SPRING EVENTS: Enjoying Music in La Herradura

The Spring Choral Concert was recently held in the auditorium of the La Herradura Civic Center, featuring two extraordinary choirs: the choir from the neighboring town of Almuñécar and the Vox Viva Sundsvall choir from Switzerland. Both choirs performed at an exceptionally high level, presenting a varied and unique repertoire of polyphonic songs from different countries and cultures. I am currently a member of the La Herradura Flamenco Choir “Cosas Nuestras” and have performed in various concerts in several nearby cities in Andalusia, yet I had never heard choirs of such a high caliber.

With the auditorium packed, the Almuñécar City Choir opened the concert with Orlando di Lasso’s “Yo vi un día” and a musical rendition of the poem “Muusika” by the Estonian poet Juhan Liiv, both of which the audience greatly enjoyed. These are two pieces that bring a deep sense of peace to the heart, and they were beautifully performed.

One of the most important spring festivals in Latin America and Spain is the celebration of May Cross. An event with religious origins, it commemorates the moment when Saint Helena found the Cross of Christ, which is combined with an ancient pagan festival that celebrated the worship of nature during the spring equinox and the fertility of the earth. Here in Spain, it is celebrated especially in the region where I live, Andalusia.

In the town where I live, La Herradura, some courtyards and squares were beautifully decorated with fresh flowers, featuring crosses made of red carnations and images representing places and activities typical of our town: the white-washed houses, the fishing boats, and the market. Together with the flamenco choir, we sang cheerful songs in front of the cross, and then we ate and drank. This is the first time I’ve participated because when I joined the choir last year, the Cruz de Mayo (May Cross) festival had already passed.

It’s an event where the community comes together and shares in a long-standing tradition. Unlike other religious festivals I’ve participated in with the choir, there was no procession this time; we sang in a courtyard, next to the neighbors’ homes, and they really enjoyed the concert—they clapped along. Events like this help me learn more about the traditions of the region where I now live and integrate into my community. This is very important when you move to another country with a different culture.

La Herradura also hosts more intimate concerts at the nightclub La Cochera. This week, I got to enjoy Spanish singer Rocío Starry’s Amy Winehouse tribute show. It was a delightful, lively concert where we got to hear some of Amy’s greatest hits, sing along, and dance to them. I really enjoyed it.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of some spring music events in my city. I hope you get to enjoy some where you live. Here in Spain, as the weather starts to improve, many events begin to take place. In this article, I’ve highlighted a few of them.

Since my native language is not English, I have had to rely on the Deepl.com platform to translate this article into English.