Corpus Fair in Granada

Celebrations and Corpus fair of Granada, from 20th to 26th of June, 2011

 In Corpus of Granada religion goes hand in hand with the festivity. 

The Corpus Christi does not have a fixed date, but is determined by the liturgical calendar. It’s held within sixty days after Easter Sunday. Currently the Church has shifted this festival the following Saturday, although some cities and towns have maintained their traditional day, as is the case of Granada.

"There are three Thursdays in the year than the sun shines, Holy Thursday, Corpus Christi and Ascension Day." 

The fair of Granada

These Corpus festivals are celebrated since the city was conquered by the Catholic Kings, more than five hundred years ago. These are days when Granada dresses up to live their annual fair. It will be a week full of joy and living not only for themselves, but for visitors who these days are in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The fair starts on Monday May 31 at night with the lighting of thousands of bulbs and a cover art, entrance fixture of this ephemeral city, which will remain lit until the following Sunday, June 6, ending with an explosion of fireworks.

People live day and night. During the day, at the fairgrounds, enjoy the ride through Granada, dressed in a flamenco dress and mounted in elegant carriages or in a croup and in the evening, the atmosphere of the booths will be its main attraction to the sound of singing and dancing. Some are public and private, so that the visitor is always welcome. The people from Granada are very hospitable.

The bullfighting is one of the most important that takes place in Spain, it brings together all the best of bullfighting. It also takes place other cultural events of prime importance for all to enjoy. 

The procession of Corpus Christi

The Big Day is provided by the Thursday of Corpus Christi, June 3. The city goes to the historic center to witness the procession of the monstrance, which will leave the cathedral, to walk a few blocks adorned with altars and hangings, covered with awnings and scented with herbs. From the balconies, the left Granada rose petals fall to the way that guards the Sacred.

Heathen and religious

The previous day, Wednesday, the Tarasca, a mannequin of a woman on a dragon rendered by her beauty, will walk in an elegant dress, which is supposed to be the fashion of the season and whose secret has been kept to this day. It is the feast known as La Pública. 

The Corpus of Granada is like a coin, it has a Christian face on one side and a Heathen tail on the other, but the two forms a single party, one of the most important that takes place in Spain.