Anthony Piovesan
It is a special feeling to walk down Calle Marques de Larios in central Malaga and see golden heavenly angels above your head and groups of excited people dancing in the street.
It immediately evokes that pure childlike joy every kid experienced when they bounced out of bed on Christmas mornings and headed straight for the tree.
The excitement of Christmas dulls down a bit when you grow up and take on more and more adult responsibilities, but you forget them all when you’re out on the streets of Malaga in December.
The main walk down Calle Marques de Larios is the obvious thing to do first.
Here, there are light shows each night which take place three times a day; 6.30pm, 8pm and 10pm.
Moments before the first lights get switched on, huge crowds of people draped in their winter coats and scarves unanimously fall silent as the clock ticks closer to 6.30pm.
Then the moment arrives, phones are the first to be whipped out to record the special moment.
The music, carefully selected to fall in sync with the dancing lights, makes the whole experience even more spectacular.
Last year, Malaga went with a ‘festive forest’ theme, decorating the streets with suns, angels and autumn leaves.
That’s been swapped for huge celestial angels that adorn the entire Calle Larios.
The new gold and white angels are four-metres high, and are placed on towering columns down the whole length of the street.
In addition, there are 1.3 million lights in more than 500 streets in the city.
Another highlight are the lights in the Jardin Botanico de La Concepcion.
Trees and plants are illuminated by all sorts of different colours, with angels, Santas and reindeers spread out among the gardens.
There are more light shows at the Palmeral de las Sorpresas, the Plaza de la Marina, Muelle Uno and Gibralfaro, as well as a clever video mapping show on the cathedral tower.
Malaga’s lights are getting more recognition across Europe, and even the world, and it’s not difficult to see why.
The city takes on another form at Christmas, it’s magical and joyful, and one that deserves to be seen before the lights go out again… until next year.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s Malaga sets date for official switch on of its Christmas lights with energy saving measures in place
- Storm Efrain: Mallorca to experience tropical Christmas weather experts say
- Spain’s Interior Ministry orders police to step up security and counter-terrorism measures over Christmas
