A cultural summer in Andalucia
June 5th, 2009The long Andalucian summer has just begun and this year promises to be particularly hot with Spain’s largest region hosting some of Europe’s liveliest cultural and sporting events. From music and dance, international golf tournaments, bull fighting and flamenco to the annual grape harvest for the region’s finest Sherries – Andalucia has it all! And all this within striking distance of Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf & Spa, a new luxury boutique hotel in southern Spain.
Few festivals can compete with Granada’s International Festival of Music and Dance for the splendour of the backdrop or the sumptuousness of the venues. The festival sweeps the stunning city off its feet for three weeks between 25 June and 14 July this year. Everywhere, from tiny cafes to courtyards in the Alhambra, the fairytale Palace of Charles V, will be hosting recitals and dance performances from the likes of The London Symphony Orchestra, The Baroque Music Ensemble, The National Ballet Company and local Andalucian guitarists and flamenco dancers. What better way to discover this beguiling city than through some of the best musicians in the world?
Nor is Granada alone in offering great music and dance in Andalucia this summer. Perhaps enjoy Placido Domingo singing with the Almeria City Orchestra in June, or discover the delightfully haunting sound of Sephardic Music in Cordoba’s Botanical Gardens, also in June.
The Feria is the most important festival of the summer in Andalucia. Whilst many towns and villages hold their own, Malaga’s is known to be the biggest and best and takes place from 14 – 23 August this year. By day join the throngs of flamenco dancers in the streets, sample local delicacies from the many food stalls or simply watch the locals and their horses ride through town in traditional dress. The real party begins in typically Andalucian style – late – and is dedicated to flamenco dance and music, pena music groups, firework displays and merriment.
The Andalucian summer lasts well into September and so do the region’s cultural offerings. The beginning of the month sees Ronda’s bullfighting stadium, the oldest in Spain, host the Corrida Goyesca, a fight between bull and men dressed as Goyaesque characters. If blood sports don’t appeal then Jerez’s celebration of the grape harvest might well. The festival not only celebrates Andalucia’s most famous drink, sherry, but also the renowned Spanish riders and Flamenco, in an event rooted in the region and its people.
Last but not least, this autumn sees Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf & Spa host the Volvo World Match Play Championship for the first time. The international golf tournament has seen the likes of Ernie Els taking the title in the past; in 2009, Finca Cortesin will welcome the best golfers in the world to Andalusia, including Tiger Woods.
Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf & Spa is a new 67-suite five-star hotel near the tiny town of Casares on the Andalucian coast – the perfect base for Andalucia’s many cultural and sporting highlights.
Finca Cortesin offers a four-day “Golf Experience” package from 600 Euros per person. The package includes three-night accommodation with complimentary upgrade (dependent on availability) at the Finca Cortesin Hotel, two green-fees at Finca Cortesin Golf Club, complimentary breakfast, early check-in and late check out as well as access to the Finca Cortesin Spa.
For more information on Finca Cortesin and the Volvo World Match Championship please visit www.fincacortesin.com
Festival Dates
16 June – Placido Domingo with Almeria’s City Orchestra (www.placidodomingo.com)
25 June – 14 July – Granada International Festival of Music and Dance (www.granadafestival.org)
23 – 27 June – International Sephardic Music Festival, Cordoba (www.andalucia.org)
14 – 23 August – Feria de Malaga
(www.feria-de-malaga-es)
5 September – Corrida Goyesca, Ronda
(www.rondatoday.com/tourism/goyesca-feria)
5-6 September – Jerez Sherry Festival
(www.spanish-fiestas.com/spanish-festivals/sherry-festival-jerez)
Autumn 2009 – Volvo World Match Play Championship (www.fincacortesin.com)
