FERIA DE LOS PUEBLOS…….weekend of April 4th 2008
As mentioned in an earlier article, I LOVE MALAGA, so was it anything of a surprise for me to be there again on the morning of Sunday 6th of April? Not really!
This time I was visiting the Feria de los Pueblos being held in The Trade Fair and Congress Center – yes, that’s the strange building made of glass and steel you pass on route to the Airport from the east (that’s right – the one your visitors ask you ‘Whatever is that?’)
This very modern building was designed by the Spanish architect Angel Asenjo. It took four years to build and is the largest Trade and Congress Center in Southern Spain. It has been described as looking like a fish in the waves of an ocean and it covers an area of 60,000square meters (the NEC in Birmingham covers an area of 200.000 square meters), offering a wide range of possibilities for commercial activities. Its structure makes it suitable for all purposes; it is modern, functional and is an ideal location for many events. It consists of a 7,400 square meters semi-opened designed patio area, which takes you through to two exhibition pavilions covering 17,000 and 6,000 square meters respectively, which can be used either individually or jointly. There are also two auditoriums with a joint capacity of 1500 people, offering very advanced technology such as broad band Internet connections, a simultaneous translations system and video conference facilities. Two conference rooms complete the building with a capacity for seating 450 people each. The most eye-catching feature of the Trade Center is the vast canopy on one of the exterior walls. With a length of 130 meters and a width of 20 meters it provides effective sun protection. The grounds outside the Center are quite spacious with lots of seating where you could enjoy a packed lunch in the fresh air.
It is rapidly becoming a huge success as an International Congress Center attracting a variety of events: Andalucian Trade Shows; Technology Forums; International Congress of Golf and the Environment (which discusses the sustainability of Golf in the Mediterranean) Spanish Moroccan Trade Fairs, Jardinova 2008; The Homes and Gardens Show and an Annual Christmas Fair. In June of this year, 100,000 people are expected at the 1st completely Inter-Active Leisure Industry Trade Show. Over the past few years, we have visited a couple of these exhibitions namely The Spanish Moroccan Trade Fair (which is usually combined with the Annual Christmas Fair) and the Homes and Gardens Show (this usually has guest demonstrators from the UK showing off their cooking and gardening skills)
This year was the 12th time the Feria de los Pueblos has been held and over the weekend an estimated 250,000 visitors were expected, with buses usually laid on from towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants. The Feria is basically a Trade Fair showcasing a variety of products from the Axarqueria area, plus restaurants and businesses. There were bands, jugglers, clowns, singers, dancers, play areas for the children, a planetarium, and an exhibition of how things work plus a very funny trio of dancing recycling bins.
We didn’t need lunch when we returned home – tastings of olive oils, cheeses, honey, cakes, sausages, pork joints and Malaga wines meant we were well fed until supper time! And, following a lengthy and quite in-depth tasting of the oils on offer from a very wide production area, we reached the conclusion that the oil from our own village came out the best. Torrox oil has a lovely flavour which, and this is only my opinion, puts me in mind of grapefruit. Chunks of rustic bread dipped in Torrox oil – lovely! There was also a very unusual thick, dark honey made, believe it or not, from avocados. And talking of avocados, did you know that there is a range of beauty products made from them? I have tried the moisture cream and there is also a good lip balm. These can be bought from the Torrox Olive Co-operative (at the same time you purchase your liters of their olive oil!). I particularly enjoyed sampling the various cheeses (but I am a cheese lover in any case). There were some spectacular ones on offer and it was hard to decide between some of the softer ones and the very strong tasting goats cheeses. In the end, it was the goats cheese that won and we came away with a couple of beautiful examples of the same cheese, one more mature than the other.
The arena had been separated into three walk through sections, so next to all the delicious foods on offer there were many exhibiters of local crafts – stained glass, leather work, wood and tiles, jewellry and candle work.
The tourism of the area was certainly not neglected with large stands representing many of the local villages and towns. Local radio and television people with microphones and cameras were all over the place, but taking center ‘floor’ was a huge Google Earth representation of the whole of Spain – here people were crawling around on hands and knees discovering, identifying and even photographing where they came from! The ‘give aways’ ranged from extremely good publicity material through to linen shopping bags.
Coffee and additional refreshments could be found in the permanent restaurant areas and, for this type of event, the price of a good cup of coffee was a mere 1.20 euros. In the past we have a good meal here which was also reasonably priced and there is always fresh fruit and drinks on offer. Parking is very plentiful and could be either paid or free (if you use the casita area which is very close by).
And what was the price of this very enjoyable morning? NOTHING – the event was FREE.
