La Cimada: Winegrowing, Sevillanas and Rural Andalusia

Rural landscapes and winegrowing

The landscape around La Cimada is hilly. Large expanses of grain fields alternate with dehesas of holm oaks; due to the water resources of the Guadalcobacín River, the area also has numerous irrigated gardens and olive groves. This creates an alternation between open agricultural areas, tree-covered dehesas and irrigated cultivated areas for observation on site. Those who consciously take in rural landscapes can observe different forms of land use and vegetation side by side here. The surrounding area therefore forms a distinct focus alongside the town's cultural themes.

Bodegas Morosanto is a winery on the former Cortijo Morosanto estate in La Cimada. The estate covers around 30 hectares and is mainly used for winegrowing; olive trees and holm oaks also grow there. Bodegas Morosanto offers an enotourism visit with a guided tour of the winery and a guided wine tasting. Visitors can therefore focus both on the size and agricultural character of the estate and on a clearly defined visit itinerary. The tour and tasting represent two different focal points within the wine theme.

The Morosanto estate includes a Roman wine press that belonged to a slave villa dating from the 1st to the 5th century. Alongside winegrowing, the press provides a historical trace. Agricultural use and an archaeological connection are therefore located close together on the estate, while the dating directs attention far beyond its present-day use.

Festivals, music and local tradition

La Cimada's traditional Cruces de Mayo are celebrated on 15, 16 and 17 May with numerous activities for residents and visitors of all ages. On these days, the programme includes musical performances, traditional popular activities, a Mass and a traditional procession. A paella is also planned for Saturday. The three festival days thus bring together different forms of expression: music, popular tradition, religious celebration and a paella all belong to the same programme.

During the recording, members of La Cimada's cultural association performed up to seven parts of the old Sevillanas of La Cimada. The historic “Sevillanas de La Cimada” are to be included in the Audiovisual Encyclopedia of the Folklore of Málaga. Local musical culture therefore emerges both as a performed repertoire and as a project with a wider regional connection. The musical focus expands La Cimada's cultural themes with a distinct repertoire and its own tradition of transmission.

Access and day planning

The rural settlement of La Cimada can be reached via the MA-429 provincial road from the side of the Province of Cádiz and via the MA-428 from Ronda. For planning the day, the chosen approach direction provides a separate starting point when the landscape, estate and cultural themes are to be combined.

Further destinations: Pizarra, Archidona, Teba, Marina de Casares, Estepona, Guadalmina, Manilva, Mijas.

To the overarching travel overview: Málaga.