All Saints Day - Todos Los Santos

All Saints Day in Spain (Todos Los Santos) takes place on November 1st. It is a very important national public holiday when people from all over the country return to their town or village to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives. There are few religious days that mean quite so much to the ordinary people of Spain as this solemn festival.

 Most people will visit the graves of relatives and decorate them with elaborate floral displays.The Eucharist, or Mass, will often be performed in the cemetery several times during the day.

Halloween in Illora - Marimantas Illorunas 2016

Monday 31 October 2016 18.00 - 22.00

Around the streets of Illora, Ghosts and Ghouls walk in the dark shadows, recounting tales of times gone past. Its quite spooky, especially when you hear the music that follows them, and walking in the darkness, with only candlelight to show your way. It's Illora's traditional way of celebrating Halloween.

More alleyways and ginnels

Following on from my previous blog post about the alleyways around Illora town, here are a couple more. They are quite steep, and impossible to drive a car either up or down them.

Illora Feria de Ganado 2016

So today is the final day of the Feria in lllora and unfortunately its a rainy day. The first 4 days have had fantastic sunny weather, so I guess one day out of 5 isn't too bad.
The Illorquenses turned out in their hundreds, young and old alike, most dressed in their finery and traditional Spanish costumes and partied from early morning, until late at night. with an enormous choice of pop up cafes and bars, the streets came alive to the sound of traditional music, especially on the Vino stalls and from the 80s disco bar, loudly competing with each other to be heard. There were probably around 50 stalls selling everything from handbags and scarves to live ducklings, sweet pancakes and of course the enjoyable chicken kebabs.

Programme of Events for the Illora Feria 2016 - Real Feria de Ganado de Illora

Alleyways and Ginnels of Illora

Around the town there are many short-cuts, ginnels, snickets and alleyways that cross from one street to another, yet these passageways are too narrow to allow for a car to pass by.

Over time, its our intention to discover and explore as many of these narrow alley ways as possible. I'm sure in years gone by that donkeys would carry their passengers along these narrow streets.

Illora Animal Feria October 2016 - Real Feria de Ganado

The dates have been confirmed for the annual Illora Animal Fair (Real Feria de Ganado) - 8 to 12 October 2016, this year beginning on a Saturday, allowing the final day, Wednesday to take place on the public bank holiday.

The weather forecast promises to be a good one - so far!
Pics to follow after the event.