Facade of the Town
Hall |
To reach Benamargosa from Malaga one takes the
Autovía towards Vélez and turns
off for Macharaviaya, the fairly flat road from here bringing us to Benamargosa.
The municipality is only 90 metres above sea level, situated in the
valley of the river Benamargosa, which is known as The Cave from its source
to its arrival in the town. Benamargosa is also watered by the streams
named the Carvajal and the Cútar, with the Marín gully leading into
the town too. The layout of the streets and
houses still maintains its old charm,
with narrow, winding streets and low houses whitewashed and decorated
with flowers. A stroll through the centre of the
town is a must for any visitor, and the
most interesting streets are calles Bonita, Algarrobo and Real.
If we head up to the Barrio del Calvario, we are awarded with a beautiful
view of the entire village. Not much is
known about the origins of the town, although its Arabic name - Ber-Ha-Maruxa
- tells us that it was certainly there in Moorish times. In
more recent times the town has been known as Gibraltar Chico, or Little
Gibraltar. During the Spanish Civil War, we are
informed by the older people of the town,
the main commercial activity of the place was tobacco smuggling.
The townspeople would have the tobacco leaves brought from the Granada
fields and would make their own cigarettes, exporting their excess produce
to Malaga and other Andalusian provinces. In
our own day the main business of the area is agriculture, with different
crops growing in different areas of the
municipality. Raisins, almonds and olives
are grown in the northern, more mountainous part, while the more fertile
and better irrigated southern part is rich in citric fruits, avocado pears
and tropical fruits. This area was the first in the entire region to experiment
with tropical fruits, in fact, and now there is quite a large area
in which mangos and kiwi fruit is grown.
Places
to be visited
 |
Church
of Nuestra Señora de La Encarnación
The church is in the lower part of the town, and is also the
oldest and most important
building there. It dates from the 16th century, built over an old
mosque in three naves, each 28 metres
long. These are separated by pointed arches
on pillars. The chapel was built in the 17th century, along with
the small room of Jesus of
Nazareth, and the epistle ceiling is finished in rococo
yellow. The door is made of brick with a semicircular arch on
pillars. There is a crypt under the
floor and a cemetery that dates from when
the church was first built.
The Cemetery Hermitage
The chapel in the cemetery of Benamargosa is a simple building
from the year 1840, when Doña
María de Santiago ordered its construction as a burial place
for her and her husband.
Famous personalities
Among the most famous people of the town was the "Cura Pinto",
who gained a place in the
history books on the War of Independence against the French by
providing Captain Moreno with
sufficient funds to hold out against the invaders
for two years. Another well-known Benamargosa personality was the
singer "El Niño de Vélez",
born in the town in 1906 and dying in Vélez 69 years
later. He was best-known for his interpretation of the Malaga
style of flamenco singing, and
his name featured in lights in theatres in Madrid, Barcelona
and many other places.
|
| Where
to eat |
Restaurante-Pensión
Los Pepes. Specialising in garlic soup and
country-style fillets.
Arroyo Alpechín.Tel: 952 517 029. Benamargosa.
Restaurante-Bar Ríos. Specialising
in home cooking. Carrera Riogordo. Tel: 952
517 212.
|
| Where
to sleep |
Pensión
Los Pepes. Arroyo Alpechín.Tel: 952 517 029.
Benamargosa.
Rural
Accommodation in the province of Malaga
(in
Spanish)
|
Church of the
Encarnación |
FIESTAS
Benamargosa celebrates its patron
saint¹s day - that of San Sebastián - on
January 20th, when the so-called Saint¹s Butlers open their doors to the
people of the place with eating and drinking going on into the late hours.
In summer there is the Cultural Week, and the festival of Corpus Cristi is
very important to the town. As is common in most Andalusian towns at this
time, the streets are decked out in flowers, and images of Christ and the
Virgen are set up in little altars at the entrances to the houses and
patios, and in the squares. In the Good Friday procession during Holy
Week,
the Cofradía (a type of brotherhood) of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores
accompanies Our Lord Jesus through the streets in
silence.
GASTRONOY
As main producer of avocado pears in the
region, this fruit is included in most
of the town¹s best-known dishes. There is also a sweet drink made from
it. Other dishes of the area include garlic
soup, tomato soup, gazpacho and many
other dishes made from local produce. The
most traditional dessert is the home-made bread cakes, for which the
town is well known.
|
