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Municipality of Benamocarra (Andalusia, Spain)

Málaga Province

image by Blas Delgado and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 16 Oct 2005

Introduction

See also:

Málaga Province (Andalusia, Spain)
Andalusia (Spain)
Spain

Introduction

Basic data:

Size: 5.70 Km²
Population: Approx. 3.000
Residents known as: Benamocarreños
Monuments: Plaza de El Calvario, Plaza de la Constitución, Church of Santa Ana.
Geographic location: In the interior of the Axarquía, 5 kilometres from Vélez and 41 from Malaga, at 126 metres above sea level.
Tourist information: Town Hall, C/ Zarzuela, 46. 29719.
Phone: 952 509 534
Fax: 952 509 570

Benamocarra is easy to get to from most surrounding areas. The most direct route from Malaga is by the Autovía del Mediterráneo towards Vélez, turning off at the Macharaviaya or Vélez access and arriving at Benamocarra about half way between both. As we approach we can see the town as a patch of white against the darker mountainside. Its layout is typical of the Axarquía: low whitewashed houses and narrow, winding streets. In the centre of the town is calle Pilar, so named because of the three pillars or fountains in the street, two of them together.

Other interesting places in the town centre are calle de Cristo Portal, the Plaza del Labrador and the Barrio de San Isidro, which is the working-class area of the town. Eduardo Ocón, one of the most important of the 20th century Spanish composers, was born in Benamocarra, and last year was the centenary of his death. A series of activities organised to coincide with his birthday, February 28th, was organised around that date.

One of the legends of the town concerns its patron saint, the Cristo de la Salud, whose image as the Cristo de Torre del Mar, it is said, saved the people of Benamocarra from a fatal cholera epidemic. It happened at the beginning of the 19th century when cholera broke out in the region. It soon spread to Benamocarra, and helpless in the face of such potential tragedy, the people of the place turned to the Cristo de Torre del Mar and carried the image to the town itself. When they tried to brought it back to its place of origin, they discovered it got heavier as it was carried further, which is not in itself unusual, but on being brought back towards the town, it got lighter. This was interpreted as a sign that the image wished to remain in the town.

Blas Delgado, Oct 16 2005