UPDATED WED APRIL 4 2001

PROMOTION OF ALMUÑECAR IN THE SWEDISH TOWN OF GOTHENBURG

The Granada town of Almuñecar has shown its tropical charms in the cold, as the Municipal Tourist Board has carried out a special promotion in Gothenburg, Sweden where TUR2001, the most important Scandinavian tourism fair has been held.

5,000 tourist leaflets and a special video, all in Swedish, were distributed during the numerous events and meetings with investors in the tourism sector and the media were carried out.

Agreements on future collaboration and intentions have been signed with the most important golf club in Europe - The Country Club - which has plans to construct a golf course in Almuñecar, and shortly they are coming to see the sites available to make this a reality.

Also another document of intentions has been signed with the Scandinavian Federation of Sports Clubs, which is going to carry out a circuit of four countries - including Spain - and Almuñecar where they can carry out their training in our town.

The dozen of companies from the Costa Tropical and the other institutional representatives from Almuñecar who travelled to Gothenburg held meetings with some 30 travel agents and Swedish companies in an effort to recover the market which was, in the 60's, an early leader in tourism in Almuñecar.

RED ANDALUZA DE ALOJAMIENTOS RURALES

The Andalucian network of rural accommodation has, together with other European organisations, met the challenge of new technology and launched a project to put rural accommodation on the Internet - both from Andalucía and other parts of the continent.

The web, designed for public and professionals, allows the reserving of rural houses in Europe in real time. It's a pioneering initiative from ten rural accommodation associations, universities and companies and has a budget of 200 million pesetas of which 160 million comes from the EU. The page will be launched on the Internet in September and will also allow access from mobile phones.

VINOS MÁLAGA EN LONDRES

Málaga is now better known in Great Britain. The wines from the capital of the Costa del Sol have been the stars of a commercial presentation organised by the Councillor for Agriculture and Fisheries from the Junta de Andalucía, Paulino Plata, who presented in London some of the officially regulated Málaga area wines.

Accompanied by the presidents of the regulating council, José María Rodríguez, and the Málaga Chamber of Commerce, José Joaquín Erroz, as well as representatives from 5 of the 8 bodegas in Málaga, Plata promoted the liqueurs, sweets and whites to British hoteliers, restauranteurs, agents, importers, and the specialised press

CASTRIL, CONJUNTO HISTÓRICO ARTÍSTICO

The village of Castril in the province of Granada is now officially of tourist interest, following its declaration as such by the Junta de Andalucía. The historic and artistic values of Castril date from the time when it played a frontier role between the Kingdom of Granada and the Christian reconquerors.

It's arab fort, the parish church, its irrigation channels or even the main street through the town with its views are all witness to the past, and add to that the marvellous nature park of the Sierra de Castril.

The final approval of the Granada village as a historical centre ends 20 years of bureaucracy.

CIRCUITO DE GOLF COSTA DEL SOL

The Costa del Sol is the area which has the highest concentration of golf courses in continental Europe with a total of 40. 70 per cent of the golfers who use these clubs are foreigners, and of them the majority are Germans who spend an average of 40,000 pesetas a day.

The province of Málaga is, therefore, an ideal place to hold the first Costa del Sol Golf Circuit, organised by the tourism board and which will bring together more than 300 golfers during the three tournaments it consists of between April and July.

The golf clubs at Añoreta, Guadlhorce, Alhaurín Golf and Río Real are the places where the circuit will be held. Currently 8,000 local people are working in this tourist sector.

CUEVAS DE NERJA

The Nerja caves are one of the main tourist attractions of this town on the Málaga coastline. Now you can find our more about them in the new Information centre at the caves which offers visitors details on the changing landscape of the area such as the entrance 12,000 years ago or how it was the beach more than 10,000 years ago.

The new centre also offers rock samples from the caves indicating the sedimentation during the different geological periods, and explains how the stalagmites and stalactites are formed from the Calcium Carbonate dissolved in the waters which drip inside the cave.

The caves management has invested 40 million pesetas in this centre who takes us a little closer to the way of live of our historic ancestors.

EL MAR DE ULISES

The mythology of the sea, the great commercial expeditions which came from the East and West for centuries, and the chance to find out more about history and the evolution of navigation. We can do this and much more in the show called 'El Mar de Ulises - Los orígens de la navegación en el Mediterráneo' which the Caixa Foundation and Granada Town Hall have set up in a marquee erected on the Paseo del Violón in the city - until May 6.

Visitors to this exhibition can recreate the emotion of a Mediterranean sea voyage through time and submerge yourself in a maritime adventure with the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans.

The show reminds us that the Mediterranean has helped contact between civilisations and cultures and has been a route for commercial trade.

CONJUNTO MONUMENTAL GADITANO

The monuments which make up the Santa Cueva and the Rosario church in Cádiz can now be visited again following their restoration which has lasted three years. This religious monument is one of the most significant of the time between Baroque and Spanish Neoclassicism and was the inspiration for Haydn's 'The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross'. The church also conserves three paintings in the high oratory by Francisco de Goya - the only works by the artist preserved in Andalucía, and in the restoration of which the Prado museum has taken part. The founder of the monumental complex was the Marquess of Valdeíñigo and the priest José Sáenz de Santamaría, who spent all his fortune in its creation. The restoration of the Santa Cueva of Cádiz and the Rosario church has cost 164 million pesetas and three years of hard work.

RECUPERACIÓN VÍAS PECUARIAS

Lovers of the countryside will be able to enjoy the more than 24,000 kilometres of rural roads which the Junta de Andalucía plans to recover over the next 20 years in order to guarantee their use for farming, ecology and recreational tourism. Of these 1,500 will be improved in a priority programme on the next two years.

The Andalucian government has drawn up a plan which defines the network of threatened roads in the region, classifying the routes and establishing the work needed for their restoration and maintenance, taking into account their general and biological diversity. Sevilla is the province where most roads will be restored at 4,500 kilometres, while Almeria has the least at 1,800 kilometres

The recovery work includes cleaning, the elimination of obstacles and forestry replanting. On the routes suitable for tourist use, new facilities such as camping areas will be installed and the road surface improved for use in orienteering, and bicycle or horse riding.

SIERRA NEVADA

The Sierra Nevada winter ski station has welcomed more than 840,000 skiers since the start of the 2000/01 season at the end of last November and a few days before the pistes close until next year. The Granada ski station faces the end of the winter season in the best of condition with 58 kilometres of ski-able piste open with a depth of between 1 and 3 metres.

The skiers can also benefit from an offer of reduced price passes for Spring until the end of the season.

Once the ski season is over the Sierra Nevada continues to offer us other activities for the warmer weather - such as walking, rock climbing, orienteering, hang gliding or horse riding. The area offers us a unique natural landscape. That's why the Sierra Nevada Nature Park has been declared by Unesco as a Biosphere reserve. A place to enjoy all year round.

PASO DE RIOGORDO

The famous Rio Gordo Passion Play, in Málaga, will also be held as a once-off in the summer and at night - in order to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of this religious spectacle which was declared a fiesta of national tourist interest in 1996.

On Good Friday and Easter Saturday, more than 500 residents of Rio Gordo will take part in the acting out of the Passion of Christ on a hillside more than 10,000 square metres in size.

The organising committee want to this year honour all the actors and actresses who have taken part in the event over the past 50 years. This years poster has been designed by Francisco Hernández and shows a Jewish girl and the face of Christ. Last year more than 25,000 people attended, making it one of the most important events in the Málaga Holy Week.

SEMANA SANTA EN CADIZ

The Holy Week procession of Christ of Nazareth of Love on Easter Monday is characterised by the white Nazarenes.

In the Port of Santa María in Cádiz, the brotherhood of Our Father Jesus of The Grieving, take their Christ onto the street accompanied by 350 bothers dressed with tunic, black mask and esparto grass sandals.

We cross to Jerez where the brotherhood of La Viga, which dates back to the 16^th century, takes in procession the figure of Christ made in the 15^th century. Accompanying the Christ is Our Lady of Help.

In Algeciras, the Brotherhood of the column reminds us of the whippings that Christ suffered which so distressed the Virgin of tears who accompanies him.

SEMANA SANTA EN CORDOBA

In Córdoba in the crucified Christ is carried through the streets amid the total silence of the people and the darkness of the night - broken only by the lamps which accompany Jesus.

The beauty of the procession and the image of Christ is strengthened and increased by the places it passes.

Behind the canopy of the Virgen is exalted at her entrance to the mosque, in a marvellous contrast of lights and shapes.

Outside the city, In Baena, Holy Week has been declared of National Tourist Interest and is one of the most picturesque and spectacular in Andalucía for the rivalry which exists between those dressed in white and black.

The brotherhoods, some white and some black, unite on the Wednesday of Holy Week in the procession of Jesús del Huerto y San Diego. A white brotherhood which invites the black to their procession only on this day.

A tradition, unique in Andalucía, which started, according to popular belief in the middle of the 19^th century.

SEMANA SANTA EN HUELVA

We are in Huelva - where we are reminded, on Palm Sunday, of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. A procession full of golden decorations, headed by the magnificent work of the face of Christ. The Virgin - Our lady of Angels accompanies and is carried by 30 bearers.

We don't leave the city - this the beautiful sculptured work of the last supper, with Christ of Love - the procession carried on Palm Sunday in Huelva - Accompanied by his mother the virgin.

From the porch of the church of San Sebastian the Christ of Victory leaves in a moment of great emotion in the Huelva Holy Week.

SEMANA SANTA EN JAEN

In front of a centuries old monument and with a great devotion - Our Father Jesus of Nazareth - called by the locals in Jaen the grandfather - appears in the early hours of Holy Thursday. The tradition is that an old man arrived at a house on the outskirts of Jaén looking for accommodation. For payment he made a sculpture from an Olive trunk. Next day the old man had vanished, leaving behind the image of Our Father Jesus of Nazareth.

On Holy Thursday more than 7,000 penitents accompany the Christ and there's not a single Jaen person who does not come out to greet Him.

Outside the city, in Baeza, every year since 1971 the traditional music which Hilarión Eslava composed for the Baeza cathedral in 1850 is performed every Holy Tuesday by the Symphony Orchestra and Choir made up entirely of local people.

SEMANA SANTA EN MALAGA

Holy Week in Málaga starts on Holy Monday with one of the processions which brings most Malagueños onto the streets. The Captive, with his characteristic white tunic and tied hands travels the streets followed by 30,000 promises.

And on Easter Wednesday, Our Father Jesus the Rich, fulfills one of the most popular traditions of the city's Holy Week. The pardoning of a prisoner, who joins the procession with face covered and the blessing in the so-called poor mans court.

But it is on Easter Thursday when Málaga gives an ovation to the Esperanza and the majestic throne weighing 5 and a half tons and carried by 260 men. The virgin is by an unknown author from the 17^th century and has large bars which hold up the boarded canopy and takes part on one of the culminating moments face to face with the Christ of the Good Death.

SEMANA SANTA EN SEVILLA

In Seville the popular Macarena lights up the early hours of Good Friday as she travels under the arch which carries Her name - slowed down by the fervour of the Seville people.

Also in the early hours, the impressive procession of The Three Times Fallen Christ makes His exit from the sailors chapel, surrounded by bearers and a under a mountain of red carnations. He is followed by La Esperanza from Triana, lavish under a canopy edged in gold.

Another procession made in hushed silence as it leaves the cathedral is that of Jesus of Silence with a Baroque golden throne with four crowned lamps and the characteristic of the cross hung the other way round over the Christ. It's followed by the Virgen de la Concepción - work of the image maker Sebastián Santos.

TURISMO EN SEMANA SANTA EN JAEN

Holy week sees the start of the tourist season in Jaén. The wide selection of attractions add to the splendid processions in the streets. There are four nature parks - those of Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, as is usual have the highest occupancy levels of around 90 %, as does the Renaissance Route. This year the surprise comes from Linares close to the N4 road and close to Jaén which this year will have an 85% occupancy. Another item to note this year is that the majority of reserves are made from a week earlier than normal. There are lower figures forecast for Sierra de Andujar and Alcalá La Real which local hoteliers say need more promotion. The number of beds has doubled in the last 2 years - there are now 2,400 across the province - occupied mainly by travellers from the Levante, Madrid, Cataluña, Basque Country and elsewhere in Andalucía.

ANDALUCÍA DIARY

3-10 APRIL

The Manuel de Falla cultural centre in Granada is holding a curious exhibition on the flamenco dancer Vicente Escudero until May 19^th. The dancer also painted some pictures which are on show as are photographs of him with his friends Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, together with correspondence with Manuel de Falla.

24 painters from Andalucía are showing their work in the Sala Imagen in Seville in a show called '50ojos' which runs until April 6.

The Villardompardo Palace cultural centre in Jaén is showing a collection of 600 photographs - Kuwait - ten years after - a particular look - The photos by Francisco Vega remain until April 9.

'Arte Sacro' is the title of a show of paintings by Antonio Montiel at the Cajamar exhibition room in Málaga until Friday April 6.

Antonio González Herranz presents his best pictures in the Caja Sur in Gran Capitán Córdoba until Saturday April 7.

The Fifth European Festival of Greek/Latin theatre takes place in the Roman theatre at Itálica, Santiponce, Sevilla, with classic works from Séneca, Plato and Sophocles. It runs from Tuesday Paril 3 to Friday 6.

Arturo and Antonio Fernández sing and Ramón del Paso plays guitar on Friday April 6 at Peña la Platería in the Albaicín in Granada - part of the Flamenco Nights festival.

The local council in Pinos Puente, Granada has announced the 25^th edition of the Castillejo- Benigno Vaquero poetry and short story competition. Works have to be presented by Saturday April 7.

The Hospital de Santiago cultural centre in Úbeda, Jaén, plays host to an exhibition of landscapes of Úbeda and Baeza by its painters until April 15.

The Sala Cánovas in Malaga hosts the young scenic arts show until Friday April 6 everynight at 2100.

The fiesta of the patron saint of Arjona in Jaén, Nuesta Señora de los Dolores, is celebrated there this Friday April 6.

DIARY 10-17 APRIL

The best canvases from the mature period of El Greco are now hanging on the walls of the Museo Bellas Artes in Seville until May 13. The show titled 'El Greco - Últimas expresiones' gives us the chance to admire 27 works - among them 'Tears of San Pedro', 'The Immaculate Conception', or a replica of 'Burial of the Count of Orgaz'

The Catalan Modest Cuixart, one of the most important contemporary plastic artists, is showing in Granada work created between 1948 and 2000. 'Mythology of Nature' is the name of this large show which you can visit in La General Cultural Centre in Granada.

The Málaga municipal archive is hosting a photographic exhibition with the winning pictures from the second edition of the 'Frente a la Tribuna' competition. The title is 'Objectivo Público' and it continues until Sunday April 15.

Several villages in Andalucía will celebrate the traditional fiesta 'Toro de Cuereda' on Resurrection Sunday April 15. Benamahoma in Cádiz and Gaucín in Málaga province are two examples. On the same day other bull festivals are held in the Cádiz towns of Arcos de la Frontera and Paterna de Ribera.

Cantillana in the province of Sevilla is holding its town fiesta on Friday April 13 in honour of Our Lady of Solitude. On Sunday 15 the village of Pilas holds its Fiestas de las Carreritas which have been declared of National tourist interest. It's the day of the painted eggs in La Luisiana and Judas day in the villages of Coripe, Almadén de la Plata, Aználcollar and Badalatosa. Both Algámitas and Villanueva de San Juan hold their orchard festivals.

The fiestas on resurrection Sunday in the province of Jaén have the egg as star symbol of the day. In Aldeaquemada it's 'La Cuca'. In Carboneros and Guarromán it's 'Pintahuevos' and in Cárcheles it's 'La Merendilla'

Between Thursday 12 and Saturday 14 April, the third edition of the Summa cup for cruisers will be held in the marina in Benalmádena in Málaga - it's part of the Andalucía championship.

The Huelva golf championship is played in the Bellavista golf club in Aljaraque from Thursday 12 until Sunday 15 April.

You can visit the 7^th edition of photographs, oil paintings, miniature thrones and other items until Saturday 14 April in the Malaga Plaza centre of the capital of the Costa del Sol.

The Blas Infante municipal hall in Vera, Almeria hosts the Andalucía volleyball and handball games between Thursday 12 and Saturday 14 of this month.

The third edition of the Sacred-Ritual music and theatre festival continues until Monday 30 April in the Málaga village of Riogordo. It offers a complete programme of activities from musical performance to Sacred Theatre and an exhibition of historic photographs of the famous Riogordo Passion Play.

DIARY 17-24 APRIL

April 22 is 'Sunday in the Alcazaba' which offers a guided tour of the historic centre of Almería. The meeting point is the Plaza Vieja at 11am. The Alcazaba, Almedina and the Cathedral Square are main areas where participants will learn about the history of this city.

The Sevilla painter from the 'Generation of 98' José Villegas is the centre of an interesting exhibition in Córdoba. 50 works form private collections or national museums which can be seen until May 9 in the headquarters of Cajasur in Córdoba.

The 11^th edition of the Contemporary Music Days of Granada continue in the Alhambra Theatre in the city between April 17 and 24.

The 22 of April, the penultimate Sunday of the month, sees one of the earliest romeria fiestas in Andalucía - It's the Virgen de la Cabeza Fiesta in Lopera, Jaén.

The second edition of the Mediterranean Marine Regatta takes place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 of April in Benalmádena.

The Cádiz town of Alcalá de los Gazules celebrates their local fiestas in honour of San Jorge between Friday 20 and Monday 23 of this month.

'Caminos de formación' is the title of an original show which brings together the most significant works from the pupils of the four municipal school workshops in Málaga. The exhibition continues until June 30 in the Murall exhibition space in the Plaza de la Marina and is open from 9am to 9pm.

Moriles in the province of Córdoba is the scene for the Andalucian Wine Fiesta which also contains the 3^rd edition of the Moriles wine tasting. It's between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 April.

The provincial museum in Jaen has an exhibition of the work of the 40 finalists in the BMW painting prize - one of the largest in Spain. The works are on show until Friday 20 April.

The first Science Fiction and Horror Film Festival takes place in El Ejido in Almería between Wednesday 18 and Sunday 22 of this month.

Several villages in the province of Jaén are celebrating their village fiestas in the run up to April 15 - the day of San Marcos. Some of them are Beas de Segura, Mancha Real, Huesa and Hinojares.