Property For Sale in Spain - Alhaurin de la Torre - Apartments, Townhouses,
Villas, Fincas, Cortijos.
The sizable territory of the municipality of
Alhaurín de la Torre, in the western Malaga
region, in a sense facilitates passage from the valley of the River Guadalhorce
to the coast. Its territory stretches between the mountains and the valley of
Malaga, across open country that rises to the edge
of the Mijas and Cártama
mountain ranges and decreases in elevation as it nears the valley. For more
information about property for sale in Spain in or near Alhaurin de la Torre
please contact us. Market gardens, citrus groves and subtropical fruit plantations
blend with the ever-increasing numbers of new-style housing developments that
are constantly going up in this area. Its proximity to the capital of Malaga
and to Torremolinos has resulted in many residents
of those two localities choosing Alhaurín de la Torre as the place for
a second home or as a mere commuter suburb due to its good connections to the
coast. Despite the great increase in population and development, Alhaurín
de la Torre has managed to retain its identity and traditions, and preserves
secluded nooks of great charm and distinctive character. Considering the undoubted
Phoenician presence in Alhaurín el Grande and at the mouth of the River
Guadalhorce, places very close to Alhaurín de la Torre, it seems more
than probable that this place has a Phoenician origin. The Turdetans also must
have passed through here and like the Phoenicians would have worked the silver
and gold mines that existed in Alhaurín
el Grande. In the Roman era it received the name of Lauro Vetus, and it
must have been a place of some importance since it is mentioned in more than
one chronicle from those times. Some historians believe that it was in this
area that the followers of Julius Caesar slew Cnaeus Pompey after the battle
of Munda. The Arabs later settled in this area and called it Alhaurein or Albarracín.
After they were conquered by Christian troops in 1485 it received its final
name of Alhaurín, to which “de la Torre” was added simply
to distinguish it from Alhaurín
el Grande. Alhaurín de la Torre’s extensive fiesta schedule
begins practically with the New Year, to be precise on 5 January with a popular
and colourful Kings’ Cavalcade. That same month, on the twentieth, festivities
are held in honour of San Sebastián, the “patron saint of winter”
of this locality. For three days there are folk and cultural events, concerts,
regional dances, contests, and games and also the “diana floreada”,
the floral offering to the saint, a High Mass sung by the Santa Cecilia choir
and finally the bearing of the patron saint through the principal streets of
the village. On 2 February, the Purificación de la Santísima Virgen
de la Candelaria (Purification of the Holy Virgin of La Candelaria) is celebrated.
The evening before, offerings of pastries called “roscas de pan con lazos
de colores” are made to the Virgin, and after dark, dolls are burned in
a great bonfire that is lit in the main plaza. At mass on the following day,
the babies who have been born in the last year are presented to the Virgin,
after which the women carry the statue of the Virgin while they distribute blessed
pastries and collect donations.
During the carnival (February and March) there are processions and performances
by choirs, street musicians, quartets and “comparsas”. After the
so-called “burial of the snail” the fiesta participants are invited
to sample delicious snails free of charge. Holy Week takes on a new dimension
in Alhaurín de la Torre, where it has been designated a Fiesta of National
Tourist Interest since 2001. Each year the rivalry is revived between the only
two local brotherhoods: the Real Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno
y María Santísima de los Dolores (the “Purples”),
who hold their procession on Holy Thursday, and the Cofradía del Santísimo
Cristo de la Vera Cruz y Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (the “Greens”)
who appear on Good Friday. Although these are the two most important days of
Holy Week in Alhaurín de la Torre, one must not forget Palm Sunday with
its La Pollinita procession, and Resurrection Sunday (Los Blancos - the Whites),
the day the two brotherhoods unite with the rising of Our Resurrected Lord Jesus.
The Cruces de Mayo festival is also deeply rooted in Alhaurín de la Torre
tradition, but the San Juan Fair at the onset of summer is the one with the
most participants. The pilgrimage in honour of the “patron saint of summer”
takes place on the first weekend in June and draws a large number of pilgrims.
The journey is made by foot or cart, and upon arrival at the grounds where the
fiesta is held the public is invited by the Town Hall to partake of sangría
and grilled sardines while various Rocío (pilgrimage) choirs perform.
On Sunday there are horseback ribbon races, paella competitions and other recreational
activities. The Saturday before the day of San Juan, the Torre del Cante Flamenco
Festival is held at the municipal football field. This is one of the major flamenco
festivals not just of the province of Málaga but of all Andalusia, and
the most distinguished artists schedule performances here. The Fiestas Mayores
in honour of the Saint are held in conjunction with the day of San Juan. The
central streets of the village host the Day Fair with food sampling, performances
and competitions while nightlife shifts to the fairgrounds, where booths are
set up and the most popular artists of the moment perform. Arroz con castañas
(Rice with chestnuts), whose basic ingredients are smoked chestnuts and honey,
is considered the most distinctive and characteristic dish of Alhaurín
de la Torre, and is popular above all during Holy Week. Another characteristic
sweet is the rosquillo (a ring-shaped pastry). Cachorreña and caldo poncima
soups (made, respectively, with bread and oranges and with peppers, tomatoes
and onions) and gachas (a gruel-like soup made of flour, water and seasonings),
are variations of the local cuisine, but one must not forget ensalada de bacalao
(codfish salad), which is customarily eaten in summer.How to get there:
From any point on the coast, all you need do is take the old N-340
expressway and exit onto the A-366 in the direction of Coín.
If you are coming from the city of Malaga or the eastern
Costa
del Sol, the aforementioned exit is located immediately past the airport.
If you want to come to Alhaurín de la Torre from the western Costa del
Sol, the exit is four kilometres from Torremolinos.
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Calle Punto Industrial, Telephone: 952 417 151; Fax: 952 413 336.
Tourism Office: Avenida de España, 7. Telephone and Fax: 952 413 529.
