A pilgrimage runs through the streets of Frailes and the subsequent blessing of the animals in front of the parish church.
“Last Thursday” It is the Thursday before Lent begins.
It is a day to clean the pantry of meat and bread and to celebrate before Lent, by eating a meal as a community.
In the UK this would be celebrated on Shrove Tuesday serving pancakes, in Spain depending on the area there are varied names for this carnival before Ash Wednesday, Jueves Lardero or Jovelardero and is also known as Día de la tortilla (Day of the Omelete)
Hondonera Holy Week
Where Resurrection Sunday stands out, with the encounter of the image of Our Lady, dressed in mourning, with the image of the risen Christ.
Easter celebrations are a very important time of the year in the catholic country of Spain.
San Isidro Day
The weekend closest to May 15.
The pilgrimage and the subsequent tasting of typical local cuisine.
San Isidro is the patron saint of Madrid (patron saint of agriculture and agricultural workers).
Patron Saint Festivities in honour of the Virgen de la Salud
This is the Fiesta that Hondon de los Frailes is famous for, five days of celebration starting on the Thursday and finishing on the Monday.
The start date is based around the last Sunday in August where the Monday is also in August, this does mean sometimes the Fiesta start date is the week before the last Sunday of August (check our table below for definitive future dates). The events for this fiesta varies each year but the big float parade is always on the Saturday evening and you are guaranteed live music every night over the five days. Action packed fun for all of the family from young to the young at heart.
Welcome to our Everything Fiesta page
Every village in the area has their own fiesta dates and special traditions which are enjoyed by the locals and visitors alike every year. The opportunity of experiencing the celebrations at a local fiesta should be high on your wish list as the Spanish people really know how to party.
In Hondon de los Frailes there are five such fiesta’s/carnivals taking place each year, most of them are to celebrate religious saints or important events in the church calendar as you will see below.
Fiesta Grand Parade 2022
A big Thank you to our local cameraman Jan van Droffelaar from Hondon Valley Home TV for filming the event. Jan has been producing videos of the Fiesta for many years now, which are available on YouTube - see below
