Believe it or not it is only 40 days to Christmas and thoughts are turning to the seasonal festivities.

December not only brings us Christmas but in our local area of Manilva and throughout Spain, it also brings 2 extra bank holidays to those of us living and working in Spain and for those with children in Spanish school.

December the 6th is the first, this year falling on a Tuesday and it is a national holiday celebrating the day that Spain became a democracy following the 1978 referendum. Dia de la Constitution is the start of the December holidays and Christmas celebrations and is often taken as a long weekend by combining the Inmaculada concepcion 2 days later.

The feast of the Immaculate conception falls 2 days later on the 8th December and the holiday is based on the Catholic dogma that the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy was an immaculate conception and is typically a day of additional church services.  Be prepared as many Spaniards take advantage of the 2 days public holiday and take the week off, so many businesses and local shops in the Duquesa area may be closed or with reduced opening hours.

Barrington Homes will be open as usual apart from  Tuesday 6th December and Thursday 8th December.

Halloween in Spain

We are all about to celebrate Halloween on Monday 31st October; usually an American and British tradition, the Spanish community in Manilva are embracing the celebration. In Maicandil school in Sabinillas today, the children have been asked to go in fancy dress and some teachers have asked the parents to provide any British items that use for Halloween celebrations!

In Spain the holiday is called Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) and the day is used to focus on family gatherings to remember and to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died. The celebration takes place on the 1st and 2nd November and a public holiday is taken on the 1st November, this year falling on a Tuesday. A word of warning for the parents with children in Maicandil school and maybe others in the Manilva area, Monday 31st October is a bridging day and the school will be closed. If you are looking for somewhere to take the rascals there is a fancy dress party being held in Bar Punto de Encuentro in Sabinillas at 5p.m on the 31st; with music, games and prizes. The party for the adults begins at 11p.m with  a prize for the best fancy dress outfit. Thankfully the Spanish children in Manilva and Duquesa don’t seem to have taken “trick or treat”on board but just in-case, stock up with the Halloween party bag of sweets in Sabinillas‘ Mercadona.

On September the 3rd and 4th, Manilva will celebrate its annual  grape harvest festival and celebrations will be happening in our local town of Manilva.

The Moscatel grape provides the  ‘Pasas de Malaga’, the Malaga raisin, as well as a range of wines from dry to the sweet ‘Malaga’ wine and Manilva is an important producer of the grape and has been since the 16th century.

This is a huge event in the local calendar and residents and visitors  in the Duquesa area, flood to Manilva at this time.

To enjoy the celebrations and local cultural event, head up the hill from the Sabinillas roundabout to Manilva where celebrations begin from as early as 8a.m on Saturday the 3rd of September. For a more detailed itinery, it is worth taking a look at the Manilva Life web-site.

Manilva’s Tourism Department have been hard at work again to create another wonderful event for the Duquesa, Manilva, Sabinillas and Casares Costa residents.

On Wednesday, 24 August a latin night will be held in Plaza Vicente Espinel in Sabinillas. For all things latin; dancing, music and fun go along and enjoy the night from 8.30 pm.

Our beautiful Pueblo of Castillo will be host to a Medieval Market this weekend, from the 18th to the 21st August.

Castillo is located close to Puerto del a Duquesa, just a short walk along the new Paseo, past Marina del Castillo and is a beautiful Spanish Pueblo, that offers many good fish and tapas restaurants as well as chiringuitos.

The stunning Castle in Castillo will be the venue for the Medieval Market which will boast various stalls offering handmade crafts and goods, food and drink, whilst at the same there will be activities and entertainment for visitors to enjoy.
The market is organised by the Departments of Tourism and Culture and  opens at 8.30 pm on Thursday 18 August, and at 7 pm on the rest of the days.

Manilva celebrates its annual summer fair each year during the second week of August. This year the dates are from Thursday, 11th August to Sunday, 14th August inclusive.

Apart from the cavalcades most of the activities take place on the fairground on the Rio Manilva Road; his is where the Sunday market is held on a weekly basis. This huge event in the Manilva, Duquesa, Sabinillas and Casares Costa calendar begins on thursday 11th August at 11.30 p.m with the official switiching on of the fairground illuminations. With a busy schedule inbetween it will culminate at 10p.m on sunday the 14th august with dancing in the main pavillion.

For a full listing of the program take a look at Manilva Life

If you are looking for something to do in the Manilva , Duquesa and Casares Costa area this weekend, take a look at the International Festival on the Sabinillas Paseo.

Running from tonight, Friday 29th July until Sunday 31st July, the festival highlights Manilva’s multi-ethnic community and showcases our rich culture, traditions, arts and cuisine that we are lucky enough to enjoy in the area. This year the participating countries include: Spain, England, Germany, Chile, Lebanon, Peru, Bolivia, France, Morocco, Thailand, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Israel, and Ecuador.

Starting tonight at 9pm with a ceremony from the mayoress, the festival will run all evening, all day tomorrow and all day Sunday and includes dancing, bands, dj’s and of course food from the participating countries and culminates with a Reggae DJ on sunday night.

For further information you can contact the Foreign Resident’s department.

The Día de Andalucía (“Day of Andalusia” or “Andalusia Day”) is celebrated on February 28 and commemorates the February 28, 1980 referendum on the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, in which the Andalusian electorate voted for the statute that made Andalusia an autonomous community of Spain.

In the municipality of Manilva and elsewhere in Andalucia, people decorate their property with the flag of Andalusia and with bunting of green-and-white bars. In Duquesa, Sabinillas and Manilva the local schools will close for a Semana Cultural (“cultural week”), or Semana Blanca (“white week”). This coming Friday will be a day of celebration in the Manilva schools with a traditional Andalusian breakfast consisting of a slice of toast with a thin layer of olive oil and orange juice or hot chocolate; the children often colour pictures that include the symbols of Andalucia, its history and customs.  Manilva will hold their own celebrations on Sunday 27^th February so try to visit the pretty pueblo and participate in an Adalucian breakfast and local traditional music and celebrations. You can find the timetable of events by following this link to Manilva Life. 

Spain has 17 autonomous regions; they each have their own parliament, president, government, administration and Supreme Court. They all have their own flag and capital city, Andalucia’s flag is known as the “Bandera Blanca y Verde” and is the basic subject of the Andaluz anthem (Himno de Andalucía) with Seville being the Capital City.

 Andalucía has 8 provinces (Cadiz, Almeria, Málaga, Huelva, Seville, Jaén, Granada and Córdoba). These provinces have responsibilities in all areas including health and education. However there is a centralised curriculum for all schools and the SAS (Servicio Andaluz de Salud) is also centrally ran. We are very lucky in  Malaga as the SAS is a fantastic health service and has a higher ranking in the league tables than the UK although given that the Andaluz lifestyle is one of the healthiest in Spain I hope you won’t find much use for it.

 Andalucía is hugely important to Spain with over 22 million tourists visiting each year and we contribute greatly to the national economy. Testamant to that is Barrington Holidays in Duquesa, they are very busy taking bookings for Spring and Summer 2011 so if you have a property that you would like to rent through us or you are considering Duquesa for your holiday this year, contact Judith or look at the beautiful holiday homes we have in Duquesa and the surrounding areas.

If you are looking to purchase a  home in Duquesa, Manilva, Sabinillas or Casares Costa we have many beautiful properties available.  Exclusively frontline beach urbanisations such as Los Granados, Marina del Castillo and Marina Duquesa are available as well as wonderful apartments and townhouses that follow the fairways of Duquesa Golf course.  Barrington Homes and Barrington Holidays have a fully inclusive service  to give you peace of mind after you make your impotant purchase.

Last time, I spoke to you about new green zones in the Duquesa, Sabinillas and Manilva areas.  Well there is more good news and yet more redevelopment of our area being planned.

The paseo that runs between Castillo and Puerto de la Duquesa is heading for a facelift and not a moment too soon. The fencing is up and the works have a completion date of spring 2011, so finally the beautiful area of Castillo will now be linked properly to Puerto de la Duquesa. Interestingly, not only are there going to be solar powered lamps being installed but recycled street furniture also. The environment department in Manilva is stepping up at the moment and a pilot scheme for energy efficient street lights is also in place in the Poza del Rey area of Manilva.

Castillo de la Duquesa

The Paseo works will be carried out in front of the impressive Marina del Castillo development which sits resplendent on the beachfront and is a much sought after address.  It’s location within walking distance to Puerto de la Duquesa and Castillo and the development’s proximity to the beach means that this is an extremely popular address for residents, holiday makers and investors alike.  Barrington Homes currently have property available to buy in the pretigious Marina del Castillo and Barrington Holidays have several apartments available to rent in Marina del Castillo; but I recommend you book early as these beautiful apartments are snapped up.

If you need any further information regarding property in Marina del Castillo or any other urbanisation, please contact Damian or Claire at Barrington Homes.