Colmenar's 25th chacina and mosto wine festival kick-starts the town's festive season

The town of Colmenar in the Axarquía will be distributing some 3,000 sausage sandwiches during its twenty-fifth Fiesta del Mosto y la Chacina (mosto wine and cured meats festival) this Sunday (30 November).

The production of cured meats is deeply rooted in Colmenar and its butcher's shops and the meat industry in the town traditionally produce sausages including chacinas - cured pork sausages and other pork products including chorizo and black pudding.

For twenty-five years the town has celebrated this industry, as well as the local mosto wine, made from local grapes, in a one-day festival that traditionally signals the start of the festive season. It provides the ideal opportunity to buy Christmas gifts and traditional Spanish food for the festivities.

This year the event starts at 11am with traditional dances including the Maragatas and around fifteen exhibitors will be located in Calle Camino de Málaga offering free samples and selling sausages, cheeses, wines, extra virgin olive oil, honey, breads and sweets. In total approximately 90 different local products will be on offer.

As well as the market stalls offering typical products, there will be a Christmas market and 16 bars and restaurants are also getting involved in the annual tapas route.

There will also be live music including a concert by Cadiz-born flamenco-pop start Álvaro García at 4.30pm, the Colmenar-Riogordo municipal band, a dance performance by Escuela de Zaima and traditional Verdiales dances by the Escuela de verdiales de Colmenar.

Throughout the day visitors can also explore the classic and vintage car exhibition at the Club Al-andalus.

The town's Museo de la Miel (honey museum) is opening its doors from 11am to 2pm when visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the local product after which the town gets its name - colmenar means beehive in Spanish.

To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the festival, a sculpture by local artist Rafael Bravo will be unveiled at 11.30am and this will be followed at 12pm by an the official opening of the event with a speech from chef Bosco Benítez, presenter of the Canal Sur television programme Tierra de Sabores (land of flavours).

This will be followed by the 2025 awards which will be presented by the town hall and Asecol (association of professionals and entrepreneurs of Colmenar) and the winner of the tapas route will also be announced.

The prize-giving ceremony will give way to the tastings of typical local dishes and at midday 3,000 sandwiches with cured meats from the town's various butcher's shops and 1,000 litres of mosto wine will be distributed.

The traditional 'chacinero' cured meat competition will be taking place in the afternoon and this will be accompanied by a raffle of hampers containing cured meats for those who participate in a survey.

A map and full programme are available to download from the town hall website: www.colmenar.es and they will also be available on the day.