This year Calle Larios will be an enchanted forest
We have more than assumed that this will be a very strange Christmas and marked by the pandemic that starred this year 2020.
The restrictions and measures adopted by the different Autonomous Communities will undoubtedly mark these important dates, but we must see the positive side: It will be weird, it will be different, we will be more responsible than ever, but there will be Christmas.
The Diputación de Málaga has already inaugurated its own with two elements that could not be missing: the turning on of the lighting of the Pacific Street headquarters and the traditional monumental Nativity Scene. In addition, on Friday the 27th, the lighting of more than a hundred streets in the historic center and emblematic areas will take place. The time has not been specified to avoid crowds.
The program of planned activities, with proposals for all audiences, includes: musical theatre, sports tournaments, activities for the elderly, concerts and street parades.
Here is the (responsible) guide to use and enjoy Christmas in Malaga. Do not lose detail!
THE BETHLEHEM
A monumental and interactive Nativity scene of no more and no less than 220 square metres. This is the Bethlehem of the Diputación de Málaga and the Municipal Board of District No. 7, whose author, the renowned nativity scene Diego Alonso, who has worked together with his collaborators Jesús Bermúdez and Juan Francisco Moreno so that the people of Malaga can enjoy one of the key elements of Christmas.
It is a traditional Bethlehem with an orography of almost two meters high for which they have been used 4,000 kilos of stones and pebbles, 600 kilos of earth and sand, 40 kilos of moss, 2,000 meters of fiber optics and more than 1,000 light bulbs.
More than 1,200 clay figures of 21 centimeters with natural cloth clothing created by hand by accredited authors and More than 10,200 miniatures make up this large nativity scene in which 19 biblical scenes are represented –from the Annunciation to Mary to the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth–.
El Belén also houses monuments from all over the province, such as the Cueva de Nerja, the Dolmen de Menga, the Caminito del Rey, the Farola del puerto de Málaga, the Ayuntamiento de Málaga or the Iglesia del Carmen.
Take a good look, because among figures and monuments you will also discover Malaga customs such as the elaboration of the Axarquia raisins.
The orography has been totally modified for this edition with new caves, gorges, lakes, large rivers, 19 new springs and the sea.
The Bethlehem also has special effects and a narration by the announcer Diego Gómez with musical arrangements by the master Tony Carmona. The narration and special effects passes will last 15 minutes and will start every hour on the hour.
The Bethlehem can be visited from Monday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On December 24 and 31, the hours will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and on December 25 and January 1 and 6 it will remain closed.
Christmas lights on Calle Larios in Malaga
THE LIGHTING
After the lights were turned on on Calle Pacífico on Thursday, November 26, On Friday the 27th, more than a hundred roads in the historic center and emblematic areas will be illuminated. The switch-on time is not announced to avoid crowds.
In this year 2020, marked by the COVID health crisis, Malaga City Council has opted for Christmas lighting to maintain the line of last year, in line with the commitment to reactivate the commercial, hotel and catering sectors of the city, some of the hardest hit during this pandemic.
This Christmas, they join the lighting the roundabouts of Manuel Alcántara and Albert Camus, in the area of Avenida de Andalucía; Fernán González, Esparteros, Comedias and Nosquera streets; and the Plaza Eugenio Chicano.
In Alcazabilla, they are also new, an almond tree and a luminous nativity scene, in the area of the Manuel Atencia Gardens. For their part, the 11 districts of the city will have Christmas lighting, especially in their commercial areas.
THE FOREST OF LARIOS STREET
'The Christmas Forest' is the title of the setting for Calle Larios in Malaga this year. For 40 days, the well-known road will become a forest with 22 arches of 11 meters between axes and 12.80 meters high.
The perimeter frame is of organic origin and the entire structure is gold. The lighting of these arches will be made up of 1,000 12-meter led cords with 180 light points of 0.07 watts each.
In addition, the city will house five christmas trees of large dimensions that will be located in: Plaza de la Constitución (where the tree will be passable, like last year), Molina Lario, Parque Huelin, Plaza de La Marina and Plaza Enrique Garcia Herrera (Camas).
There will be a musical thread with Christmas carols in Calle Larios and this year the passes of the light and sound shows that brought together hundreds of visitors every day and in which Malaga has been a pioneer are suppressed.
MUSICAL THEATRE
The Delegation of Education will bring musical theater to primary school students in the province hand in hand with the group from Málaga, Málaga Brass, who will record an entertaining work at the Edgar Neville Auditorium in which, based on a meeting between two young people, a girl from northern Europe and a man from Malaga, the province of Malaga is traveled through a huge map.
Thus, their counties will be displayed, highlighting its Christmas traditions from music, dance and gastronomy. Prestigious musicians from Malaga will participate in the work, including members of the Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Malaga Brass Band and Professors of the Malaga Higher Conservatory of Music. They will all interact with the actress from Malaga Aida Sánchez, also a stage director, and the Sevillian actor Tony Nuñez.
The recording will take place next Monday, November 30 and The show will be broadcast in the last fortnight of December on the Youtube channel of the Diputación de Málaga.
FOR THE ELDERLY
The elderly of the province of Malaga will be the protagonists of a special television program that will air on 101TV.
In it, they will share their memories and their traditional way of living the Christmas holidays and they can also participate in craft workshops for making Christmas decorations.
UP THE CULTURE!
The program of Christmas cultural activities includes a multitude of concerts, theater and parades. One of those activities is the Christmas concert that the Provincial Youth Orchestra will offer on December 12 at the MVA.
Invitations can be booked from December 5 here, and the concert will be streamed on the Youtube channel of the MVA Cultural Center.
Also, the flamenco group Los Ortigosa will offer performances in Alhaurín el Grande (December 6 at the Antonio Gala Municipal Theatre), Alhaurín de la Torre (December 26 at Finca el Portón) and Algatocín (date yet to be confirmed). Admission will be free until full capacity with the restrictions set by health regulations.
Also on December 26, a Christmas parade by La Carpa Teatro will visit Jimera de Líbar.
More activities are expected to be announced in the near future.
SPORT
This year, the traditional Christmas football and basketball tournaments of the Municipal Sports Schools have been reinvented and will be held in online format under the name of Technical Skills Tournaments of the Municipal Football and Basketball Sports Schools Diputación de Málaga.
These tournaments are open to all the municipalities that participate in these educational leagues and will consist of a series of basic technical exercises that each club or school will have to record and send to the Sports Delegation before December 15.