Fiestas
Festival Tres Culturas - Frigiliana
By m.p.
Aug 22, 2007 - 2:47 PM

The village of Frigiliana, on the eastern Costa del Sol, celebrates its rich cultural history with the Festival of Three Cultures: of the Moors, of the Jews and of the Christians.
Lying a few kilometres inland in the foothills of the Sierra Tejeda-Almijara mountains, the narrow winding streets of this small village, 350 metres above sea level, are living testament to its centuries of Moorish occupation, and of the years when the three cultures lived there in harmony.

That period came to a close when Frigiliana was retaken by the Catholic Kings in 1485, in what is known as the ‘Reconquista’ of Spain.
The Moors who chose to remain in Spain were forced to convert to Christianity, and became known as the ‘Moriscos.’ Less than a century later, the hill which rises up behind the village was the scene of the last bloody battle of the Morisco uprising which swept through the Kingdom of Granada in the second half of the sixteenth century.
More than 7,000 Moriscos are said to have died in what became known as ‘la Batalla del Peñon’ – ‘The Battle of the Rock.’
The story of that famous battle is depicted in a series of 12 ceramic plaques dotted around the old part of the village.

The idea for a cultural festival first came from the musician and composer, Javier Paxariño, together with his partner, Maruchy Suárez, the director of Mirmidón Producciones. The couple spend their summers in the village which is also known as the ‘Villa de las Tres Culturas.’
The details emerged in a succession of meetings at the Town Hall, where the idea for an event celebrating Frigiliana’s local gastronomy had already been mooted, and that original idea developed into a celebration of the three cultures.

The first edition of the Tres Culturas festival was held in 2006, and takes place over four days, culminating on the last weekend of August. The Town Hall describes the event as a ‘mosaic of light and colour,’ accompanied by the smells and flavours of the gastronomic part of the celebration.

It includes the ‘Market of the 3 Cultures,’ craft workshops with ceramics demonstrations and other crafts, a falconry exhibition, daily processions, music and dance, poetry readings, plays, jesters, children’s theatre and even belly dancing.
The local gastronomy can be sampled in the Ruta de la Tapa, in which many of the village bars take part.
Exhibitions and conferences also form part of the festival, with a nightly firework display in the church square.

The Festival ends on the final day when nightfall comes and the market stallholders close up their stalls for another year and another Festival de las 3 Culturas.

More details from the official festival website - www.festivalfrigiliana3culturas.es