|
You can expect an explosion of colour at the verdiales festival
December 28th, right smack in the middle of the Spanish Christmas season, we have the annual Verdiales competitions taking place right outside Málaga City. The festival will bring together competing “pandas” as they are known. These are groups that practice one of three different forms of Verdiales flamenco singing accompanied by their traditional folk dance and unforgettable costumes. Agility seems to be one of the top requirements for the couples who provide their performances in leaps and bounds…
 |
Ornate hats |
Verdiales is a form of flamenco that first developed century ago in the Los Verdiales olive-growing region north of Málaga, near Almogía. It's also one of the earliest forms of fandango, and still undergoing a process known in Spanish as “ aflamencomiento”, or “flamencoisation”. In other words, this is an original folk song form that has been slowly adopted into the flamenco tradition and its many houses but still retains its distinctive character.
The name comes from a specific type of olive, the “verdial”, grown in the region. The word “verdiales” derives from the Latin for verdant, or green ("verde" in Spanish) and flourishing. Flamenco scholars describe this type of song as either a "fandango alegre" (happy) or a "malagueño", which is a particular country dance associated with the city and the region.
The origin of Verdiales is uncertain, but like much of Andalucían culture, it probably has roots in the Arabic music introduced by the Berbers in the eighth century. It is a music intended to be danced to, and is common at village weddings, communions and other celebrations. The predominant instruments are guitar, violin, castanets, and the lute. The groups who perform it are known as “pandas”, and their songs are usually happy and simple, marked by a passionate cry of 'ay' and vigorous clicking of the fingers. At times, villagers would improvise instruments from domestic objects, such as pots or pans, or agricultural materials such as wood and sugar cane. Traditionally, the members of the panda wear costumes of unusual headgear decked with flowers and also festooned with mirrors, bells, beads and coloured ribbons - the Spanish equivalent, perhaps, of England's Morris dancers.
Intricate foot movements
The Verdiales dance is for couples, and involves a lot of leaping. Each song is strucgtured in the form of three "coplas", or verses, in which there are specified dance moves, gestures, and finger clicks. It tends to be performed by more agile dancers, and is quite strenuous.
In the hills north of Málaga, there are three types of Verdiales to be seen and heard: Almogía, Montes, and Comares, in a sense these are dialects of the music and dance as they developed in those particular villages and outlying districts.
The tambourine plays an important role in the Verdiales musical bands.
The Almogía version of Verdiales is the most energetic, with the violinist leading the other performers. In the Montes school of Verdiales, the chief instrument is the tambourine.
Many of the villages have annual Verdiales festivals, normally in summertime. In Almogía, for example, it happens at the beginning of August. Tourism offices will have details of all these festivals.
Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales
The main festival of Verdiales, however, is the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales, which takes place on December 28 (about 11.00 to 18.00) in Puerto de la Torre (a district of Malaga city) on the A7075 road to Almogía. It is a 15 minutes drive from Malaga city centre and served by bus service no 21 from the Alameda Principal). The new A7 motorway provide an easy access from the Costa del Sol
25 Pandas (Verdiales Groups) from local villages compete on a stage in the three categories. Almogia, Montes and Comares. Each group of about 20 persons performs 3 routines. The 'Group' will features a group dance lead by a young member vigorously swirling the two sided Andalucian and Spanish Flag. The band's conductor swinging a tasselled baton. The 'Pair' features a dancing pairs. The 'Three' features three members in a dance. The judges, by holding up cards, vote for both music & song and dance. The home team "Raices de Malaga" has the most support. Listen to 50 sec sample.
Equally interesting, and perhaps also more authentic, are the impromptu practice and jamming sessions among the musicians, where they perform this particularly passionate rhythmic music with the assistance of bottles of potent Málaga sweet wine and aguardiente (literally, fire water) passed from hand to hand.Listen to 25 sec sample. The traditional headgear and multi-coloured finery makes this a particularly festive event.
This authentic competition, which celebrated its 50th edition in 2012, is sponsored by Malaga Town Hall. Refreshingly it lacks modern commercial influences. These days the event is well organised, with the stage under a large marquee and plastic seating, catering and portaloos. Inspite of being recognised as a 'Bien de Interes Cultural de España' in 2010 it makes no consession to tourists such as sinage or explanations adding to the discovery flavour. It should be on the top ten list of any curious traveller. December 28th is 'dia de los inocentes' in Spain equivalent to April fools day in UK.
It was held in the grounds of La Venta de San Cayetano from 1988 to 2010 until the Venta (roadside cafe) closed due to the construction of the A7 motorway. Many lament the loss of this rural location. In 2010 and 2011 it was held on some waste ground in Puerto de la Torre ( GPS: 36.738351N 4.482830W) and it is hoped that it will move in 2012 to a permanent location in the Parque de Andrés Jiménez.
View video of the Fiesta Major de los Verdiales 2011.
Back to top
|
