It is becoming a popular and enjoyable event within the Pedro Romero Feria, the annual grape stomping to officially kick off the beginning of the wine pressing season after grapes have matured in the summer sun. The arrival of the Damas Goyesca to lend their feet is eagerly awaited.

Aside from stomping grapes in traditional wooden tanks, which is a lot of fun, the day has a more serious agenda as dignataries and visitors are able to sample some of the latest wines on offer, as well as some of the best meats and cheeses made in the Serranía.

For thousands of years wine has been made in the Serranía, ancient Iberian people are understood to have fermented grapes, though the Romans really gave wine making a boost with dozens of warehouses at Setenil supplied by large villas surrounding Acinipo. In fact Acinipo wine is believed to have been in great demand in the larger cities of Iberia and Rome itself.

During the last century vineyards have slowly made a comeback, not achieving much renown until recently, though the pace of change of acceptance of Ronda wines is speeding up with several local wines taking Gold at some of the most prestigious international wine competitions.

The annual wine stomping at the Museum of Wine in an old factory near the Santa Maria church is new tradition, but one that is proving popular with wine connoisseurs and tourists, in fact in 2007 over 4,000 people attended.

Great strides have been taken to promote wines of the district, with a special designation having been approved “Designation of Origin Malaga – Serranía de Ronda”, especially after the great phylloxera tragedy.

Thankfully the days of Ronda wines being shunned are well past us, and great vineyards such as La Sangre de Ronda, Jorge Bonet, Los Aguilares, Andalus, Doña Felisa and many more attracting attention from some of the best restaurants in Spain, and other wines sought ofter in foreign markets, the future is looking bright.

Starting around forty minutes later than the advertised time, fans were not disappointed with Angeles Vela who performed her two most popular songs ‘Tan lejos de ti’ and ‘Duele’ followed by two rousing flamenco fusion numbers that had front row seats clapping and stamping their feet.

After a 20 minute intermission to setup the stage, Maria Villalon and her band appeared to rapturous applause and immediately went into ‘La lluvia’, her most recent hit in the Spanish top 40 charts.

Maria’s stage  performance was exceptional, a true professional in every respect of the word, we can see her slightly nervous demeanor during the X-factor competition has matured into a confident and very sexy star ready to take on the world.

Stage attitude Maria has in spades, and she is not afraid to use the full stage as she exhorts her band to play louder, and her fans respond. Lighters were lit and sideways swaying encouraged by brave souls at the front.

It would be easy to dismiss Maria as the local girl given a taste of stardom, but it is very apparent from watching Maria on stage, this is a woman ready to undertake a global tour after she completes her grueling national tour of Spain.

During her set Maria acknowledged her family sitting in the front rows, especially her grandmother.

Though this author’s most special moment was when Maria smiled with clear recognition in my direction.

Perhaps the biggest joy seeing Maria Villalon singing live in Ronda is that she actually does sing, and is very talented, this is not a woman who mimes. Having been privileged, or is that unlucky enough to see Britney Spears in concert, I can tell you it is a real joy to see a natural performer on stage.

My final thoughts on tonight’s show relate to the interaction between the band members and Maria, there are no prima donnas on stage, everyone is committed to entertaining the audience, and for a 21 year old that is exceptional.

Concert Ticket, Maria Villalon

The final set of songs performed paid homage to Maria’s first two albums recorded when she was in her early teens including ‘Maria’ though the crowd were especially kind when new songs such as ‘Sin Hablar’ were belted out as part of a test of their potential popularity.

Not content to go home early, we were treated to a set of around 25 songs, culminating in a loud and excited reprise of ‘Te espero aqui’

Maria’s final song ‘Aguita de Abril’, after an emotionally charged concert didn’t leave a dry eye in the tent, this was Maria’s moment to thank her father for all his support over the years on her to way to stardom.

Not being allowed to leave the stage, Maria became visibly choked with emotion a the crowd demanded an encore with, after which followed several more sets that must have left Maria exhausted.

All in all a great concert by Ronda’s favourite daughter, and the crowd responded very enthusiastically to all of Maria’s songs from both of her Sony-BMG albums. Maria has really touched the hearts of her most loyal fans, the people of Ronda!

Leslie Redhead in Ronda

Leslie Redhead is an award winning artist and teacher known for her dramatic watercolours. Her art focuses on the combination of spontaneity and detail that watercolour has to offer. She continues to explore the possibilities and pushes the medium beyond its limitations to achieve luminous and incredible results.

Leslie began painting with watercolour in her teenage years. She then explored acrylic and oil but her passion for watercolour never left her. She returned to the medium years later as she struggled to recreate what she envisioned. Leslie found the versatility of watercolour to be what she was looking for. She then began intense exploration into figurative studies and watercolour.

Leslie’s paintings and knowledge of watercolour are now in demand worldwide. Her portraits are filled with light and colour and have brought her much acclaim. Leslie is exploring a new series of “focused pours” of architectural subjects involve pouring layers of paint. These pieces are fresh and exciting. Recently, her pours have been on clayboard as well as paper as she recreates scenes from her travels in Andalucía. Leslie finds the clayboard to be ideal for capturing the beautiful light and mood of Southern Spain.

The artist currently resides in Victoria, BC, Canada. She is a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. She conducts workshops in Canada, the US, and Spain. Her work is featured in the book Splash 10: Passionate Brushstrokes from the Splash: Best of Watercolor series and in Leslie Redhead: the life of an artist.

For more information about a painting holiday in Andalucía, Spain, please visit www.flavourofspain.net. To view more of Leslie’s work, please visit her blog at leslieredheadart.blogspot.com.

Last night saw the opening of the Pedro Romero Feria 2010 with a cabalgata (parade) through the streets of Ronda, starting in the Alameda park and winding its way along Virgen de la Paz to Calla La Bola and then Avenida Malaga before entering the municipal fairground.

Excited parents and children could be heard all night exclaiming at the characters dancing in the streets, proud parents eagerly pointed out their own kids on the floats, and Ronda gave the participants of the Folklore Gala a rousing welcome as they sang, played traditional instruments, and danced their way home.

The highlight of the parade however is always the final float containing the reigning queen of the feria and her damas goyescas, and this year was no different. President of the ladies, Lola Riaza was resplendent in a gorgeous black and white gown with a winged icon behind her.

Each of the damas goyesca was obviously enjoying their moment, smiling and laughing at friends and strangers, and allowing the music to carry them away as they danced in their seats.

The parade this year was much smaller than last owing to significant budget cuts as Ronda tightens its belt amid the worst financial crisis Spain has experienced since the advent of democracy, though that certainly didn’t dampen spirits, and after the parade, the feria ws officially opened with a small but spectacular display of fireworks.

Leader Mickael Delage (FRA) crosses the Puente Nuevo

La Vuelta de España, known in English as the ‘Tour of Spain’ hit Ronda today on the first full day of racing from Alcala de Guadaira in the Sevilla province, racing through Arriate and Ronda on the way to end of stage two in Marbella.

In temperatures hovering around 38 degrees celsius the pack started their grueling 173km stage, and a little after 16:15 made it to Ronda with a huge Guardia Civil escort and several helicopters hovering overhead.

The UK’s Mark Cavendish, wearing the red jersey after winning the first stage sprint in Sevilla, however at the 4km mark as racing started outside Acala Cavendish had fallen back, allowing Javier Ramirez Abeja, Mickael Buffaz, Johnnie Walker, and Mickael Delage to make their first break from the pack, and by the time they had reached Ronda this had converted to a 45 second lead.

First to cross Ronda’s Puente Nuevo was Mickael Delage (FRA) from the Omega Pharma-Lotto team, followed 12 seconds later by Johnnie Walker (AUS) of the Footon-Servetto team and in third position, Javier Ramirez Abeja (ESP) of Andalucia-Cajasur whose close tailing of Walker as they passed the Santo Domingo Convent raised a huge cheer from Rondeños watching.

First of the pack to cross the Puente Nuevo were riders from team HTC-Colombia including the red shirted Cavendish, the noise of the bikes on cobbled stones was deafening, drowning out the rousing cheers of Rondeños and tourists alike.

After the pack came the team cars laden with spare frames and wheels on their roofs, and then the crowd expecting the race to be over dispersed.

Twenty minutes later the final lone cyclist passed in front of the Plaza de Toros, Arkaitz Duran Daroca of team Footon-Servetto, though it would be fair to say he received the biggest cheer of all, including a standing ovation as he passed Plaza de Espana.

Policia Local today estimated that between La Merced and the Museo Lara around 2,000 fans turned out to watch La Vuelta, which is a large crowd at that time of the afternoon with temperatures hovering around 36 degrees.

You can read more about La Vuelta de Espana on the official website of the race.

María Villalon and Andy

Ronda can be justifiably proud of the achievements of one of their own, 21 year old María Villalon, winner of the Spanish X-Factor competition in 2007, and currently enjoying success with her singles “La Lluvia” and “Cosas que no sé de ti” and her second album “Los tejados donde fuimos más que amigos” which has reached #4 on Los 40 Principales albums charts at the time this article was written.

Her passion for music comes from a classical music background, and listening to the bolero, fado, or bossa nova as a child. As an adult singer María performs a variety of styles that showcase her amazing voice in the romantic ballad, ‘María la Portuguesa’, ‘Te Espero Aqui’, ‘Gli ostacoli del cuore’ or her X-Factor songs ‘No te olvides de mi ‘, or ‘Hijo de la luna’ immediately come to mind.

Arriving at her parents home for our interview María was dressed ready to go to the beach, she is a woman who works hard, but when she is home in Ronda prefers to dress down. Despite her sister and friends hovering anxiously, María was thoroughly professional, taking an interest in my questions, and giving thoughtful answers.

Meeting María is disarming, she is a charming young woman, intelligent, and exceptionally modest about her success, declining to describe herself as a star. María in fact explains she prefers the quiet life that Ronda offers to the rat race of Madrid where she is based.

María’s journey to music stardom began as a young child when she enrolled at the music conservatory in Ronda and learned to play the cello, and then appeared on several Andalucían television shows as a child performer.

It was her singing voice that captured the attention of the music industry, and at the age of 11 recorded her first album entitled Entre Sueños, though it was winning the first season of Simon Cowell’s X-Factor that truly launched her career.

And María is quick to credit her parents and family for her success, telling me of her father driving all over Ronda and the Costa del Sol during the X-Factor show in a van with María’s photo, name and the number to call to vote for her emblazoned on the side.

One imagines that to win X-Factor competition must require a great deal of strength of character, this is evident in María’s outlook as she describes her commitment to finishing her university studies, a degree in Spanish literature, whilst at the same time continuing with a gruelling concert agenda that has seen her play every city in Spain.

Winning X-Factor led to a contract with Sony BMG and 2 albums plus an EP of her X-Factor songs, as well as a new single “Cosas que no sé de ti” and national tour. María is also penning several new tracks that she hopes will feature on her next album, but her main focus is preparing for what she describes as her most emotional and nerve wracking concert to date, performing in Ronda as headline act for the Pedro Romero Feria.

Asked if she has plans to record English tracks, María seems slightly embarrassed, she lacks confidence to speak English in case she makes a mistake, but confesses she’d love to follow in the footsteps of her biggest idols and take on a global tour.

Having opened for Alicia Keys during her Spain concerts last year, María Villalon is determined to record some English tracks and break into international markets. Asked where she would most like to perform, María is adamant, performing in England in a big stadium like Wembley would be a career highlight.

Ronda’s favourite daughter is not only proving to be a star, she is also proudly Rondeña and hopes that her example will inspire other Rondeños to reach for the stars, she mentions Angeles Vela, a Eurovision hopeful in 2010 who will open for her during the feria as a possible future star.

Arriving in Ronda, Mrs Obama first enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the Casgo Antiguo, Ronda’s old Moorish city, where she visited the Casa Don Bosco and admired their view of the Puente Nuevo, Ronda’s most iconic monument.

From there she walked to Plaza Maria Auxiliadora to admire the Pinsapo trees (Abies Pinsapo) in the plaza, these are ancient pine trees that have survived in the Serranía de Ronda since before the last ice age, and are unique to our district of Spain. The tree is now protected, and is once again thriving on our mountains.

Continuing through the old cobbled streets of Ronda, Michelle and Sasha, along with several friends of the family were shown the Palacio Mondragon, the medieval palace of the Moorish kings and governors of Ronda, and which is now the municipal museum tracing the history of human settlement of the Serranía from paleolithic times to the present.

Ronda’s Santa Maria la Mayor church drew them onwards where the church priest gave them a personal tour. It is from Santa Maria that most of the Semana Santa processions depart or arrive, as well as the Romería and other religious events that happen through the year. Michelle was by all accounts quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the church, especially the gilt silver altar and chandelier hanging above.

The family’s next stop were the Forestier Gardens and Water Mine adjacent to the Casa del Rey Moro. It was here that Michelle was particularly impressed with views of the El Tajo gorge, and the hanging houses deceptively clinging to the edge of a steep cliff. Mrs Obama was overheard exclaiming at how ‘magnificent’ Ronda is whilst here.

However we believe the highlight of her day may have been descending the Water Mine where in medieval times bags of water were passed from the bottom to the top to provide the city inhabitants with drinking water since Ronda is too high above the river and the ancient Roman aqueduct had long since been destroyed.

After leaving the Casa del Rey Moro, Mrs Obama and her entourage made their way to one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants, del Escudero, which is right next to the Plaza de Toros, where she enjoyed Langoustine Lasagna and Goat’s Cheese Salad.

The final stop of the day was Ronda’s famous bullring, the Plaza de Toros, widely considered to be the oldest bullring in the world, though definitely the most important as being the home of the Ronda style, which is one of two styles of bullfighting, and is without horseback.

At this point the Obama party raced back to Marbella for another function, but we’re sure you’ll agree with such an active day and so little time in Ronda, Mrs Obama must have missed a great deal, which is why most travel agents recommend at least two days in Ronda, and as much as a week if you also plan to see Andalucía’s white villages and other historically important monuments such as the Cueva de la Pileta, Acinipo ruined Roman city, the Grazalema Natural Park, and the pristine Genal Valley.

Map of Michelle Obama’s Tour of Ronda

Tour Taken by Michelle Obama

Gallery of Pictures, Places Michelle Obama Saw in Ronda

As part of our interview, Tony kindly escorted us along the Guadiaro River from Benaojan Station to the Cueva del Gato, explaining the birds and wildlife we saw through the binoculars he provided. Tony isn’t a professional walking guide, though he enjoys nothing more than to show friends his favourite walking tracks.

The walk we did can be completed in an hour, it is only 3km, though there is a lot to see so Tony recommends 2 hours. The walk is easy and certainly within the capabilities of the majority of walkers, but in the colder months can be muddy.

Birders and keen nature lovers will be enthralled at the fauna and flora of this stretch of river, we saw Barbel in the river, and White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Griffon Vulture, Golden Oriole, Alpine Swift, Melodious Warbler, Grey Heron, and Bee Eater. We also heard Cetti’s Warbler, and Tony regularly catches sight of Iberian Ibex on the rocks above the Cueva del Gato.

Start the walk at the railway station in Benaojan, and cross the line about 100m past the station, then follow the road another 150m till you cross the Guadiaro River. At this point you’ll see a sign pointing to the three walking tracks that lead from here, we’ll take the Ronda direction.

There really isn’t much to the track, just keep following it straight ahead, you can’t miss the cave entrance as you approach it, though at the hotel Molino Quatro Paradas you should continue past the side of the hotel and not up the hill to the carpark.

Whilst the walk is relatively short, it does allow people staying in Ronda or the Guadiaro Valley the opportunity to see some native wildlife, the beautiful limestone mountains of Benaojan, and the cave entrance; the Cueva del Gato which is a popular picnic spot.

After you return, you could stop for a drink on the terrace of the Molino Cuatro Paradas Hotel, but if they’re closed, probably the friendliest barman in Benaojan is Pepe from “Bar STOP”, located directly across the street from the station. Don’t forget to try his wife’s tapas menu, it really is quite authentic and absolutely delicious. Bar STOP is especially known for the Solomillo a la Pimienta.

Between the train dropping you off and the return service, you’ll have 3 hours to explore the river and enjoy a cold drink or tapas, the day isn’t too strenuous, and is perfect for visitors staying in Ronda who have a few hours to get out of the city.

CNN Reporter Covering Michelle Obama in Ronda

Mrs Obama Leaves the Bullring

Amid tight security, US first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha were today seen in Ronda as she spends 5 days vacationing in Southern Spain, which has also included a visit to the Alhmabra in Granada and a day at the beach in Estepona.

Arriving a little after 10am, the Obama party first visited the Casa Don Bosco and enjoyed a leisurely walk around the old town including past the Mondragon Palace, before spending some time admiring Ronda’s Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor with the resident priest Salvador Guerrero.

Her cavalcade of vehicles also stopped for 30 minutes to enjoy the gardens and mines of the Casa del Rey Moro, where Mrs Obama was overheard telling family members Ronda “is magnificent”. She enjoyed views of the tajo, and was given a brief history of the city by local guide Jesus Naranjo and Gema Carrasco of the Ronda tourism office.

Lunch was a 90 minute affair at Ronda’s exclusive Del Escudero Restaurant directly behind the Plaza de Toros, before resuming her tour of Ronda with a visit to the iconic bullring.

Mrs Obama's Convoy in Ronda

Despite minor complaints in her home country about her vacation, Ronda was all smiles welcoming the first lady, with thousands of well wishers lining the streets to catch a glimpse of Mrs Obama, and 9 year old Sasha Obama.

Asked by Ronda Today what people thought of her visit, most responded warmly, Maria del Mar saying “her visit will surely encourage more tourists”. A common complaint however was that few had the chance to see her as secret service agents blocked her from view.

Though we must remember Mrs Obama’s visit to Ronda was a personal choice whilst she vacations, and not an official state visit, which in fact makes her visit even more special, after all if the US first lady chooses to visit Ronda in her free time, well, that is a positive message for tourism in our little city.

Here is ITN in the UK’s take on Michelle Obama in Spain, the video covers her visit to Spain, and a little about her visit to Granada to see the Alhambra prior to that. All in all, the five days Mrs Obama and daughter Sasha spent in Spain were expected to generate around 800 million Euros in tourist spending over the next 12 months as American and international fans of the Obama family come to see why Spain is so beautiful.

In Ronda, many hotels and restaurants are excited by her visit and hope a lot of visitors will be tempted to stay for a night and enjoy the sites without having to rush as the Obama’s did. Their stay in Ronda was only a few hours, and Michelle has promised to visit again, so that she can take her time experiencing the beauty of Ronda.