Love from Málaga
A 21-letter journey exploring Málaga's culture. A story about the city: its people, places, history, and the small details that make it feel like home.
#15 From Water to Jungle: Inside Parque de Málaga
From Water to Jungle: Inside Parque de Málaga I still remember the first time I stumbled into Parque de Málaga. I wasn’t living here yet. I was just visiting, walking through the city like a curious outsider, when suddenly the streets opened, the air changed, and I found myself surrounded by dense, almost tropical vegetation. I stopped and asked my partner, half confused, half amazed: How is this in the middle of a city? Because it doesn’t feel like it belongs to the typical idea of a...
#14 The City of Paradise: A Nobel Prize Interpretation of Málaga
The City of Paradise: A Nobel Prize Interpretation of Málaga I was walking along Paseo de la Alcazabilla when something made me slow down. Not a street performer, not even the Alcazaba itself, but words carved into the wall, held inside a large wooden and metal structure that felt impossible to ignore. It read “Ciudad del Paraíso,” city of paradise. Beneath it, verses from a poem. At first, it sounds almost exaggerated, the kind of phrase you expect to find on a souvenir magnet or a slightly...
#13 Semana Santa in Málaga: The Magic of Devotion
Semana Santa in Málaga and the Magic of Devotion I’ll never forget the evening I was in my kitchen, casually preparing dinner, when the sound of bells and drums called from the streets. Curious, I rushed to the window and froze. A massive float, glowing in gold and deep purple, was slowly entering my street. At its center stood a figure of Christ carrying the cross. I was completely speechless. A marching band followed, and suddenly, it felt like I had been transported into a movie, the kind...
#12 A Prison, a Bullring, and the Many Lives of Plaza de la Constitución
A Prison, a Bullring, and the Many Lives of Plaza de la Constitución The first time I walked through Plaza de la Constitución, my attention was caught by the thin-legged, swaying palm trees. They looked like they were following a hint rather than wanting to stand still. I didn’t know the names of any of the buildings or what they were used for, yet my reaction to the beauty of the architecture was immediate and visceral. It felt like a small town, and at the same time like something holding a...
#11 The Sandwich Málaga Will Argue About Forever
The Campero: Málaga’s Most Beloved Sandwich I was sitting at a burger restaurant when my order arrived: a neat, modest burger on a small plate. Across from me, my friend’s meal appeared like a completely different species. Her burger was enormous, pale golden bread overflowing on all sides, the smell drifting across the table like Mediterranean heaven. “What’s that?” I asked. “This is a campero,” she said proudly. “My favorite comfort food.” Little did I know that day that I had just...
#10 A Red Carpet for Everyone: Málaga’s Festival of Cinema
A Red Carpet for Everyone: Málaga’s Festival of Cinema If you’ve ever dreamed of walking the red carpet just to remind yourself that you’re the star of your own life, Málaga offers the perfect opportunity every single year. No need for Hollywood or Cannes. Our luminous Mediterranean city transforms into a living film set during the Festival de Málaga, the annual celebration of Spanish-language cinema. For a few days storytelling becomes the heartbeat of the city. And quite literally, a long...
#9 Calle Larios: From Unhealthy Corner to Elegant Boulevard
Calle Larios: How Malaga’s Most Unhealthy Corner Became Its Elegant Heart Some streets are mere passages, others rewrite a city’s future. Calle Marqués de Larios belongs to the second category and entered the history books as one of the most elegant streets ever built. When it opened on 27 August 1891, this boulevard was not simply a beautification project, it was urban surgery. At the time, Málaga was struggling. Economically shaken, overcrowded, periodically devastated by epidemics. Its...
#8 Málaga’s Loudest Guiris: The Green Parrots' Secrets
Málaga’s Loudest Guiris: The Green Parrots and Their Secrets Today I’d like to introduce you to Málaga’s loudest guiris (= foreigners). And no, I’m not referring to a group of Northern Europeans stumbling home from a night at the club. I’m talking about the parakeets, Málaga’s beautiful green parrots, the Monk parakeet and the Rose-ringed parakeet that have made this city their home. You’ve probably stopped to watch them at least once. Tourists do all the time, phones lifted, fascinated by...
#7 Why Málaga Burns a Giant Fish Every Year
The Funeral of the Anchovy: Málaga’s Unique Way of Ending Carnival It is half past six on a Sunday in mid-February, that tender hour when the weekend hesitates between rest and return to productivity. You go out for a walk to clear your thoughts. The light over the port is bright, the wind sharpened by winter, families orbiting one another. And then you see it. A giant anchovy, solemn, magnificent, faintly absurd, advancing toward the beach. There are musicians, and figures dressed in...
#6 How Málaga Earned the Title “Very Hospitable”
A Shipwreck, a Bridge, and How Malaga Became Known for Its Hospitality I moved to Málaga after several years in Germany. So you can imagine my surprise when, on one of my very first walks from my new flat, I crossed a bridge over the Guadalmedina, glanced at the plaque, and read: Puente de los Alemanes — Bridge of the Germans. I smirked. There they are again. Even here. What I did not know then was that an extraordinary story was hiding behind that bridge, a story that would come to explain...
A 21-letter journey exploring Málaga's culture. A story about the city: its people, places, history, and the small details that make it feel like home.