The colourful and highly popular Romeria de San Isidro (all about St Isidore the farmer, 1070 to 1130) takes place on May 14th and 15th with the procession from the Balcón de Europa to the Nerja Caves on the 15th.
Festivities begin at 21:30 up at the Nerja Caves and there will be performances by Plácido and Son del Arte.
On the 15th, there is a Mass in honour of San isidro at 11:00 in the iglesia El Salvador on the Balcón de Europa. The Mass will feature the Peña Nerjeña choir and there will be the traditional offering of fruit.
Following the mass, there will be tributes in front of the church and performances by the Agrupación Folclórica Municipal, the Grupo de Fandangos Cortijeros de Río de la Miel and Pago de Almuñécar.
Then begins the annual pilgrimage to the Nerja Caves with the statue scheduled to arrive at the chapel at around 14:30.
The festivities at the Nerja Caves will begin at around 15:30 with performances by Dúo Compás and Aromas.
The various awards, to horsemen, carriages, floats etc, will be made at 18:00 and the party will continue until midnight. A regular bus service will run on the 14th from 22:00 to 07:00 and on the 15th from 10:00 to 01:30.
Anyone needing to access the Nerja Caves site – for bars, stalls etc – or participating in the procession with a motorised vehicle must obtain authorisation from the Local Police.
The Council has decided, unlike in many municipalities, to keep the ox carts but this year, due to austerity measures and the crisis, participants must bear 50% of the costs, namely €250.
The prizes this year are as follows:
Best Couples on horseback
1st: €200, 2nd: €150, 3rd: €100, 4th: €80
Best Ox Cart
1st: €200, 2nd: €150, 3rd: €125, 4th: €100
Best Individual Rider
1st: €100, 2nd: €80, 3rd: €60, 4th: €50
Best Float
1st: €200, 2nd: €150, 3rd: €125, 4th: €100
Best Horse-drawn Carriage
1st: €200, 2nd: €150, 3rd: €125, 4th: €100