Gastronomic Days
In mid-November, the town of Torrecampo holds gastronomic days, featuring specially prepared menus for the occasion.
In mid-November, the town of Torrecampo holds gastronomic days, featuring specially prepared menus for the occasion.
Between 20 and 24 August. Although intended to honour Santa Águeda, it is also a nod to the emigrants who return to their hometown at this time of year. The festivities begin with the traditional opening address, and there's no shortage of the characteristic bull runs, which have the distinctive feature of being held at night.
On the last weekend of May, the Pilgrimage of Santa Quiteria is held, Co-Patron Saint of Sorihuela and patron of the fields along the drove road, at the hermitage that bears her name, 3 km from the town, at the spot known as “Cerrico Pelón”. On Sunday afternoon, the image is carried in procession to the bridge over the Guadalimar river.
She is the patron saint of Sorihuela de Guadalimar, and this festival commemorates 5 February 1235, the day the town was reconquered from the Muslims. The religious services begin on 27 January at the parish church with the novena to the Saint, each day of which is dedicated to a particular group (children, young people, the elderly, emigrants, catechists...). Many events are held by the people of Sorihuela to honour their patron saint: a large bonfire, poetry recitals by children, songs, competitions and more. The devotion felt in the town for Santa Águeda, the intercessor for women's breast ailments, is deep. It is customary to hand out bread rosquillas during the days of the novena, popularly known as “caridad” (charity). These rosquillas are kept and eaten whenever someone falls ill.
Tradition holds that in the 16th century, the people of Siles made a vow to the saints San Marcos and San Roque to build them a hermitage, having been freed from the bubonic plague through their intercession. Ever since, this event has been celebrated every year.
Between 10 and 16 August, Siles holds its main festivities in honour of its patron saint. The festival begins on the 10th, when the image of San Roque is brought in procession from his hermitage to the parish church, where religious services will be held in his honour every day. The saint returns to his hermitage on the 16th. The highlight of this week of festivities is the daily bull run, but the most notable is the one held on the eve of San Roque, when the last bull to run that day, known as “La vaca del agua de San Roque”, is not put down at the end of the event, but is instead taken to the hermitage to be sacrificed, amid the cries of residents who throw buckets of water at it shouting ¡agua! (water!), in an ancient rite of purification.
From 27 to 29 September. These highly festive celebrations always include the traditional bull runs and night-time open-air dances. In the past, a fair was held here where mountain dwellers from the region would trade livestock, buying and selling.
For more than two decades, November has become an unmissable date for mushroom and fungi enthusiasts. Beyond their ecological value, these are a highly prized delicacy of mountain cuisine. The event's programme includes talks by experienced speakers, guided walks in the mountains, and gastronomic tastings.
The terrain of the Sierra de Segura and its spectacular views draw large numbers of air-sports enthusiasts to this natural park. During the first half of July, in Cortijos Nuevos (Segura de la Sierra), this festival is held, screening films by filmmakers from around the world on aviation-related themes. Meanwhile, the El Cornicabral aerodrome in Beas de Segura is becoming one of the busiest in Andalusia for fans of these adventure sports.
The International Air Film Festival is the origin and “parent” of the FIA El Yelmo, since promoting audiovisual creation related to the world of flight is one of the founding principles of the Festival. Fully free screenings of the films entered in competition are held for pilots and enthusiasts to enjoy. Side activities such as the Quick Photography Competition and various social media-related activities also help bring the FIA closer to attendees and make it more engaging.
It is a meeting point for pilots and professionals from the commercial and technical sectors, air-show specialists, champions from various disciplines, and more, with the aim of promoting and spreading knowledge of the world of flight in general and free flight in particular, along with air sports, their technical development, their dissemination and bringing them closer to the public and to different sectors of society.
Segura de la Sierra has San Vicente Mártir as its patron saint, celebrated on 22 January, in whose honour bonfires are lit outside the town walls, around which young men usually sing, dance and prepare grilled cured pork products over the embers and ashes of these fires.
With the arrival of the first days of October, on the eve of San Francisco, the 4th, the prelude begins to the festivities the people of Segura dedicate every year to their patron saint, Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Until the 8th of that month, a series of festive events take place, the most moving of which is undoubtedly the procession of the patron saint, carried on the shoulders of the women of Segura. During these days, colourful and traditional bullfighting events are held in the town's distinctive square bullring, including the young men running the young bulls through Segura's streets.