THE CORPUS CHRISTI festivities are over 500 years old…. and that’s how old some revellers of Granada proabaly feel after attending their week-long ‘feria’ daily! Corpus Granada is a huge event, attended by thousands of people, and with the main activities held at the ‘recinta ferial’ at Almanjáyar. This is located to the north of the city, near the main bus station (handy!).

This year, the feria was inaugurated at midnight on Saturday 14 June, when all the pretty lights were illuminated. The party ends on Saturday 21 June, and is worth a visit to take in the colourful cultural spectacle.

We check out the action…

Having missed Corpus Granada 2024, the reporter took advantage of the opportunity to pop in this time round, on the Tuesday evening. Sadly, by sundown (9pm-ish), all the traditional horses with carriages had departed. This will be for animal welfare and health and safety reasons (horses, night time, and people drinking just don’t mix). The reporter was disappointed to miss the equine element, which is a clear advantage of visiting during daylight hours. Also, many party tents start the music at midnight, so early evening is a “lull period”.

Horses or no horses, it was interesting to walk around the huge ‘recinta’ (doing the odd live stream) and soak up the vibe. The feria has 67 ‘casetas’ (party houses). The commercial ones that anyone can enter are run by local institutions like Caja Rural bank and the Diputación de Granada, which was promoting an initiative called ‘Granada 2031’. The reporter mused: will anyone be able to drive to the feria by then?

There are also much edgier (and huge) club tents, with moody security guards stood at the entrances. Some of these looked like they could be great fun for a fiestera like the reporter – although definitely ditch your car and get a bus, cab, or hotel

Different areas, different vibes…

The ‘recinta’ is so vast that it has street names. Despite that, it is easy to get lost…. and remember that the reporter was 0.0% fresh, with a car parked. Surely there is a map…. somewhere. If you need to orientate yourself, use the fairground which is… on the right? Or the large arches to the – is it north and south? Work this out before drinking!

Assessing the vibe quite quickly, the reporter found that one side of the ‘recinta’ was inhabited by older people dining and smiley, friendly people dancing in tents, with similing security. The other side (somewhere, ahem!) had a distinctly moody vibe, of testosterone and ‘juventud’ waiting for nightfall to indulge vices! It’s a good idea, as with any mass event, to take a secure bag or ‘rinonera’ and not leave your purse or phone lying around!

In fact, there is a LOT of security – of every kind. It ranges from private hire operatives who look like police to actual Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional. Remember not to take photos of police (it’s illegal) – although some Nacionales were snapping away at guests who wanted group shots. It’s also important (for your ego!) not to try to walk into a “private” ‘caseta’ and have a moody guard turn you away, while you look surprised.

Also, there only appeared to be one toilet block (“billed as luxury loos”) for the whole area, so don’t wait until it’s urgent! These were actually surprisingly clean and decent (not like Glastonbury or any UK festival!).

Fairground rides and food stalls

If you take your kids, you won’t want to miss the vast ‘columpio’ area (unless you want your money remaining in your wallet!). This is a sight to behold, with LED-colour-change Big Wheels, pirate ships and other scary-looking attractions. There were also the usual candy floss vendors and stalls where you shoot at balloons and other targets to win various prizes.

Meat was also in strong evidence, with various stalls serving what looked like animal innards. We’re not sure that would be advisable after a trip on the Big Wheel or pirate ship! Vegetarians, close your eyes!

Take care with parking

Be careful where you park at Corpus Granada. The paid-for parking directly beside the smaller illuminated arch, costing 4e, was letting in too many cars when it was packed full, and it was difficult to get back out.

There was obvious free parking on ground marked ‘piscina municipal’ but an edgy-looking man was trying to direct people where to park. If you feel a bad vibe, take note, as Corpus Granada is held beside a ‘barrio’ that has many good people, but also known social issues.

If you circulate for 10-15mins, you are almost sure to find a free parking space, as such a vast network of streets surround the ‘recinta ferial’. As always, lock your car, shut windows, and never leave valuables inside (including passports, etc.) Also, if a local resident appears and insists it is “their spot”, it’s probably better to move. Don’t find trouble (the reporter did this once and then had to mutter about ‘Spanglish’ and ‘don’t understand’ before all the ‘primos’ turned up!).

Remember where you parked your car. Maybe take a photo of the location because, even 100% sober, there can be a horrible moment of doubt – the vast, surrounding streets all look similar.

Most of all, enjoy!