The San Cecilio Festival in Granada

If there’s one thing Spain is good at it, it’s celebrating. They have parties for everything and anything! Each year, the San Cecilio Festival in Granada is held on the first Sunday in February. 

San Cecilio is the Patron Saint of Granada. So, as you can imagine, this festival is a big deal. It is held on Sunday to ensure that everyone can attend. Traditionally, the people of Granada make a 1/2 hour pilgrimage from the base of Granada up the winding mountains to  La Abadía del Sacromonte. There, a mass is held in San Cecilio’s honor followed by a lively celebration that endures well into the evening. 

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How I Wound Up At The San Cecilio Festival

I was never planning to go to the San Cecilio Festival in Granada. I didn’t even know there was a festival for that matter. Jess and I had already visited La Alhambra and General Life, saw the inside of the Granada Cathedral, ate cookies from the monastery, spent half a day shopping, drank tea in a traditional tetería, saw a Flamenco show, and ate plenty of free tapas so we decided to start wandering up to Sacromonte to see if the cave museum would be open. It being Sunday in Andalusia, we weren’t optimistic.

We noticed that more people than expected were out and they were all heading in the same direction. As we climbed higher and higher up the winding hills passed the white washed village of Albaicín and approached Sacromonte we began to hear music.

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The Free Food

As you can guess, this was not some crazy gypsy leftover from the 60’s singing and dancing Flamenco in her humble abode. Instead, the festival was in full swing. Families and friends were gathered with picnics around a flamenco show and an extensive line was formed for what we assumed to be food. We assumed right, I always know when there is free food.

Traditional salaíllas, raw green beans, and bacalao were given out on plastic plates. Granada salaíllas are typical round breads topped with a few grains of sea salt. They possess a texture more dense than Italian focaccia but a similar flavor. The bacalao and the bread were both incredibly salty so you needed the raw dry green beans to moderate the flavor. All in all, I enjoyed the odd combination that reminded me of what I may be served in a Spanish prison, but left very thirsty.

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The Dancing

While eating, we watched the very traditional and upbeat Granada dance “La Reja”  and even joined in for a quick dance lesson with the pros. After the lively and colorful Reja performance had ended there was a quick break and the more dark and emotional Flamenco style songs were played. I was told the festival would continue well into the night and in traditional Spanish style… for about a week more.

We must have been enjoying ourselves because we lost track of time and arrived at the bus station five minutes late to a bus full of upset passengers doing nothing to disguise their eye rolling at the two English girls… oops. Thanks for waiting, Mr. bus driver.

Have you ever been to a Spanish celebration?