What’s on in Jumilla, cultural agenda from February to April 2019

A host of events including concerts, artisans’ days, exhibitions and plenty of activities for children

The late winter and early spring is marked throughout Spain by Carnival and the Easter celebrations, but in Jumilla in the north of the Region of Murcia there is plenty going on apart from these major festivities.

A wide range of drama and music at the Teatro Vico is complemented by numerous others at the Conservatorio Julián Santos, the Casa del Artesano, the Museo Jerónimo Molina and many other venues, providing even more good reasons to pay a visit to this large wine-producing municipality in an area where the landscape is so vastly different to that of the Costa Cálida.

Please note that dialogue is in Spanish unless otherwise indicated. English language tours are offered by the tourist office and visits to most of the bodegas included in the Wine Route are also available in English. See feed at the bottom of this article for details.

Among the events scheduled are the following:

Saturday 2nd February

20.00: Singer-songwriter Andrés Martínez performs at the Teatro Vico in Jumilla to present songs from his most recent album Mar Adentro. Admission 2/4/6 euros.

Sunday 3rd February

10.00: Corro Espartero, an esparto grass weaving event held by the Jumilla Artisans Association at the Casa del Artesano.

7th, 8th and 9th February

21.00: The UCAM university symphony orchestra, accompanied by the Compañía Lírica Julián Santos (from Jumilla) and the Discantus choir, perform “Farruca”, a piece written in 1953 by Julián Santos and based on a text by Seville poet Camilo de Valenzuela. The story is one of gypsy rivalries, death and duels, and is typical neither of traditional operas nor Spanish “zarzuela” light operas, instead relying heavily on flamenco for inspiration. Tickets 12/18/20 euros. Teatro Vico

Saturday 9^th February

10.00: A workshop dealing with ways to make your own natural cosmetics in the run-up to Valentine’s Day at the Casa del Artesano. Registration and further information on 606 192116.

11.00: A cookery workshop for children at the Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum, where participants will learn how to make a sweet dish. Registration and further information on 968 780740.

9th to 24th February

The sculpted tableau of the transporting of the Holy Sepulchre, belonging to the brotherhood of the Cristo de la Sentencia which takes part in the annual Easter Week processions, goes on display at the Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum.

Sunday 10th February

10.00 to 14.00: Open doors morning at the Casa del Artesano in Calle Rico, organized by the Jumilla Artisans Association.

Saturday 16th February

12.00: “Emociones a Montones”, story-telling for children by Miriam Oller at the municipal public library. Suitable for children aged between 3 and 9: registration and further information on 968 780510.

Thursday 21st February

20.00: The chamber music cycle continues at the Teatro Vico in Jumilla with a recital by the Compañía Lírica Julián Santos and soprano Paloma Friedhoff, accompanied by pianist Richard Tang Yuk. The programme features popular songs for soprano soloists from baroque times to contemporary opera, with pieces composed by Bach, Purcell, Mozart, Fauré, Debussy, Hahn, Schubert, Schumann, Granados, Halfter and Villalobos. Tickets 12 euros.

20.00: “Entre Fronteras: Jumilla en la Edad Media”, a conference and book presentation about Jumilla in the Middle Ages, offered by Doctor Estefanía Gandía Cutillas at the Centro Sociocultural Roque Baños.

Friday 22^nd February

20.30: “Mitoílogico” at the Teatro Vico. Performed by the Teatro Strappato company, the show is concerned with two of the pillars of Mediterranean culture, the Myths and the Commedia dell’Arte. It is the characters of the latter which are on stage, with their marks, telling hilarious stories as they portray the characters of the other, such as Zeus, the Cyclops, the Minotaur, Ulysses, Oedipus, Orpheus and the like. Tickets are on sale for 5 euros.

22nd and 23rd February

Free cinema screenings in the auditorium of the Conservatorio Municipal de Música: on Friday 22nd February Hotel Transilvania at 17.00 and La Forma del Agua (The Shape of Water) at 20.00, followed on Saturday by Thi Mai (a Spanish comedy road movie) at 20.30.

Saturday 23^rd February

11.00: “Tienes Cara de Íbero”, face-painting as it was in the time of our forefathers! Suitable for all ages at the Archaeology section of the Museo Municipal Jerónimo Molina. Prior registration is essential on 968 757379.

19.30: A concert in the Teatro Vico to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the “Paso del Traslado al Sepulcro”, one of the sculpted tableaux and groups of bearers belonging to the brotherhood of Cristo de la Sentencia. The tableau is paraded in the streets of Jumilla during the annual Easter Week processions, and the hymn of the brotherhood will be performed during a concert offered by the Asociación Musical Julián Santos: tickets 1/2/3 euros.

1st to 19^th March

The figure of María Magdalena, belonging to the brotherhood of the same name which takes part in the annual Easter Week processions, goes on display at the Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum.

Saturday 2nd March

10.00: Carnival face-painting workshop organized by the Jumilla Artisans Association at the Casa del Artesano. Registration and further information on 618 293588.

Sunday 3rd March

10.00: Corro Espartero, an esparto grass weaving event held by the Jumilla Artisans Association at the Casa del Artesano in Calle Rico.

20.00: One of Spain’s best known film and stage actresses, Concha Velasco, stars in her latest – and last – production, “El Funeral”. Tickets 6/10/15 euros.

Friday 8^th March

21.00: Drumming presentation and unveiling of the poster for the 2019 Semana Santa processions in the auditorium of the Conservatorio Municipal de Música, including a foretaste of the drumming which characterizes the celebrations in Jumilla and other towns in the north of the Region of Murcia. Taking part is the Asociación de Tambores Cristo de la Sangre.

Saturday 9th March

11.00: Memory card game to learn about the monuments and history of Jumilla for all ages at the Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum. Further information and registration on 968 780740.

19.00: The annual Semana Santa almanack for 2019 is presented at the Casa Misionera San José (Dominicas).

20.30: A night of copla and flamenco songs performed by Manuel Lombo, accompanied by the Asociación Musical “Julián Santos”, at the Teatro Vico. The programme includes some of the most popular songs in Spain across a range of genres from flamenco to pop and traditional. Tickets 8/12/15 euros.

Sunday 10^th March

10.00 to 14.00: Open doors morning at the Casa del Artesano in Calle Rico, organized by the Jumilla Artisans Association.

Thursday 14th March

20.00: “Qué es la nueva cultura del agua y el crecimiento sostenible?”, a talk on the role of water and sustainable growth in the Region of Murcia offered by Julia Martínez Fernández at the Centro Sociocultural Roque Baños.

20.00: The chamber music cycle at the Teatro Vico continues with a recital by pianist Pedro Valero. The first half consists of Julián Santos’ Suite Santa Ana, in deference to the Jumilla composer, and the recital of two poems by José María Ibáñez accompanied by images of the landscape which inspired the music.

After the interval the Valero-Rodríguez duo present a selection of pieces from Isaac Albéniz’s Iberia Suite, this time accompanied by the projection of images showing the landscape of Andalucía. Tickets 12 euros.

Friday 15^th March

20.00: Screening of the Spanish comedy film “Amanece que no es poco” at the Conservatorio Municipal de Música. Admission is free of charge, but free tickets should be acquired beforehand at the box office of the Teatro Vico.

Saturday 16th March

10.00 and 17.00: Puzzles as relaxation therapy, a workshop offered by Dany González at the Casa del Artesano in Calle Rico. Registration and further information on 600 834777.

Friday 22nd March

Wine and olive oil tasting held by the Jumilla Artisans Association at the Casa del Artesano. Further information and bookings at asociacionartesanosjumilla@gmail.com.

19.00: “La historia de cómo se dibuja a Gloria Fuertes o el Hada Acaramelda”, a children’s drawing and poetry event to coincide with Poetry Day at the municipal library.

22nd March to 14th April

The figure of the Virgen de la Soledad, which is paraded in the streets of Jumilla during the annual Semana Santa procession, goes on display at the Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum.

Saturday 23rd March

12.00: “Cuentos de Luz y Sombra”, story-telling for children by Miriam Oller at the municipal public library. Suitable for children aged between 3 and 9: registration and further information on 968 780510.

20.30: Comedy with Comandante Lara & Compañía at the Teatro VIco, tickets 10/12/14 euros.

Sunday 24th March

20.00: Volvió Una Noche, a musical concerning a member of a tango and bolero group whose mother returns from the grave to decide whether his fiancée is the right woman for him. Tickets 8/10/12 euros.

Wednesday 27th March

Open doors day at the Teatro Vico to celebrate World Theatre Day.

29^th March and 31^st March

Two charity performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar, viewed by some as the finest rock opera ever, in the Teatro Vico. The first, on Friday 29^th March at 20.30, is in aid of the Spanish Red Cross, and on Sunday 31^st March a show begins at 19.00 to raise funds for the Association of Pediatric Illnesses related to Obstruction of the Airway. Tickets 4/6/9 euros (available from Cruz Roja Jumilla).

Saturday 30th March

11.00: “Defiéndete como un Íbero”, a workshop for all ages in which participants create their own replica Iberian sword like those which were in use in what is now Spain prior to occupation by the Romans 2,000 years ago. The event takes place at the Jerónimo Molina Archaeology Museum, with registration and further information on 968 757379.

18.00: 10^th annual Ciudad de Jumilla drum and cornet band festival at the Teatro Vico, to raise funds for the charity Cáritas. Tickets 2/4/5 euros.

Thursday 4^th April

20.00: The chamber music cycle at the Teatro Vico continues with a recital by pianist Javier Bas, the programme featuring “Pictures from an Exhibition” by Russian composer Modest Mussorsky. The work is inspired by ten paintings and drawings by Mussorsky’s friend Víktor Hartmann, and the show also includes a projection and brief explanation of each picture.

Also on the programme are a nocturne by Alexander Scriabin and The Seasons by Tchaikovsky. Tickets 12 euros.

Friday 5th April

19.00: “Cuentacuentos de Arena”, story-telling at the municipal library, registration and further information on 968 780510.

Saturday 6th April

20.00: Opening speech of the Jumilla drumming festival and the award of Drummer of the Year at the Teatro Vico, organized by the Asociación de Tambores Cristo de la Sangre. Admission by invitation from the association.

Sunday 7^th April

10.00: Corro Espartero, an esparto grass weaving event held by the Jumilla Artisans Association at the Casa del Artesano.

12.00: The official opening speech for the Semana Santa celebrations of 2019 at the Iglesia Mayor de Santiago. Click here for the details of the program between 12^th and 21^st April.

Wednesday 10^th April

17.30: The children’s representation of the Taking of Christ as part of the Semana Santa celebrations at the Teatro Vico.

Sunday 14^th April

10.00 to 14.00: Open doors morning at the Casa del Artesano in Calle Rico, organized by the Jumilla Artisans Association.

Monday 15^th April

21.00: Holy Monday concert at the Teatro Vico, “The Passion of Christ”, performed by the Asociación Jumillana de Amigos de la Música. Tickets 3/4/5 euros.

16^th April to 12^th May

“Detalles de la Semana Santa de Jumilla”, an exhibition compiled by Juanma Domínguez showing some of the aspects of the local Easter Week celebrations. Venue: Jerónimo Molina Ethnography and Natural Science Museum.

Saturday 27th April

21.00: Concert at the Teatro Vico featuring singers Oché Cortes and Tony Beteta, performing “Las Canciones de Nuestra Vida”, a selection of timeless Spanish and American favourites including boleros, pasodobles and tangos. Tickets 12 euros.

Sunday 28th April

18.30: “Estrella”, children’s theatre by the Marie de Jhong company. This prizewinning drama tells the story of Zar, a 6-year-old girl who is on the way to becoming an internationally famous pianist under the strict guidance of her parents, and Izar, a happy star who needs guidance from a starfish to regain her emotional stability. Tickets 6 euros.

For more local events, news and other information, including details of bodegas included on the Jumilla wine route, all written in English, visit the home page of Jumilla Today.