summer suckers
ALBARIÑO FESTIVAL _(Cambados. Pontevedra, from August 1 to 4) _
This weekend starts the famous Albariño fair, which is considered **one of the oldest in Galicia** and which brings together all lovers of gastronomy and wine of the surroundings. is possibly the top plan for those of you who are still spending the summer in Galicia.
Cambados opens to the public with a lot of booths where you can taste the wines from their cellars and to which this year Luz Casal herself will attend in concert.
Octopus festival, in O Carballiño
If you want to go a little further, only 90 kilometers separate this town from La Orensana Or Carballiño, where the famous octopus festival is celebrated on August 11. More than 70 tons of octopus to fair are served in Carballiño to feed more than 100,000 visitors.
To put a finishing touch to your August in Galicia, it is as simple as going on August 17 at the Bandeira de Silleda pie festival, one of the most recognized in the community and perfect for tasting this non-stop delicacy.
The festivals of San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and La Paloma will fill Madrid with color
The villa, in addition to offering concerts and recitals, has a impressive gastronomic offer. And it is that the Royal Site is one of the places where one wants to stay and live forever.
SAN LORENZO, SAN CAYETANO AND LA PALOMA _(Madrid, from August 6 to 18) _
They are also known in the capital as the 'August Festivities', since it is to be born in the eighth month of the year and in the capital they have parties until the middle of the day.
Starts San Cayetano from 6 to 9 in the surroundings of the Rastro and close to the Church that bears his name; keep going San Lorenzo from 10 to 13 dressing Argumosa street for a party and ends Dove in the Latin until August 18.
The streets of Madrid receive thousands of people with bars, music and party until the wee hours of the morning. not missing the chotis or the lemons that the older ones give; chicken fry and ins and outs nor the bacon sandwiches of the beach bars.
The seats offer free concerts , although, without a doubt, the most fun is found in popular verbenas, where we can see couples of our elders defy gravity marking a chotis on tiptoe on a tile. A show.
The show of keeping traditions alive
BIG WEEK IN BILBAO _( Bilbao , from August 17 to 25) _
We celebrate the Aste Nagusia in the Biscayan capital from nothing more and nothing less than 1978 , the year in which citizens and institutions agreed to make Bilbao's festivities a unique event. And it was born from a popular contest called 'Let's make Bilbao festivals popular'.
It has had town criers as beloved as the late actress Mariví Bilbao and It always has a Marijaia (lady of the party) who with the txupinazo marks the beginning of the festivities.
For nine days Bilbao dresses its squares and its old town with concerts ranging from alternative rock to the most purist folk. The Big Week also has own theater program which includes street and children's theater.
The gastronomic contests They bring together professionals and the curious who want to discover a little more about Basque gastronomy. Also, many restaurants do a special menu of Aste Nagusia and in the txoznas of each comparsa you can eat and drink until the body can take it.
MALAGA'S CARNIVAL _( Malaga , from August 14 to 24) _
One of the highlights of the month of August is the massive Malaga Fair. The old town and the Real Cortijo de Torres transform the city into a a swarm of locals and tourists who come with the desire to sing and dance in some booths which, unlike the neighboring April fair in Seville, are mostly free.
Bilbao Big Week
To find its origin we have to go back to the incorporation of Malaga to the crown by the Catholic Monarchs in the 5th century , becoming one of the most important summer festivals in our country.
Going through the booths is having the opportunity to enjoy a gastronomy governed by fried fish, aubergines with honey or ham, and all this washed down with Malaga wines and rebujito.
The lighting of the Real, fireworks at sea, concerts and everything that the Malaga night gives of itself make the Malaga Fair a necessary getaway.
FESTIVALS OF GRACIA (_ Barcelona , from August 15 to 21) _
It is undoubtedly the most important festive event in Catalonia for this month of August. And it is that the festivals of Gràcia transform the streets of the Gracia neighborhood in authentic contemporary art museums, for they adorn themselves and compete for the best achievement.
Also, these holidays are committed to sustainability with reusable cups, as we saw in other festivals such as the Madrid Paloma of 2018; and for inclusion, fundamentally for the disabled.
A woman dances during the Malaga Fair
These festivals also a showcase of Catalan gastronomy because it is easy to find tastings of sausages and vermouth, discover the denominations of origin of the Catalan wines or even enjoy a concert or a castellers show paired with a good improvised chocolate. Well, and that the restaurants in the area put out their best clothes. There is no reason not to go to the Gràcia festivities this year.
BUÑOL TOMATO _(Buñol. Valencia, August 28) _
The experience of Buño's tomatina He is something that you have to experience at least a thousand times in your life. And it is that human beings, even if it seems a lie, we are passionate about throwing things at each other until we get lost.
This festival is part of the festive program of the town. Its origins date back to the 1940s. having as a starting signal a game of grim reaper. Consists in a real tomato fight, coming from a special crop for this party since they are from a variety not fit for human consumption.
Although the streets of the town become as if a cataclysm has happened, it is said that the tomato helps to disinfect and the streets remain pristine.
In addition, it is a unique opportunity to try the 'mojete', a typical dish similar to porridge and which is accompanied with meat. Tickets have just gone on sale. You have to hurry because they fly and the capacity is limited.
"Entomatos" and happy
*BONUS TRACK: THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER
FESTIVALS OF THE ARANJUEZ MUTINY _(Aranjuez. Madrid, from September 5 to 8) _
In the Madrid town of Aranjuez they celebrate a festival in early September commemoration of the events that occurred in 1808 declared of National Tourist Interest Since 1990.
Aranjuez go back 200 years and dress its streets as scenes of loot, representing thanks to the neighbors the assault on Godoy's palace, naming a Major Mutiny, staging a pirate descent through the Tagus River and the abdication of Carlos IV.
The city becomes a Goya universe, with its own market where you can find true gastronomic treasures and the world of crafts, two banners of the culture of Aranjuez.