Dressed in their finest, multiple generations gather together, filling Ronda’s bars and restaurants, plan ahead, for table reservations are hard to come by as everyone joins the celebrations.
The Real Feria de Mayo or Ronda Romantica is one of oldest fairs in Andalucia, dating from 1509, this festival recreates the atmosphere of a bygone romantic era: Locals dress in traditional costume, food is cooked on stoves and open flames and the only light is from candles and oil lamps. This is a fantastic time to try the great array of local street food on offer and soak up the atmosphere. You can watch historical re-enactments, traditional flamenco and expert horsemanship. Romantics, rebels and renegades might also enjoy the city’s Museo del Bandolero which celebrates the history of the bandit, once a key part of Andalucian culture.
Taking place during the last week of August and the first week of September, the Feria de Pedro Romero celebrates Ronda’s renowned matador Pedro Romero the ‘father’ of modern bullfighting. The city comes alive with music and singing, bars pull their kegs out onto the streets to keep up with demand for this massive party and locals dress in the traditional costume of Goya’s era. The festival finishes with the more gruesome Corrida Goyesca, a bullfight in traditional dress in the style of Pedro Romero.
© Keith Roper
© Hernán Piñera
Holy Week begins on the Sunday before Easter Sunday and is more celebrated than Christmas. A spectacle to behold, each ‘brotherhood’ carries a float depicting different elements of the Passion. In Plaza Duquesa de Parcent the men and women of the Spanish Legion carry Christ upon the cross. Fabulous candlelit processions see the Virgin carried through Plaza del Socorro and nazarenos with their pointed hoods or capirotes fill the streets. Processions range from colourful, costumed spectacles where thousands of families gather, dressed in their finest, to barefoot and silent midnight marches where penitents drag chains through the quiet streets. Grab a programme, pick a procession and get there early. If you are in Ronda during Semana Santa book your table well in advance for this is one big party where everyone joins the crowd, and for those of us with a more reserved approach to Easter remember: Passion reigns, for this is Spain.