Fiestas and Festivals
The Spanish love nothing more than a good party and as you may expect Nerja has numerous events throughout the year, many of which have religious roots but some just for the fun of it. We have listed some of the main events occurring in Nerja throughout the year.
February 12th-
June 23rd-
July 15th -
October 9th -
Please note some of these dates may vary.
February 12th-
The Carnival includes two processions and a number of contests with the four days building up to the final event of the ‘Entierro del Bogueron’ or Burial of the Anchovy (although it’s often referred to as the burial of the Sardine). Frankly this is a somewhat bizarre tradition but one that seems to be really rather old and is seen throughout Spain.
In Nerja a large decorated (fake) Anchovy is paraded through the streets with all manner of pageantry until it reaches one of the towns central beaches, La Calahonda, where it’s blown up as part of a fireworks display!
In Nerja the ‘Brotherhood of Jesus of Nazareth’ and the ‘Infant Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus and Saint Mary of the unprotected’ are just two of the organizations that, along with others, take on important roles throughout one of the town’s biggest annual festivals, by staging processions of religious idols through the narrow streets. These events are steeped in hundreds of years of tradition and combined with the strong Christian symbolism in each ritual make for very atmospheric occasions.
The combination of the crowds that line each parade route, the incense, music played by the municipal band and the pretty, narrow streets of Nerja make it a beautiful spectacle for any visitor to see whilst they’re here and offers a side to this pretty sea and sand town that you might not expect whilst lazing around on the beach.
Residents Day in Nerja is an event where the foreign element to the community is put on display for the day. Local clubs and associations set up stalls where you can find out more about what they do in Nerja and find new things in the town that you simply didn't know existed.
Nerja is now set to celebrate its fourth Noche en Blanco with the 9th of May the date set for this years edition. All manner of activities and performances will be available around the town for locals and visitors to enjoy although some activities are only available in Spanish. Performances are free of charge with the majority taking place in the evening in many of the towns best known and most enigmatic locations.
June 23rd-
The festival of San Juan is celebrated on the evening of the 23rd of June each year with people staying out late and even camping on the beaches. This yearly event is filled with rituals which are still popular today amongst many of the Spanish partly because of their religious roots but more likely because they're just fun.
The roots of this festival as you may have guessed are pagan, falling very close to the summer solstice, which technically comes a couple of days before. The Catholic church sought to Christianise popular pagan festivals and so blended the solstice with the celebration of St John the Baptists birthday which, officially at least, is on the 24th. As a result this festival is really a bit of a mishmash.
July 15th -
In Nerja this festival will generally take place over three evenings with an open to all party on the evening of the 17th and the more formal procession on the 16th. Local people visit the church of El Salvador on the evening of the 15th to make offerings to the Virgin of prayers and flowers with the Peña Nerjeña choir accompanying, beginning at 7:30pm.
The following day (16th July) comes the procession of the Virgin through the streets. This begins with a service at the church of El Salvador on the Balcon de Europa at 6pm from where the procession starts an hour later and goes on to La Torrecilla. The ephigy of the Virgin is decorated with an assortment of flowers and escorted by local people dressed with a nautical theme reflecting the roots of this tradition. Upon reaching the beach, assuming the sea is sufficiently calm, the Virgin is loaded onto a flower adorned boat and escorted by a flotilla of vessels along the coast, eventually coming back to La Calahonda beach where it's brought ashore and returned to El Salvador church with the event being finished off by a fireworks display.
The “Moraga” (an open air party with music and food) which traditionally has taken place on the evening of the 15th has been moved to the 17th this year. From around ten o'clock at the Plaza de los Cangrejos found on the eastern end of La Torrecilla beach you’ll find a large cooking fire and the smell of sizzling sardines wafting through the air. The food is free and drinks are just €1.50. This party will easily be going on long into the night with all ages and nationalities attending and enjoying the atmosphere and music.
October 9th -
Visiting Nerja during the week of the feria is without doubt one of the most exciting times to be here with events, music and celebrations happening all over the town. Traditionally the feria is held during the second week in October which can occasionally cause it to experience some early spots of rain but that never dampens the atmosphere or the ‘fiesta’ spirit of the locals and visitors who take over the streets in this good natured family friendly celebration in honour of the towns patron saints "La Virgen de las Angustias" (Virgin of Anguish) and San Miguel Arcángel (Archangel Saint Michael).
