The Christmas Nativity Scene Tour in Málaga

Christmas in Málaga is synonymous with lights and music on Larios street, videomapping at the Cathedral, and craft stalls in the Park. ... But it is also synonymous with Nativity scenes, providing the perfect opportunity to tour various displays decorating the city. The long lines recorded every day during the last holiday of the year to see some of the classic nativities, such as the one at Málaga City Hall, speak for themselves that the tradition of Christmas strolls from one Nativity scene to another is still alive.

This year, Málaga has over 70 Nativity scenes ranging from the classics set up in the Cathedral or City Hall to the more popular ones like La Mosca or Carretera de Cádiz. Each of them has its charm and unique features that make them worth visiting.

One of the most spectacular has debuted this weekend in the courtyard of Málaga City Hall. The municipal Nativity scene is classic, monumental, and features over 400 figures and details referencing Málaga. It covers an area of 150 square meters and depicts various biblical scenes in chronological order. This time, the representation starts with a large seascape in a humble neighborhood by the sea, featuring a fish vendor and a carpenter fixing a fishing boat. Both adults and children enjoy a recreation that is open for visits from 10 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm to 9 pm.

Another classic is the one that can be visited in the Cathedral of Málaga. It covers an area of 70 square meters and contains around 400 top-tier figures. Located in the Cathedral's choir, it is the Nativity scene set up by the Málaga Nativity Association 'La Alcazaba'. The Cathedral's Nativity incorporates about 25 percent new figures and novel scenes, such as the Flight into Egypt, with figures created exclusively for that moment, like the fresco painters, the mason measuring with a plumb line, or architects on the ground reviewing the plans.

Another spectacular Nativity worth visiting is the one set up at the headquarters of the Provincial Council, in the Carretera de Cádiz district. The Málaga nativity artist Diego Alonso, with the collaboration of Juan Francisco Moreno, has created an interactive Nativity with 1,900 figures and unique corners of the province. This year it offers a new geography in 90% of its layout, with some novelties such as the Tajo de Ronda bridge and four fountains.

But there are many more: the one set up at the Unicaja Museum of Arts and Popular Customs, the one in the La Mosca neighborhood, the Nativity fragment at the Customs Museum, the one at the Glass Museum... All of them are well worth incorporating into that Christmas walk.

One that has a long tradition, dating back to 1992, and that avoids the usual crowds of this season in the city center is the aforementioned one from La Mosca. A Nativity scene 22 meters long and five meters wide, featuring about 2,000 figures. The Nativity reviews biblical scenes and originated when a neighborhood resident, Félix Trujillo, discovered a natural setting that allows this Nativity to integrate part of the rocks from the mountainside, making it a reference point where children are amazed by the number of moving elements and with a route that allows starting the journey with a daytime Nativity and, as if by magic, also viewing it at night.

Nativity Guide

• A foldable brochure has been published with a list of Nativity scenes and a map showing the numbers assigned to each Nativity. At the same time, this guide can be consulted through this link on the municipal website.

Also, from the craftsman Enrique Haro, the Unicaja Museum of Arts and Customs is showcasing a unique Nativity scene this year, open for visits from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm, except on holidays when it is not open in the afternoon. And progressing on this tour through some of those 73 Nativity scenes distributed around the capital of the Costa del Sol, it is also worth mentioning the one made by the Zegrí Cultural Association in the San Pablo parish. It is a Renaissance Nativity that can be visited from 9 am to 1 pm and from 5 pm until 8 pm.

Also interesting is the Nativity of the Dolores del Puente Brotherhood, which is Neapolitan style, composed of sixty pieces inspired by Spanish Baroque and Andalusian architecture, which this year incorporates new figures made by Jesús Rosa.

For its part, the Málaga Museum is exhibiting a Nativity inspired by the Chinitas Passage of the capital city, created by the Málaga Nativity Association La Alcazaba (ABEMA), accompanied by panels and explanatory texts on the history and urban evolution of the Chinitas Passage. Its setup is part of the Málaga Museum's 'Revisiting Heritage' program.

And in this tour, the Nativity scene at the Historic San Miguel Cemetery can be included, consisting of twenty artisan mysteries under the title 'A Tour through the Nativity Scenes of South America', from the collection of Alejandra Aranda, or the one at the Glass and Crystal Museum, which displays a Nativity composed of two hundred Lladró porcelain figures.