Axarquia

Free moscatel grapes and home cooking draw crowds to Iznate’s big summer night out

Published

1 week ago

August 3, 2026

admin

Iznate is preparing for its 26th Día de la Uva Moscatel on Saturday, August 8, giving visitors a free taste of the grape that has shaped life in this corner of the Axarquia for centuries. From 7pm the whitewashed streets will fill with stalls offering local recipes prepared by residents, plus plenty of the sweet Moscatel fruit and wine that define the area.

More than 2,000 families across the Axarquia still work the Moscatel vines. In 2018 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recognised the traditional growing and sun-drying methods as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, the first such award in Europe. The festival is the official start of the harvest season when many families head out to the fields for weeks of picking and drying the grapes that become the famous local raisins.

Free food trail and artisan market

Residents will be opening their kitchens for the evening giving everyone a taste of local tradition. Expect ajoblanco, gazpacho, arriera-style salads, potato omelettes, cured meats from the matanza and traditional sweets, all laid out free of charge along a route through the village. Fresh Moscatel grapes and the matching wine will be handed out too. A craft and local-produce market opens around 8pm, giving people the chance to pick up regional items while the food trail gets under way.

Music fills the air once the stalls are busy, keeping the atmosphere lively well into the night. The whole event forms the high point of Iznate’s summer cultural week and has held Provincial Tourist Interest status for more than two decades. Its roots stretch back to older gatherings that welcomed emigrants home each summer when work in the fields was scarce and many had left in search of work elsewhere.

Why the festival still matters

Moscatel has been grown here since at least the late 16th century, when the village already supplied merchants as far away as Madrid. Today the crop is still central to the landscape, the economy and the calendar of small towns throughout the Axarquia. The free food, the music and the chance to walk the decorated streets make the evening an easy outing for anyone living nearby who wants a proper dose of local flavour without the crowds of the coast.

Previous Euro Weekly News coverage of similar Axarquia grape celebrations can be found in the La Viñuela Feria de la Pasa report and the Competa Noche del Vino story. More on the wider Moscatel heritage appears in the international press trip piece. Official details are available on the Iznate town website and the Diputación de Malaga festivals page.

Axarquia

Mid-summer splash for traditional Motril Port swimming race

Published

11 hours ago

August 11, 2026

admin

Hundreds of swimmers head for Motril port to dive into the water on Saturday, August 15, for the 85th Travesia a Nado Puerto de Motril, one of Spain’s longest-running open-water swimming events.

Organised by the swimming section of Real Club Nautico de Motril, this year’s race promises to be a spectacle, with competitors of different ages and abilities taking over the port.

Every metre of both courses will take place inside the Motril port basin. Spectators will be able to watch the action from close by, with the port providing a striking backdrop right in the heart of Motril’s harbour.

The big splash: Two races bring swimmers together

Adult competitors will face the main 1,800-metre race, which gets underway at 10am. Younger swimmers will have their own 500-metre challenge, with the alevin and young swimmer categories starting at 11am.

Competitive swimmers are expected to take on the longer course, while the event also welcomes those keen to experience a local sporting tradition. Families can also watch younger competitors take their first steps in organised open-water racing, for a little competitive fun, and most certainly a cool-down after the intense heat of late.

Registrations are available through Cruzando La Meta, with late entries also possible in person at the Real Club Nautico de Motril before 9.30am on race day. Fancy a dip?

85 years of swimming history

Spectators can expect plenty of action as swimmers race through the port basin, with the two starts creating a lively morning of sport beside the sea. Motril’s swimming classic offers a chance to see a Spanish sporting event at close quarters. It should be a memorable summer morning for spectators too.

The 85th Travesia a Nado Puerto de Motril takes place on Saturday, August 15, with the main race starting at 10am and the 500-metre event at 11am.

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Latin America In Rincon De La Victoria

Published

2 days ago

August 9, 2026

Lucy Ramnought

Grab your dancing shoes, and an empty stomach, because something sweet, spicy, savoury and fun is about to fill the streets of Rincon de la Victoria.

Streets full of food and family fun

For the second year running Rincon de la Victoria is bringing back its Gastrolatino Festival from August 13 to 16, transforming the Plaza Al-Andalus into a lively, bustling meeting point of food, music and culture for four flavour filled evenings. Organised by the town’s Department of Culture, Fairs and Festivals, the free-entry event is bringing the local area a taste of Latin America.

Each day kicks off at 6.30pm with ambient music and children’s entertainment, before the main musical acts and animation shows take over from 8pm onwards. Every evening will close with a tribute concert. Festivities will wrap up at midnight on Sunday, 16 August, following a tribute performance dedicated to Colombian star Carlos Vives.

Food, drink and entertainment on offer

Visitors can take a proper culinary journey without leaving the Malaga province. According to Rafa Urquiza, the event’s producer, attendees will be able to sample delicious Colombian arepas, juicy Chilean sandwiches and flavour filled Argentinian cuts of meat, with sweet treats including artisan ice cream and buñuelos rounding off the menu for those with a sweet tooth. A dedicated tropical cocktail area and a foodtruck zone will complement the stalls, giving festival-goers plenty of reasons to linger well into the night.

Dance fans will not be short of options either, with salsa, bachata, merengue and vallenato rhythms ready to fill the square across the four days.

Entry to the Gastrolatino Festival is free throughout. Whether you are a local resident or a holiday maker, make sure to wear your stretchy trousers and drop by the Plaza Al-Andalus to eat, drink, dance and sample what the town has to offer.

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Velez-Malaga II Verbena De La Patrona

Published

3 days ago

August 9, 2026

Lucy Ramnought

An evening of live entertainment, affordable food and family-friendly celebrations will once again bring the local community together.

Patron saint celebration returns

Velez-Malaga will once again come together celebrate its patron saint with the II Verbena de la Patrona (Patron Saint Festival), taking place on Saturday, August 15, at the Explanada del Cerro in the historic town centre. Organisers confirms a full evening of entertainment, with performances beginning at 8.30pm and continuing in true Spanish style until well after midnight. Put together by the local religious brotherhood, the cheery annual event gives attendees a chance to relax, eat, drunk and socialise while fundraising at the same time.

Evening programme packed with music and dance

Opening the event at 8.30pm will be the Elsa Guerra Dance Academy, followed at 9.30pm by performances from the Cristina Gallardo Dance Academy. Live music will begin at 10.30pm with the talented singer Benito Garcia, before Spanish group Ñ Clan headline the celebrations from midnight. Keeping your feet tapping throughout the evening will be DJ Palomares providing the tunes into the early hours.

Food, drink and scratch-and-win prizes

Visitors will also find a bar serving food and drinks at affordable prices, Another attraction will be the popular “Rasca y Gana” scratch-and-win raffle, where hundreds of prizes donated by local businesses will be available.

Organisers say more than 50 local companies, shops and commercial sponsors have contributed to this year’s festival. Their support has helped make the event possible and reflects strong backing from the wider Velez-Malaga business community.

Community support at the centre of the festivities

Much more than a night of entertainment, the festival serves as a fundraising and social event for the religious brotherhood responsible for organising celebrations connected to the town’s patron saint. Scheduled for August 15, on a public holiday and major religious feast day across Spain, the II Verbena de la Patrona is a wonderful opportunity for residents to support local traditions.