The other Malagas in the world

Malaga city might be one of a kind, but its name is not. The name 'Málaga' or 'Malaga' (without the accent) appears in large letters on the welcome signs of some other cities, towns and localities dotted around the world. Logically, as a vestige of the colonial era, many of them are located on the American continent.

According to the World Cities Database, compiled by the technology company MaxMind with just over three million records of place names from across the planet, there are seven other 'Málagas' or 'Malagas' −disregarding other locations that belong to areas with very scattered buildings or even unpopulated zones−. This is the world map of these other Malagas.

This particular journey around the globe makes its stops at these seven urban and rural namesakes of Malaga, beginning with the historic Spanish colony in Southeast Asia: the Philippines.

At the mouth of the 'Malaga River' lies this small village in the city of Calbayog, belonging to the province of Samar in the Philippines. Despite being a small and humble settlement with just one main street, a national institute, a school and a church, it has a bridge, called 'Malaga', which crosses the river of the same name.

To continue the journey, one must cross the Pacific to the American continent, where the rest of the sister cities are found.

The Californian Malaga is a small community in the city of Fresno, in the state of California. It's a typical American residential area with a Catholic church called Cristo Rey and two other religious temples. It also has its own municipal water supply office and a large park.

On the other side of the American map lies this small town of fewer than two thousand inhabitants in the municipality of Franklin, south of Philadelphia, in the state of New Jersey.

Despite being a village with very scattered houses, it has extensive natural parks, several churches, a post office and a small fire station. But what stands out most is its large lake (Malaga Lake), with an immense natural park surrounding it and even a small beach.

South of the city of Albuquerque, location of the famous series that tells the story of Walter White, lies Malaga, a small desert settlement in the state of New Mexico. In addition to a municipal water supply headquarters and post office, it has a fire station and a church.

Almost on the border with Canada, in the state of Washington, lies the community of Malaga. Divided into two settlements of scattered houses, it's located at the junction of the Malaga Alcoa highway and the W Malaga road. Like other American towns, it has a municipal water office, fire station, church... Although a car repair shop called 'El Chacharas' catches the eye.

We leave the USA, though not the American continent, to find the first large city that shares Malaga's name. It's the capital of the García Rovira province, within the Colombian department of Santander. With a large central square featuring a cathedral, that of the Immaculate Conception, a regional hospital, university and even an airport. The Malaga of Colombia has a population of just over 20,000 inhabitants and shares with the Andalusian one the demonym: malagueño, malagueña.

Right next to the airport of the Mexican city of Durango, lies this unpaved settlement with a primary school and some modest sports facilities. Its population is around 300 inhabitants.

Although they are not locations that exactly repeat the place name of the capital of the Costa del Sol, in Spain there are three other towns that are named with combinations or derivations of the word Málaga.

Fresno Málaga and Malaguilla are two small Manchegan villages -each with a couple of hundred inhabitants- in the province of Guadalajara, in the center of the peninsula.

Somewhat further south and also Manchegan, Malagón is a town of almost 8,000 inhabitants in the province of Ciudad Real.

Back on the American continent, we find the Argentine city of Malagueño, within the municipality of Santa María in the province of Córdoba.

With around 25,000 inhabitants, it obviously doesn't have malagueño or malagueña as its demonym, but rather malagueñense.

Of the ten largest cities in the province -Málaga, Marbella, Mijas, Vélez-Málaga, Fuengirola, Estepona, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Rincón de la Victoria and Alhaurín de la Torre- only the capital and the second most populous have their name exactly repeated in another location in the world.

Back in America, in Costa Rica, we find another Marbella. Although it's also located by the sea, it has little in common with the luxury postcard of Puerto Banús. It's a small village in the city of Santa Cruz, in the province of Guanacaste.

Despite not being a town, 'Málaga' is also in the name of an important natural and conservation area in Colombia: Bahía Málaga.

• Temas
• Ciudades
• Colombia
• Málaga
• Costa Rica
• Costa del Sol
• España
• Marbella
• Estados Unidos
• Filipinas
• Málaga (Provincia)
• Mexico
• California
• Historias visuales