VISITORS to and residents in Mijas can find out more about its 'secrets' in a series of multi-lingual guided tours.
Find out what goes on behind the scenes at the fiestas, and uncover the local wine industry – which, naturally, includes tasting its fruits.
Trips are organised in English, German and Danish – so if you speak any of these as a second language but feel you need some practice, you could join in more than one version if spaces permit.
Mijas council ran a similar schedule of guided trips in multiple languages starting November last year – this time in English, German and French – and they proved so successful that they look set to be a permanent feature in the town.
Titled 'Mijas Secrets', the guided tour schedule runs two dates in April, a week apart – on April 10 and 17 – under the heading Semana Santa, or 'Holy Week', which is what Easter (Pascuas) is more commonly referred to as in Spain.
Parades, pageants, scary costumes, less-scary costumes, floats, and sweet treats fill the whole four days of Easter weekend in Spain, and many events stretch back even further, covering Palm Sunday.
You might well have seen a parade or two, but not be fully aware of what the various elements symbolise, or perhaps you're curious to see what the fiesta-goers get up to in between processions.
The two April tours give you exclusive back-stage access to the headquarters of the 'brotherhoods', or hermandades, as these fiesta clubs are known.
Two further trips are organised in May, again in English, Danish and German – on May 15 and 29, titled Viticultura, or 'wine and vine' culture.
You can probably figure out what happens here – visits to winemakers', watching them at work, touring vineyards, and tasting wine – especially if you've ever been on a wine-region tour anywhere else in the world.
It is not clear whether any of the guided trips carries a cost, but if this is the case, it is likely to be a token fee of just a few euros to cover costs.
To book your place or ask questions, email the organisers at mijassecrets@gmail.com.
THE LONGEST day north of the tropics has now passed, and summer is officially here, exams are over, schools and colleges in Spain have broken up for the next three months, and fiesta season is ready to kick off.
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