Until January 17 Annual fiestas in the Caravaca village of Navares
The feast day of San Antonio Abad falls on January 17
Although there are only around 300 residents, the village of Navares, near Barranda in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, celebrates the feast day of its patron saint, San Antonio Abad (or San Antón) in January with plenty of gusto, devotion and noise, and this year the annual fiestas program is as follows:
Saturday January 4
14.00: Migas for all.
15.00: Inflatable fun for children.
16.00: Live 80s and 90s music from FYV Band.
20.00: DJ music throughout the evening.
Sunday January 5
11.00: The Three Kings visit the Plaza del Salón.
20.00: The Three Kings parade.
Monday January 6
17.00: Bingo, Roscón de Reyes cake and cider!
Friday January 10
20.00: Dinner for everyone in the Salón Social including local meat products.
22.00: Traditional music from the local Animeros.
Saturday January 11
13.00: Tapas festival.
15.00: Inflatable fun for children.
16.00: Live music from Orquesta Kacike.
21.00: Remember 90s and 00s party with DJs playing the music.
Sunday January 12
9.00: Firewood collecting for the young men of the village, preparing for Thursday.
12.00: Children’s theatre.
18.00: Vecinos, an afternoon of humorous monologues.
Thursday January 16
Midnight: The traditional bonfire of San Antón is lit.
Friday January 17 (the feast day of San Antón)
12.00: Holy Mass with a floral offering followed by the procession of the figure of San Antón through the village.
14.00: Paella for all in the Plaza del Salón.
16.00: Float and fancy dress parade with the local band.
19.00: Music and dancing in the Salón Social.
22.00: Dance music from all over the world with DJ Gaby Reales.
1.00: Fireworks to mark the end of the festivities.
For more local information, including news and what’s on, go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
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 sahres boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
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
