August 29 Casapalma at the A la luna de Barranda festival in Caravaca
The 20th edition of the festival brings folk traditions from all over Spain to the north-west of Murcia
The “A la luna de Barranda” season of open-air concerts is being held for the 20th time this year at the Ethnic Music Museum in the village of Barranda, on the high ground of the north-west of Murcia in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, with a series of five open-air evening concerts which bring the sounds of folk traditions from various parts of Spain to an audience who are entertained entirely free of charge.
The last of these concerts is on Saturday 29th August at 22.00 (with the doors to the patio of the Carlos Blanco museum opening at 21.15) and features Casapalma from the northern coastal region of Cantabria. Casaplama are one of the rising stars in the folk music scene in Spain, with their modernized versions of traditional old songs in which they even introduce elements of electronic music as they demonstrate the adaptability of the cultural roots embedded in the songs.
Admission is free of charge until no more space remains available on the patio!
The “A la Luna de Barranda” festival is arguably one of the best-established annual events in the north-west of Murcia, while the Museo de la Música Étnica–Fundación Carlos Blanco Fadol contains one of the finest and most complete ethnic musical instrument collections in Europe, with items from at least 145 countries collected and preserved since it opened in 2006.
For more local news, events and visiting information contact the local tourist office (telephone 968 702424) or go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Caravaca de la Cruz tourist office
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and shares boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
Tourist office opening times:
Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
