Mijas Local Customs

The International Day is usually held in May each year and like all other Spanish celebrations, there is a lot of music, dancing and eating. All the various nationalities of the town are represented to share their cultures.

As you can see from the photo, not all in Mijas is neat and tidy. You can see cables and wires swinging from one building to the next in a precarious fashion and rather unsightly to say the least. No care is taken to make things safe and tucked away.

Around Mijas and the Costa del Sol, dotted like dandruff throughout the hills you will see a lot of development which was probably constructed without planning permission.

They are placed willy nilly covering the hills with no thought to where it is best to built or not. Also for the people living in these houses it may mean that the roads to their houses are unfinished or that they aren't on the main water supply.

Spain got carried away with the tourism explosion and failed to control development around the coast and mountain villages.

Don't miss the street vendor in Mijas Pueblo selling the “almendras garrapiñadas”, hot sugar cinnamon almonds. They are so delicious when they are hot and smell so heavenly! Good cold, too. This vendor does the same thing with peanuts, too. You'll find this vendor on Calle de los Canos, just above the main plaza.

Spain is producing some very good wines these days - with the best ones, in my opinion, being the reds. Part of this is due to climate. The grape growing regions are quite warm, and thus tend to produce better grapes for red wines than white wines. The grapes used for red wines are superb, with the Tempranillo being my favorite. Many of the whites are made from Airen grapes - avoid these. If you want a white wine, look for the Albarino grape.

You may see the following on the wine labels: "Crianza" - 2 year old wines, with at least 6-12 months in the cask, "Reserva" - 3 years old, at least 12 months in the cask, or "Gran Reserva" - 5 years old, at least 2 years in the cask.

Andalucia is famous for its sherries, and I tried those, too. They are very sweet and thick, not my favorite. Most are dessert sherries with a very high alcohol content. However, some have a lower alcohol content, are less sweet, and are meant to be drunk with meals. Nevertheless, even the mealtime sherries are sweet, so they weren't my first choice with dinner. Having said that, you should at least try a sherry - at dessert time with Spanish Manchego cheese and figs was the best pairing.

On our last night in Mijas, we were treated to some unique entertainment. From the terrace of the restaurant, we were listened to the sounds of a marching band rehearsing for a competition. As it turned out, it was the local Mijas primary and secondary school rehearsing - in the summer! The owner of the restaurant told me they were considered very good and did quite a lot of traveling. The band had members as young as 8 and as old as 18. This reminded me of times when I had watched other very famous, accomplished marching bands.

This picture shows the general location of the school on the hillside.

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A long-time tradtion FLAMENCO DANCING usually tells a story. With their sensual arm and hand movements their story may be about love or love lost. I am always mesmerized by their dancing and the beautiful costumes. Obviously it is very popular, as many came on this wonderful, sunny Wednesday in Mijas to take in the free show.
One segment which featured the male dancer, showed him laying his cape, which symbolized the TORO, out onto the floor while he danced and strutted around it. His facial expressions were wonderful as he pretended to tease and finally "spear" the bull.