Coín

What to See in Coín

Coín’s historical and artistic heritage is concentrated above all in its religious structures. It is with reason that the city was the seat of one of the vicariates into which the Bishopric of Málaga was divided, with jurisdiction over 14 villages in the province. The fact that in the sixteenth century seven cofradías (brotherhoods) had already been formed is an unequivocal indication of Coín’s religious importance.

The first church to be erected in Coín was the Santa María de la Encarnación church, which began as the first Muslim mosque to be consecrated for Christian worship. A Franciscan beaterio was built inside it in the early eighteenth century and a convent was constructed later that is notable for its baroque cloister.

The San Andrés church and the La Caridad hospital were originally built on the Plaza de San Andrés, and in 1520 were already occupying the present location. The church has a quite unusual L-shaped floor plan; it seems that the purpose was to place the ill in one of the branches in such a way that they were separated from the rest of the faithful. It is one of four churches in existence in Andalusia with this characteristic. The church’s Mudéjar coffered ceiling and stained glass windows are especially valuable works, as are its cloister and its unusual eighteenth century three-level façade with belfry, a construction that is outstanding among those of its era for its originality and beauty.

The San Juan church, completed in the mid-sixteenth century, is a good example of the columnar church group of Renaissance Andalusia. This building mixes classic features with Gothic and Mudéjar that, with the passage of time, display a harmonious conjunction of styles, although the baroque has predominated since the restoration that was done in the eighteenth century. The interior is remarkable for its Mudéjar coffered ceiling and two sculptures, one from the sixteenth century of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels) and one of the Virgen de la Fuensanta (Virgin of Fuensanta, patron saint of Coín). The latter is a late Gothic work only 11 centimetres tall from the late fifteenth century that, it is believed, was brought to the village by some of the Christians that took part in the Conquest.

The original Nuestra Señora de la Fuensanta hermitage on the Monda road was already in existence in the sixteenth century. The current one dates from 1680, but was modified in the eighteenth century. The part of its architecture most worthy of note is its main chapel. It was conceived as an open "camarín" (niche for the patron saint image), and its lavish decoration brings to mind that of the camarín in the La Victoria church in the city of Málaga. It is a rococo style work with almost no part of its surface free of decoration.

The Torre de los Trinitarios (Trinitarians tower) was built outside the walls of the village, also on the road to Monda. It has a triangular base and is one of three towers in existence in Andalusia with a base of this type (the other two are that of the Santa Ana church in Archidona and that of the Las Mínimas convent in Ecija). It was the tower of the Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz church, which belonged to what was first the Los Trinitarios and later the Franciscan convent. The latter order abandoned the site after the expulsions carried out by Mendizábal in the first third of the nineteenth century.

The Sala Arqueológica (Archaeological Hall) in the La Encarnación church (Plaza de Santa María; telephone: (+34 952 453 211) houses more than 59 prehistoric and late prehistoric relics from the municipality.

Coín’s Fiestas and Gastronomy

In Coín May has an unmistakeably festive flavour. As soon as the month begins the Día de la Naranja (Day of the Orange) is held. This is a celebration of one of the citrus products that for its quality has brought the greatest fame to this municipality. This festival has been designated of Provincial Tourist Interest. It does not live by oranges alone, however, and the day is a showcase of local and regional products and branches out into tremendously popular entertainment events. The Día de Cruz (Cross Day) is also celebrated in this month (3 May), with the decoration of the village streets, the installation of the traditional "May crosses" and the Cristo del Perdón y de la Vera Cruz (Christ of the Pardon and of the True Cross) procession.

One of this area’s most popular pilgrimages is held in the first week of June, that of the Virgen de la Fuensanta, patron saint of Coín. The diminutive size of this Virgin (11 centimetres) is in inverse proportion to the devotion that she inspires, which is enormous. The saint is carried to her hermitage a month beforehand. The villagers, many of them on floats or horseback, arrive on Saturday to spend the night there and return the next day to the San Juan church with the Virgin installed on the float that has won the prize during the earlier competition.

Toward the end of July the local Town Hall organises the Festival de Bailes Populares (Popular Dance Festival) on the Alameda. Every year local groups and others from different countries participate, so it is guaranteed to be colourful, with a variety of sounds and rhythms. Between the last part of July and the first of August, Coín kicks off its Festival de Cante Flamenco (Flamenco Song Festival), with performances by the best representatives of this typical Andalusian art form.

King Charles III in 1765 granted to the royal burgh of Coín "the privilege to holding a four-day fair, counting from 10 to 14 August". The monarch was referring to an agricultural fair for the purpose of promoting the economy of the village, but today that function only appears in the archives of history, since this municipality’s fair follows the same pattern as that of any other in Andalusia: fun and frolic, singing, dancing, horses and good food washed down with one’s favourite wine.

In Coín the fondness for horses can be seen during the Concentración Caballista (Horse Show, 27 October). The day is spent parading the highly decorated horses through the village streets, and a later gathering at the fairgrounds where horsemen and non-horsemen alike sample the traditional local products. This fondness turns professional in the Andalusian Show of Spanish Purebred Horses (SACAB Coín) and the Competition of Morphology and Functional Traits of Spanish Purebred Horses, whose winners compete in the national contest. This horse show is held in March and gathers thousands of amateurs and professionals who enjoy the events and take part in parallel activities or visit the stands. In 2009, SACAB drew more than 400 horses from 85 different ranches.

Coín’s Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most deeply rooted in tradition in the province of Málaga, and even has a live enactment of the Passion, but the regrettable events of 1936 delivered a blow to this secular tradition that it would not fully overcome until the 1990’s. At the present time the Semana de Pasión (Week of Passion) begins on Palm Sunday with the Pollinica (entry of Jesus into Jerusalem). On Holy Thursday Jesús Nazareno (Jesus of Nazareth, a figure from the eighteenth century by an anonymous artist) and the Virgen de los Dolores (Virgin of Sorrows, also a figure from the eighteenth century and likewise by an anonymous artist) are carried through the streets. On Good Friday the Cristo Cucificado (Crucified Christ), the Sepulcro (the Sepulchre) and the Virgen de los Dolores (Virgin of Sorrows) are borne in a procession, and the Coín processions are concluded with that of El Resucitado (the Resurrected Christ) on Resurrection Sunday.

On New Year’s Eve, Coín's streets can get really crowded. Fun, cheerful sounds, and colours fill the village thanks to the peculiar celebration for which everybody puts fancy dresses on. To say goodbye to the old year, Coineños go to the Plaza Bermúdez de la Rubia, known as the "Plaza del Pescao" to have the traditional twelve grapes at midnight.

Every third Saturday each month, Coín holds the only regular organic street market in Andalusia. Some twenty stands exhibit organically grown fruit, vegetables and garden produce in general.

Coín’s Gastronomy

Sopa cachorreña

(a soup made with bitter oranges), cocido or puchero (stews) in their different forms, gazpachuelo (a cold soup), sopa de pimiento y tomate (pepper and tomato soup), mojete (a spiced potato dish) and the various potajes (stews) are the most traditional dishes in Coín, with gazpacho (a cold soup), of course, as in any other place in Andalusia. Batatas al horno (baked sweet potatoes), gachas con arrope (a dish made from fried crumbs and grape syrup, in this case), rosquillas (spiral pastries), pasas en aguardiente (raisins in raw brandy) and pan de higo (fig bread) are the best examples of this municipality’s confectionery.

More Information About Coín

Legends About Coín

"The Story of Abindarráez and the Beautiful Jalifa", an anonymous sixteenth century poem that in this case has a happy ending, narrates the difficult relations between a Moorish man and a Christian woman who put their mutual love ahead of the political interests of their respective communities, which were so unsettled in the period in which the poem is set. The fearless Abindarráez was coming to visit the beautiful Jalifa when a Castilian knight took him prisoner. The knight in question must have valued amorous sentiments more than martial ones, since once he learned of the feelings of the Moor for the Christian he permitted the former to see his Jalifa one last time with the promise that once the visit was over he would return to captivity. The Moor obeyed the knight to the letter and the latter, moved by such honourable behaviour, granted the Muslim his liberty. "En Cártama me he criado/nascí en Granada primero/mas fui de Alora frontero/y en Coín enamorado" (In Cártama I was raised/After being born in Granada/I was border chieftain of Alora/and fell in love in Coín") go the lines of the poem.

Famous People From Coín

One of the most famous people from Coín is Antonio Reyna Manescau, a painter who came to be called "El Pintor de Venecia" (the painter of Venice). Reyna Manescau was born in an affluent family from Coín on December 5, 1859. He was a young boy when it was already apparent that he was bound to be a talented artist. His parents decided to encourage their son to enter the world of art and sent him to the Málaga School of Fine Arts. He made a name for himself in Málaga City, where he ran a host of art shows. In 1882 the Government of Málaga Province awarded him a grant to study in Italy, a country in which he continues to study and eventually turned into one of the best landscape painters in Europe. In 1885, he went to Venice, which came to be his favourite theme. So much so that he was called "El pintor de Venecia". In 1911, he exhibited his masterpiece Ranchón andaluz at the Esposizione Internazionale di Belle Arti di Roma. Ranchón andaluz depicts a country estate from Coín. Reyna Manescau died in Rome in 1937.