Nadal

 Nadal (the Christmas log). This strange character is made from a hollow log with two legs and a smiley face painted on one end. Starting on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th) the family feeds the log with scraps of food and give it a blanket to keep warm. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day the log is hit with sticks so that it drops sweets, nuts and fruit until garlic falls from the log which means that there will be no more treats that year.

On Christmas Eve in the Basque country (northern Spain) presents are

Olentzero

delivered by a mystical man called Olentzero who dresses just like a Basque farmer.

With many expats living in Spain Christmas is the ideal time to take up one of the many travel deals to Spain on offer and spend the Christmas holidays with loved ones living there.

There are lots of last minute holiday deals to Spain available throughout the internet.

Merry Christmas
Feliz Navidad
Bon Nadal
Bo Nadal

Festival of San Andres, Castro Urdiales, Spain  30 Nov 2009  

Castro Urdiales

San Andres, or Saint Andrew, is the patron of the historic seaside town of Castro Urdiales and his day is celebrated each year. Because he is the saint of seafarers, the menu of the day features, appropriately enough, shellfish and sea bream, prepared in the local style. Rowing regattas, parades of small boats and popular open-air dances and competitions recall the town’s seafaring traditions of past and present.

Visit    http://bit.ly/4HgYN4

The bullrunning in Pamplona is probably the best known festival in Spain but what about the other major festivals?

Holy week (Semana Santa) in Andalucia is when every parish sends out elaborate floats carried by parishioners. Processions often go right through the night and do not return home until the following morning.  Two weeks later Seville celebrates the April Fair which is one of Europe’s biggest parties.

Fallas

Valencia in March is the ‘Fallas’. This is when giant papier-mache figures, which take up to a year to make, are burnt in the streets every night.

In Bunyol in August it’s La Tomatina, the world’s biggest tomato fight.

La Tomatina

Then there are all of the little festivals that take place all over Spain. Every city, town and village in the country celebrates its own unique fiesta and it’s these smaller, local festivals that can be just as rewarding as the larger well known festivals.
In Miraflores de la Sierra in the Guadarrama mountains of Madrid the annual village festival of San Blas is celebrated in February. The whole village heads out to a local hillside where a shrine to the village’s patron saint stands. Everyone brings chairs, tables, food and wine and huge pots are put on open fires where ‘bacalao con patatas’ (cod and potatoes) is prepared for the whole village.

In Tenerife the burial of the sardine (El Entierro de la Sardina) usually takes place on Ash Wednesday, marking the end of the enormous Carnival celebrations. An enormous 30 foot papier-mache fish gets taken through the streets of Santa Cruz whilst being mourned by male ‘widows’ in miniskirts and fishnets!

There are many festivals of international interest which celebrate music and the arts notably the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance which takes place in the grounds of the Alhambra Palace.  San Sebastian in the Basque Country is packed to the seams during its annual jazz and film festivals and the Benicassim Festival has become an important European music festival in a small town north of Valencia.

There are also many food and drink related fiestas that take place throughout spain.