Real Feria de Septiembre

Description

The Jódar Fair was granted by Royal Decree of Isabella II in 1837. As Jódar had no set date for traders and livestock breeders to gather to sell and negotiate all kinds of goods, it was decided that the fair would be held on 2, 3 and 4 September. The fair was set up along the so-called Carrera del Pelotero (Calle General Fresneda). Food stalls and stands were placed in the open space between Calle Antonio Nieto and Lope de Vega, where large trees once stood. The swing rides, ferris wheels and carousels were set up in the old small square next to the church door facing the Carrera de San Marcos (Calle Juan Martín), where the priest's house now stands, built in 1927.

Later, the Fair moved to Plaza de la Constitución (Plaza de España) and Calle Los Morales (Calle San Fernando), where the Roma community would set up. A typical feature were the amateur bullfighting displays held in this square, surrounded by wooden stands.

History of the Fair

The origins of bullfighting in Jódar are documented as far back as the mid-17th century. Following the collapse of a wooden stand, these amateur bullfights were discontinued, and the current bullring (opened in 1926 on private initiative) was built by the entrepreneur Basilio Lahoz. Some of the greatest names in bullfighting have appeared in our bullring right up to the present day.

In the 1940s, the fair moved to Paseo de José Antonio (Paseo Primero de Mayo) and Calle Joaquín Galván, with the livestock fair set up in the surrounding streets. There were major shows at the cinemas and cafés, such as at Andrés's, where the so-called "animadoras" (hostesses) performed.

There were two open-air dances, one in the market square and another in the casino gardens, popularly known as "the poor people's dance" and "the rich people's dance". Feature films were shown — in the 1910s, using a large sheet in front of the church façade to screen silent films — and later at several cinemas: the Gran Cinema, the Plaza de Toros, and first at the Teatro Arroquia and later the Teatro Principal. Between the 1960s and 1970s, the fairground was set up in El Ejido, and by the mid-1970s in the Barriada de Fátima.

It later moved to Calle Luis Carvajal, Sanabria and the Camino de la Leña, extending to what is now Avenida de San Miguel de Fluviá. When the new fairground was built in "El Caballo", the fair gained in size and comfort, becoming one of the largest fairgrounds in the province.

Worth highlighting at the Jódar fair is the Flamenco Art Festival (founded in 1972), long-established and steeped in tradition, one of the oldest in the province; the Cita con la Música Folk (founded in 1972), organised by the folk music group "Andaraje", featuring groups of great national renown, and considered the oldest non-competitive folk gathering in southern Europe; among the fair's events, the opening address is also worth noting, given by a locally prominent person or someone linked to Jódar, delivered from the town hall balcony, along with the cultural and sporting activities of the "Pórtico de Feria", notably the Ciudad de Jódar Football Trophy, the motocross championship, and greyhound races... Concerts are also held at the Caseta Municipal of the Palomares Municipal Auditorium, as well as well-attended bullfights at the bullring, competitions and children's rides. Today, the fair is held from 31 August to 5 September.