Discover the classic Estepona... at its annual Feria

Flamenco music will feature heavily at the annual Estepona Fair, which starts tomorrow.

For most expats, Estepona is a coastal town with beautiful, sandy beaches, quaint cobbled squares and rows of terraced houses in the Old Town adorned with colourful flowerpots. Or perhaps as the site of the Botanical Gardens-cum-Orchidarium and Selwo Nature Park…

Others will know of its New Golden Mile and the fact that it has often eclipsed Marbella in recent years as the most popular and fruitful area for property development. Whatever our knowledge, as an expat on the Costa del Sol it’s easy to lose sight of the authentic roots of these Andalucian villages, towns and cities whose cafés, restaurants, shops and beach bars we sometimes take for granted.

Nevertheless, generations of locals living in and around the ancient fishing town of Estepona still celebrate the customs and traditions that pre-date even the first holiday homes and rental property on the Costa del Sol. Flamenco dancing, music concerts by local artists, bullfighting and equestrian shows all form part of the Estepona Fair, which runs throughout this week.

This Andalucian identity is plain to see in Estepona. The pride that many locals feel with regards to their Mediterranean heritage was summed up in June 2014 when 1,800 Esteponeros entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of couples dancing sevillanas (flamenco) simultaneously.

Food and drink are, of course, central to the festivities. Given that the town has long been a fishing village, seafood and fish are the main dishes served at the fair, while it is not uncommon to see people drinking locally-produced manzanilla sherry.

The Estepona Fair starts tomorrow evening at 7pm with a procession of painted paper maché giants and huge heads through the streets, followed by a fireworks display at 9pm and the switching on of the lights at the fairground at midnight. If you can make it to the fair, it is certainly worth a visit. For the full programme of events, visit the official website (in Spanish) here>>