Mijas

Calle Cristóbal Alarcón

Mijas is an Andalusian municipality in the province of Malaga (Spain). It is located on the Costa del Sol, 34 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital, and integrated into the region of the Western Costa del Sol, the commonwealth of municipalities of the same name and the judicial district of Fuengirola.

According to the INE in 2022, Mijas has 89,502 inhabitants, which makes it the third municipality in the province in terms of population, only behind Malaga and Marbella. This is concentrated in three main urban centers: Mijas Pueblo, located on the slope of the Sierra de Mijas, constitutes the historic center of the municipality; Las Lagunas, located in the area called Mijas Costa, is part of the urban continuum of the city of Fuengirola; and La Cala, a coastal town. The surface of the municipal term is 148 km² and extends from the coastal mountain ranges of Penibética to the Mediterranean Sea.

Inhabited since Antiquity, Mijas was a small town dedicated mainly to agriculture and fishing until the explosion of the tourist boom in the 1950s. Since then, tourism and the construction sector have been the engines of the local economy, boosting population and per capita income at the same time, although at a high environmental cost. It is currently a multicultural municipality with a high percentage of residents of foreign origin and one of the main centers of residential tourism from Andalusia.

Geography

The municipality of Mijas is located in the western part of the province of Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, currently occupying an area of 148.5 km², being one of the largest municipalities in the province of Malaga and the largest on the Costa del Sol after Casares.

The territory it occupies is marked by three large areas, the Sierra Alpujata (to the west) and the Sierra de Mijas (to the north), with a maximum elevation of 1150 meters above sea level (Pico Mijas), the foot of mountains and the coastal strip that make up a landscape of singular beauty. It also has the only natural passage between the Costa del Sol and the Guadalhorce valley, through Puerto Gómez or Puerto de los Pescadores, crossed by the A-387 regional road.

The municipality is located at an altitude of 428 meters above sea level.

Northwest: Coin	North: Alhaurín the Great	Northeast: Alhaurín de la Torre
West: Ojén		This: Benalmadena
Southwest: Marbella	South: Mediterranean Sea	Sureste: Fuengirola

At a hydrogeological level, the municipality is very rich in springs, which has allowed human settlement and the use of hydraulic resources in numerous mills and fulling mills, and there are also springs of sulphurous waters.

On the other hand, the topographic characteristics of the territory have determined that the settlement of the municipality has oscillated according to the times and the geopolitical and security conjunctures of the coasts between the coastal strip and the travertine plateaus of Mijas and Osunillas basically.

Typical street of Mijas

Urban cores

The municipality presents a growing urban development on the coast and on the slopes of the mountains, as they soften in their fall towards the sea. The nucleus of Mijas Pueblo, located at an altitude of 428 meters above sea level, in the mountains, keeps the character of the typical Andalusian white village. It is the administrative center of the municipality, where the Town Hall and most of its historic buildings are located.

Around Mijas Pueblo

Las Lagunas is the most modern part of the municipal term, where the industrial and commercial zone are located. This nucleus is united to Fuengirola forming the same urban agglomeration, which crosses the A-7 almost by the limit of both municipal terms. La Cala is the coastal nucleus, the center of the 12 km of coastline that the municipality has and around which large urbanizations extend that occupy the entire coast, such as Calahonda, El Faro or El Chaparral.

Finally, there are a number of scattered settlements of a more or less rural nature such as Osunillas, Valtocado, Entrerríos and La Alquería, as well as several isolated urbanizations frequently built around a golf course.

Climate

The climate of Mijas, due to its proximity to the sea, conditions mild temperatures, with an average of 18 °C, without excessive heat in summer and mild temperatures in winter.

Precipitation is below 600 ml per year. They occur mainly between the months of November and January. The municipality enjoys about 2,920 hours of sunshine per year.

As you ascend into the mountains, the climate changes progressively. Temperatures can drop to 10 °C. On the peaks there may be some snowfall in winter, above 600 m s. no. m., at the same time that rainfall increases until reaching 800 ml.

Environment

Vegetation of the Mijas mountain range

The tree mass of the Sierra de Mijas is made up of a pine forest repopulated in the middle of the XX century, accompanied by carob trees, holm oaks and wild olive trees, as well as typical Mediterranean scrub: thyme, rosemary, almoraduz, matagallo, lavender, rúa, fennel, mullein and hearts of palm. Among the clearings in the forest, orchids stand out.

Among the fauna of the forest are chickadees, robins, crossbills, tits and other small birds, as well as the eagle owl. Kestrels, golden and booted eagles inhabit the peaks. Mammals are represented by the genet, the dormouse and the ibex.

The coast of Mijas contains a seabed that is home to great biodiversity in which European, African, Atlantic and Mediterranean species coexist. The seabed of Calahonda was listed as a Site of Community Interest (SCI) in June 2006 for ensure the conservation of habitats and species, for which preventive, corrective and compensatory measures are applied in the place. The coasts of Calahonda stand out for the importance and richness of the phanerogam meadows. In addition, this beach is home to virgin stretches where abundant vegetation flourishes, especially the oceanic posidonia.

The Sierra de Mijas and other parts of the municipal territory have suffered frequent fires, both accidental and intentional. Fires and urban pressure are the main threats to the conservation of nature on land in Mijas. For its part, the project construction of a marina in the municipality and the future desalination plant present the greatest risks for underwater ecology.

Demographics

Urban Nucles of Mijas

In 2010 Mijas became the third municipality in the province in terms of population, exceeding the figure of 76,000 inhabitants. Both the migratory and vegetative balance is positive. In fact, growth in the early years of the XXI century has been spectacular, between 2000 and 2005 alone, the population grew by 39%, due mainly to the arrival of elderly people.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Mijas between 1842 and 2012

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

However, the population actually yields very different figures from the official census. Thus, according to a study by the Mijas City Council based on the collection of household garbage carried out in 2004, the real population of the municipality ranges between 108,623 inhabitants in January and 196,815 inhabitants in July, which gives an average of 149,144. population. That is, more than double the population of law.

Another notable aspect of the demography of Mijas is the percentage of the population of foreign origin. According to data from 2006, people of more than 113 different nationalities live in this municipality, among which those from the Mauritius Islands, Bahrain, the Seychelles Islands or Sri Lanka stand out for their remoteness and peculiarity. Approximately 36.2% of the citizens residing in Mijas come from other countries, representing one of the highest quotas in all of Andalusia. Of these, 77.5% come from European Union countries, the most numerous nationalities being British (60%) and German (9%).

Regarding the distribution of the population in the municipality, Las Lagunas is the nucleus with the largest number of registered citizens, accounting for approximately 55% of the total. La Cala gathers 29% of the population while Mijas Pueblo reaches 7%. The rest of the population is distributed among the scattered areas of Entrerríos (1%), Valtocado (2%) and Osunillas (5%).

History

Remains of the ancient fortress

Prehistory and Antiquity

The oldest known signs of human occupation in the current municipality of Mijas date back to the Upper Paleolithic, having also documented vestiges corresponding to the Bronze Age.

From 900 B.C. C., the arrival of the Phoenicians on the coast of Malaga, imposes a great change on the local communities. The Phoenicians settled at the mouths of the main rivers in the south of the peninsula, turning them into means of communication towards the interior and generating a flourishing trade in mineral and agricultural resources with the indigenous communities.

At this time, some indigenous settlements are gaining prominence and, on the other hand, settlements are being created in the vicinity of the Phoenician enclaves, in order to control access to the interior. In the case of Mijas, evidence of these moments can be found in the Fuengirola river plain in the settlement of Finca Acebedo (Iron Age II) and a few kilometers inland from Arroyo de la Cala, in Roza de Aguado, corresponding to a town from the Iron Age I, which suggests a Phoenician settlement at the mouth of said stream.

The most important evidence of that time is found in La Muralla de Mijas town, where a Phoenician-Punic sanctuary has recently been located, with the presence of two ocular plates known in the archaeological bibliography as the “eyes of Astarte”, diverse terracottas, ceramics of that period and other elements.

From the II century B.C. C. the arrival of the influences of "Romanization" takes place, a process that will culminate in the first centuries of our era.

In relation to the commercial and military needs of the Romans, large communication routes will be built to allow a fast and safe way of contact between the different and remote areas of the Roman Empire. One of these routes, included in the Antonine Itinerary (a collection of roads of the Roman Empire that seems to date from the end of the III century) AD), linked Malaca (Málaga) and Gades (Cádiz), crossing the current municipality of Mijas. This road not only connected these two Roman cities but also served as a link to other smaller towns and articulated the territory through which it circulated.

In the specific case of Mijas, the archaeological remains found confirm the existence of the Roman city of Suel, a possible successor to the city that was formed after the arrival of the Phoenicians. However, the great constructions of this city have not yet been found (temples, forum, theater, etc.), which had to be located, according to some authors, between the mouth of the Fuengirola river and the Cortijo de la Alberquilla, on the right bank of the river, where the archaeological sites of Cortijo de Acebedo and the Roman villa of El Chaparral are located. In this sense, in the second half of the XVIII century, the scholar Francisco de la Torre Argüelles from Mijas said: “Suel, pueblo immediate to our Mijas and of whom it can be said that she is currently a descendant and native and therefore who bears her stamps and antiques”.

Certain authors have pointed out that Mijas was called “Tamisa” in Roman times, basing this name on its appearance in texts by Ptolemy, something completely wrong; Furthermore, this hypothesis is not confirmed by archaeology, epigraphy or historiography.

At the sides of the Roman roads, rural and commercial towns arose, of which several testimonies remain, for example the Roman site of Haza del Algarrobo, the Diseminado Chaparral no. 64 or the Villa de la Buti-bamba, together with the aforementioned Villa de Finca Acebedo and other deposits recently located in the rural area of Entrerríos. During this time, the exploitation of the marbles of the Sierra de Mijas was also of great importance.

The important Roman settlement in Mijas is also attested by the findings of Roman ceramics (terra sigillata) and coins in different areas of the municipality (Osunilla, La Cala, Mijas or El Olivar) framed since the time of Octavio Augusto (1st century BC - I AD) until the end of the IV century AD.

The Roman world is dismembered from the invasions of the Central European peoples, which would end the Roman administration and cause the decline of trade and therefore of the towns related to it, also causing the probable decline of the urban structure of Suel, whose population may have been abandoned due to the unsafe conditions prevailing in the flat lands near the sea, moving towards the highest and most defensible levels of present-day Mijas and Osunilla.

Middle Ages

Torre vigía de La Cala

At the beginning of the 8th century (AD 711) a military force made up of Arabs and Berbers dependent on the caliphate Umayyads from Damascus landed in Algeciras and occupied almost the entire peninsular territory. In this way, the lands of present-day Mijas pass into the orbit of Islamic influence.

From this period, which covers more than 700 years, there is little reliable news about Mijas. We know that between the 8th and 9th centuries (during the emirates of Muhammad I, al Mundir and 'Abd Allah) revolts arise in rural areas because the population of these areas do not accept state control.

The most important was the "fitna" (civil war) at the end of the emirate, starring 'Umar Ibn Hafsun and his sons, who around Bobastro would agglutinate the existing social unrest. Among the first towns to join it will be Awta, Comares and Mixas (Mijas) to which various towns were added until they came to control a good part of the current province of Malaga and other neighboring areas. Later, Abd Allah's Memoirs will cite Mijas as one of the fortresses given by him to Tamim b. Buluqqin. From that reference, its historical track is lost.

During the Hispano-Muslim period there must have been significant economic and demographic growth in the area of Mijas. In this sense, we would have that, in 1487, at the time of the conquest of these lands by the Catholic Monarchs, there existed (according to Christian sources) three different population centers: Mixas (Mijas), Osuna (Osunilla) and Oznar (for some historians Hornillo), as well as the Sohayl fortress known to Christians as Fuengirola.

On the other hand, the population increase would also be suggested by the numerous farmhouses scattered throughout the territory, currently attested by the numerous remains of Hispano-Muslim ceramics found throughout the municipal area.

Agriculture was the basis of the economy, which also benefited from the so-called Green Revolution, introduced in al-Andalus at the time of 'Abd al-Rahman II (822-852), and which would end up being consolidated in the X, with figs being the main product produced, as witnessed by the Andalusian traveler al-Idrisi who mentions in his texts that these were exported to India, a production that remained preferred until the middle of the XVIII century.

At the end of May 1485, the Catholic Monarchs (Isabel I of Castile and Fernando V of Aragón) took the city of Ronda. The capitulation of the surrounding populations took place immediately. The success obtained caused the incursions to be continued immediately towards the coast, where Marbella falls; It continues with the capture of the castle of Fuengirola and the razing of Benalmádena, but they cannot take Mijas and Osunilla, who are resisting the Christian troops.

Two years later, in 1487, the conquest of Malaga began, which fell on August 18 of that year. Known the news in Mijas, a delegation of several residents went to Malaga to negotiate the surrender of the population before King Fernando, assuming that the conditions of the surrender would be those offered to the towns that surrendered without resistance, freedom. However, the resistance raised by Mijas in the campaign of 1485 caused its neighbors to end up as slaves along with those of Malaga.

Modern Age

People ' s centre

In 1492 the properties were distributed to the 50 new Christian settlers who had settled in Mijas after the conquest, still confirming the presence of several Spanish-Muslim neighbors. However, after a few years there are many who abandoned the lands granted due to various factors, such as the incursions of pirate ships that attacked the coast of Malaga from ports located in North Africa, etc., which would cause the The coastal zone remained uninhabited and the repopulation of the Fuengirola castle area, which at the moment belonged to Mijas, could not be carried out, thus forming the municipal territory that remained so until 1841, when a coastal strip was segregated forming the current municipality of Fuengirola.

In response to this insecurity, watchtowers were erected along the coast to control and prevent incursions by North African pirates. From the 16th to the 18th century, the towers of Calahonda, Nueva de Cala del Moral, Torre-Batería de Cala del Moral (current headquarters of the Interpretation Center of the Watchtowers of the Historical-Ethnological Museum of Mijas) and Calaburra, all of them currently declared Assets of Cultural Interest with the category of Monument.

During the reign of Carlos I of Spain, the War of the Communities took place, caused by the discontent of the Castilian nobles before the inconsideration of which they believed themselves to be the object of the emperor. Mijas did not participate in the war and remained faithful to the Emperor and his mother, Queen Juana la Loca. Due to this attitude, the Sovereign signed a Royal Decree in 1512 declaring the Villa de Mijas exempt from sales taxes, with other privileges that were confirmed by the monarchs of the House of Austria and by the first Bourbon king, Felipe V.

One of the first buildings erected by the new inhabitants was the Church of the Immaculate Conception, completed in 1631. One of the characteristic features of this building is its square tower of military origin and which served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the town in times of danger and that was built before the temple and attached to it for use as a bell tower.

From the 50 residents (about 200-250 people) of the Repartimientos, the population of Mijas had an uneven growth with two differentiated stages: one until the middle of the century XV, where there are practically no changes and there are even times of decrease, and another from that date on which a gradual growth begins. Thus, in 1591 there were about 350 inhabitants, in 1712 about 1800 and by the middle of the XVIII century about 3600, which grew to more than 4200 thirty years later.

Evolution of the population in Mijas during the Modern Age

Source: Mijas Historical Archive

During the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the main economic activities in Mijas will be the exploitation of marble and false agate from its sierra, which will be used for the construction of various monuments in different parts of Spain. Thus, we have news of their use in the Cathedral of Malaga, in the Archbishop's Palace of Seville, on the steps of the Chapel of San Leandro of the Cathedral of Seville, in the Sacristy of the church of San Pedro de Granada or on the altar of the Chapel of Santa Tecla in Burgos. Added to this is agriculture, which from a monoculture based on the production of figs, will gradually introduce the cultivation of the vine, which will replace the previous monoculture in the middle of the following century.

These economic activities and the increase in population were reflected in municipal accounts, whose income rose from about 3,000 reais in the middle of the century XVIII, to about 70,000 at the end of it.

Contemporary Age

Already in the XIX century, during the War of Independence, Mijas was occupied by Napoleonic troops in the middle of 1810, specifically by the 4th Polish Infantry Regiment, establishing a garrison that ranged between 75 and 100 men, to which should be added others that settled in Calahonda and the Fuengirola fortress and from that moment the territory Mijeño was the scene of numerous clashes between the Spanish troops and the occupation troops.

The most important took place in October of that same year when an army of about 2,000 men made up of English and Spanish troops under the command of British General Blayney, landed on the beaches of Cala de Mijas with the intention of attacking the Castle of Fuengirola and Mijas itself and expel Napoleon's Imperial Troops towards Malaga, but this action, despite the support of six British ships, ended with the defeat of the Anglo-Spanish troops and the capture as a prisoner of Lord Blayney himself, who would be transferred to Mijas where he remained a prisoner until his transfer to Malaga. This event was of great importance in the course of the War of Independence and constitutes one of the most significant acts of arms that occurred in Andalusia during said conflict.

In August 1812, the French troops definitively abandoned Mijas, retreating to Malaga, from where they would leave the province towards the North.

In 1841, the segregation of a part of the territory of the municipal term that Mijas had maintained since 1487 took place, giving rise to the creation of Fuengirola as an independent municipal term.

During the XIX century the economic activity of the municipality was based on agriculture, livestock and the paper industry. Mills and fulling mills proliferated, mainly in the eastern part of the municipality, taking advantage of the richness of the aquifers in this sector of the Sierra, which emerged in the area of Osunilla and its surroundings and in the area of El Barrio de Santa Ana. Many of those mills, which were several centuries old at that time (in the Repartimientos there are mentions of two oil mills "of the Moors" and a "bread" mill built by the first alcaide de Mijas, Lope de Aponte), will maintain their activity until the 1950s.

Along with the fulling mills and mills, one of the main activities was the cultivation of the vine, which had been replacing the fig trees since the middle of the century XVIII, proliferating a multitude of wine presses and awnings of raisins.

The importance of this crop is manifested in the fact that 80% of the arable land in Mijas was dedicated to it and was accompanied by a significant population increase due to the immigration of population from other parts of the province of Malaga, especially from the eastern zone, due to the need for specialized labor for said agricultural activity. Thus, from the 5,155 inhabitants in 1867 it rose to 6,625 twenty years later (1887), only about 2,000 fewer than Marbella had at that time.

Evolution of the population in Mijas during the second half of the centuryXIX

Source: Mijas Historical Archive

This economic activity was cut short by the crisis caused by a phylloxera plague that affected most of the Malaga vineyards at the end of the century XIX, until the end of all crops and strongly affecting the buoyant wine and raisin economy and causing a decrease and population stagnation that would not recover until after the Civil War.

Until the middle of the XX century, the most flourishing economic activity revolved around fulling mills and mills, along with It develops an almost self-sufficient agriculture based on the self-consumption of the agricultural population (each rural house has its threshing floor, oven, etc.). The important territorial development achieved by the "water architecture" deserves to be highlighted in this agrarian space. Ditches, pools, etc. proliferate everywhere; Thus, we will mention that in 1948 there were more than 200 km of ditches in the municipality, 236 pools, 168 eras, 13 waterwheels, 65 wells, 17 mills and 2 registered fulling mills, to which should be added several that carried out their activity unofficially..

At the end of the fifties, Mijas underwent a drastic change, more accentuated between 1960 and 1980, with the development of tourist activities on the Costa del Sol. It was the time of the Spanish economic miracle (1959-1973). Numerous small rural owners begin to sell their land to go to work in the thriving construction sector, which is raising numerous urbanizations that will make Mijas the main tourist destination in residential Spain on the Costa del Sol and in Spain.

The conjunction of both historical, cultural and artistic elements in terms of its urban structure, led in 1969 to the Villa de Mijas being declared a Historic-Artistic Site by Decree 1231/69, of June 6, published in the B.O.E. num. 150 of June 24, 1969, a distinction that it currently maintains.

The decantation towards tourist activities caused the definitive abandonment of agricultural activity and the beginning of a new economic period, whose main activity will focus on the service sector. This change will also radically affect the population, which will go from just over 7,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the 1950s to around 15,000 at the beginning of the 1980s, 33,000 at the beginning of the 1990s and around 42,000. at the beginning of the XXI century, to currently reach more than 80,000, of whom more than 30,000 are foreigners, being the third municipality in population in the province of Malaga after the capital and Marbella.

The economic crisis that followed the bursting of the real estate bubble meant, for example, the closure of the Byblos Hotel, inaugurated in 1986, and the existence of unfinished real estate developments or without buyers.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious architecture

Immaculate Conception Parish

Hermitage of the Virgin of the Peña

Hermitage of Calvary

Mijas Town Hall (ed.). «Monuments and places of interest». Accessed March 21, 2009. </ref>

Auditorium

• Hermitage of the Virgin of the Peña: Hermitage cave excavated in the rock by a Carmelite brother between the years 1656 and 1682, to which an irregular stone sacristy has been added, trying to simulate a natural work. The outside of the feet performed with the same intention, has access of half point and small swordsman. In an irregular hornacina excavated on the front is the Virgen de la Peña, patron of Mijas.

• San Manuel Parish: It is the only Catholic temple in the heart of Las Lagunas. Its beginnings were in 1984 in a small chapel, where the Virgin of Fatima is now venerated. In 1992 the present temple was built, which has the peculiarity of being an octagonal base temple. In this temple is worshiped the images of the Christ of Medinaceli, the Most Holy Christ of the Union, Our Lady of Pity and Our Lady of Peace, the latter is the patron of the Lagunary core. The parish priest from the beginning of the parish to the present day is Reverend Don José María Ramos Villalobos.

• Hermitage of Our Lady of Remedies or of Saint Anne: Uprising in the early centuryXVIII, the reduced church presents a single nave with a braid armor, which becomes the largest chapel in a ceiling vault. Very restored, it maintains of merit the sculpture of dress of the Virgin of the Remedies of the centuryXVIII.

• San Sebastian Church: its construction corresponds to the end of the centuryXVIIreformed on many occasions. It appears with a nave covered with a palrhilera armor, a large square chapel with semi-spherical vault and a shrimp with a ceiling vault where mural paintings of angels are shown.

• Parroquial Church of the Immaculate Conception: consecrated in 1631, is located in the upper part of the village and on the ruins of the old mosque from which its Mudejar tower was seized to fulfill the functions of bell tower. It has three naves separated by half-point arches that appeal over marble columns, covering the central Mudejar wooden armor and the sides with in the presbytery and arms of the cruise. In the epistle is opened another chapel of larger dimensions with semi-spherical vaults on pechines decorated with Malaguian plasters, dated in 1705. During its restoration 1992-1993 eight frescoes were discovered with images of apostles, dating from the first half of the centuryXVII. There were thousands of weddings in it.

• Hermitage of Calvary: located on the foot of the Sierra de Mijas, was built around 1710 for the retreat of the Carmelite friars who inhabited the hospice and the Monastery of the Compás.

• Hermitage of San Antón: of one nave, was built in the centuryXVIII. The size of the Holy is polychrome wood of the same time. Open the public on January 17, San Antón pattern.

Civil architecture

• Gardens of the Wall: gardens built on the remains of the ancient fortress surrounding the village. They contain different plant species that complement each other with a viewpoint overlooking the sea.

• Torres vigía: four towers that were part of an ancient coastal defensive line located along the Andalusian Mediterranean coast. From east to west: Torre de Calaburras, Torre Nueva de La Cala del Moral, Torre Batería de La Cala del Moral and Torre de Calahonda.

• Las Lagunas Auditorium and Theatre: Scenic spaces of recent construction and modern architecture.

Beaches

• La Cala de Mijas: urban beach with dark grain of medium grain and some rocky area and a high degree of occupation. It's 1.6 km long and the blue flag is on it. It is a beach with an animated nightlife during the weekends and stage of several musical events in summer.

• Cabo Rocoso: dark sandy beach with medium grain and moderate waves. It is a semi-urban beach with a low degree of occupation and about 100 m long. You can practice windsurfing, sailing and diving.

Playa de Calahonda

• Calahonda: golden sandy beach with medium grain and quiet waters. It is a semi-urban beach with a high occupancy grenade and about 4.5 km long. You can practice diving and fishing.

• The Bombo: semi-urban beach of dark sand located next to a cliff, so it is optimal for diving. It is 1.1 km long and a high degree of occupation.

• El Chaparral: semi-urban with rocks and mild waves. It has an average occupancy degree and 4.4 km long. Possibility of windsurfing, sailing and diving.

• The Lighthouse: rocky enclave with multiple fine sandals. Underwater and reed fishing is practiced. It has 1.4 km of length and a low degree of occupation.

Characteristics of the beaches

Playa La Luna (Zona Calahonda)

Royal Beach (Zona Calahonda)

Playa El Almirante (Zona Calahonda)

Playa Doña Lola (Zona Calahonda)

Playa Riviera

Playa Cabo Rocoso

Playa El Bombo (Zona La Cala)

Beach Butiplaya (Zona La Cala)

Playa La Cala (Zona La Cala)

Las Doradas beach (Zona La Cala)

Playa El Chaparral

Marina beach (naturist)

Playa El Charcón

Playa Faro de Calaburras

Playa Peñón del Cura

Playa El Ejido

Administration and politics

The political administration of the city is carried out through a democratically managed City Council whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage. The electoral census is made up of all residents registered in Mijas over the age of 18 and nationals of Spain and the other member states of the European Union. According to the provisions of the General Electoral Regime Law, which establishes the number of eligible councilors based on the population of the municipality, the Municipal Corporation of Mijas is made up of 25 councilors.

Since the restoration of democracy in Spain, the municipality of Mijas has been governed by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, almost always with an absolute majority. In the last legislature (2011-2015), however, the Popular Party managed to gain victory and an absolute majority for the first time with 14 councilors in the City Council, while the Spanish Socialist Workers Party fell to 6 councilors. In addition, the Independent Group of Mijas, Izquierda Unida-Los Verdes-Convocatoria por Andalucía and Alternativa Mijeña were also present in the municipality. Currently, the position of mayor of Mijas is held by the spokesperson of the third most voted party, Ciudadanos, with only 5 councillors, forming a government team with the PSOE, with 7 councillors. In the opposition the Popular Party, with 11 councilors and Costa del Sol Sí Puede with 2.

City Council

Annex: Municipal elections in Mijas

Mayors since the 1979 elections

Period	Name	Party
1979-1983	Antonio Maldonado Pérez	PSOE-A
1983-1987	Antonio Maldonado Pérez	PSOE-A
1987-1991	Antonio Maldonado Pérez	PSOE-A
1991-1995	Antonio Maldonado Pérez	PSOE-A
1995-1999	Antonio Maldonado Pérez (1995-1997) Agustín Moreno Muñoz (1997-1999)	PSOE-A
1999-2003	Agustín Moreno Muñoz	PSOE-A
2003-2007	Agustín Moreno Muñoz	PSOE-A
2007-2011	Agustín Moreno Muñoz (2007) Antonio Sánchez Pacheco (2007-2011)	PSOE-A
2011-2015	Angel Nozal Lajo	PP-A
2015-2019	Juan Carlos Maldonado Estévez	Cs
2019-	José Antonio González Pérez	PSOE-A

Like other municipalities on the Costa del Sol (see Operation Astapa, Malaya Case, etc.), Mijas has not been free of political scandals and alleged cases of corruption. In July 2007, the former mayor, Agustín Moreno Muñoz resigned after ten years at the helm of the consistory by raising his salary to around 126,000 euros per year, which made him the highest paid councilor in Spain.

Previously, in May 2004, the former mayor obtained a position as civil servant doctor in an opposition called by him, in which he was the only candidate and in which the president of the court was his own Personnel councilor. Since then, the Mijas City Council approved two salary increases for this position (although it was not yet occupied by anyone) until leaving it at 70,000 euros per year.

In 2005, former mayor Antonio Maldonado filed a lawsuit against the City Council before the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor for irregularities in the concession of the racetrack to the company Carrera Entertainment Corporation. In addition, the Malaya Case also splashed the Mijas City Council, when it was discovered that the chief architect received an Iberian ham for 200 euros and a VIP invitation for two people at the Hotel Guadalpín by the company Aifos, and that she was present together with another technician from the city council and the mayor himself in the gift distribution list of this company, the main one involved in the Malaya Case. Another case investigated is an alleged urban crime in a promotion of subsidized housing of the City Council that is supposedly located on a cattle track, which is in the public domain.

On the other hand, the deficiencies of the Spanish Justice and Police were evident in Mijas in the Wanninkhof case, in which a popular jury convicted an innocent woman.

Consulates

The Belgian consulate in the province of Malaga is based in Mijas Costa.

Symbols

The symbols of Mijas are its flag and its shield. The shield has been approved by Resolution of January 17, 2012, of the General Directorate of Local Administration of the Junta de Andalucía. (BOJA 30/1/2012)

. The flag was approved by the Junta de Andalucía on January 24, 2000 and is defined by the following description:

"Passed flag composed of three parallel strips to one another and perpendicular to the asta, the first green, the second white and the third blue. On the white strip, centered, the Local Arms Shield."

Economy

The main economic activity in Mijas, as in other places on the Costa del Sol, is tourism and activities derived from it. The municipality has 15 establishments including hotels, hostels and pensions that have just over 2,400 beds, six of them four-star and one five-star. Of greater economic importance is the residential tourism sector, of which Mijas, together with Marbella and Estepona, concentrates 54% of the offer on the Costa del Sol.

Due to urban pressures and the massive presence of golf courses, both agricultural and industrial activities occupy a reduced place. However, there are still some 1600 hectares dedicated to cultivation in the municipality, in which potatoes, cereals, ornamental plants and olive trees and especially avocado are produced. As for livestock, there are cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and equine as well as poultry and mother rabbits. Industrial activities for their part are dominated by the push for construction.

The business fabric has grown significantly in the last years of the last century and the beginning of the current century. Thus, the relative variation in the number of companies in the decade 1993-2003 reaches almost 150%, compared to 81.1% in the province of Malaga and 57.1% in the total for Andalusia. The distribution of companies according to its economic activity in 2004 was as follows: agriculture, livestock and fishing: 0.32%; industry: 5.45%; construction: 18.66%; and services: 75.61%.

Evolution of outstanding municipal debt

The concept of outstanding debt includes only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed-income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, excluding, therefore, commercial debt.

Graphic of evolution of living debt of the City of Mijas between 2008 and 2021

Living debt of the City of Mijas in thousands of euros according to data of the Ministry of Finance and Public Service.

Transport and communications

The Mediterranean Autopist at its pass through Mijas

Road network

The municipality of Mijas is crossed from east to west by the Autovía del Mediterráneo (A-7) and the AP-7, which connect it with Málaga and its airport, on the one hand, and with Marbella and Algeciras, on the other. the other. The A-7 also serves to communicate different points of the municipality, particularly La Cala with Las Lagunas. This road, on the other hand, is frequently collapsed during the summer months due to the lack of efficient public transport and the massive influx of visitors.

Secondary roads are the A-7053 and A-387, which connect Alhaurín el Grande with Fuengirola. These roads cross the municipality of Mijas and connect it with the Guadalhorce Valley through the Puerto de Pescadores, while the A-368 connects Mijas Pueblo with Benalmádena Pueblo along a route over the slope of the mountains.

Public transport

Mijas is part of the Málaga Area Metropolitan Transport Consortium, which offers a single ticket system for urban and interurban buses, the Málaga metro suburban railway and the Málaga City Council's public bicycle rental system, Málagabici.

The railway is non-existent in the municipality, although the inhabitants of the nucleus of Las Lagunas can use the Fuengirola Station of the C-1 line of the Cercanías Málaga to travel to Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Málaga, as well as the airport. However, the Costa del Sol Corridor project provides for three stations in Mijas located in Las Lagunas, La Cala and Calahonda, although there is no definitive date for the construction and opening of the service.

For trips to the west and inland there is an intercity bus service, the most used being the Fuengirola-Marbella line, which crosses Mijas Costa and serves the numerous urbanizations that are located between both municipalities along the coast. Daily services depart from Mijas to Alhaurín el Grande, Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmádena Costa, Benalmádena Pueblo, Coín, Fuengirola, Málaga and Torremolinos.

The intercity bus lines of the Malaga Area Metropolitan Transport Consortium can be found at the following link.

The urban bus service in Mijas is made up of a single line, which runs on weekdays and Saturdays until noon. The line covers a route between the Santana neighborhood (in Mijas Pueblo), Las Lagunas and Entrerríos.

The burrotaxis appeared at the beginning of the tourist boom

Donkey taxi

Donkey taxis are a peculiar method of transportation in Mijas, which appeared at the end of the 50s, as a result of some quarry workers who returned home on donkeys, were required by tourists to take pictures or take a tour. lap. The total number of donkeys that make up this service is 61, of which 13 are cart donkeys and 48 saddle donkeys, which have a special parking lot for them.

Every summer there are many tourists who come to Mijas to visit this peculiar means of transport. Tourists take a walk through the best-known streets thus making a tourist guide.

The donkeys have a place for themselves on Avenida del Compás, where their carriages are located.

News Media

Regarding informative communications, Mijas has its own television channel: Channel 3.40, as well as radio stations and written press published in the municipality in Spanish and English.

Culture

Las Lagunas Theatre

The most important cultural events in the municipality are the Villa de Mijas Art Biennial and the Villa de Mijas Theater Festival, which are held between October and November the first and the second in June. The official plastic arts exhibitions take place in the halls of the Casas de la Cultura in La Cala, Las Lagunas and Mijas Pueblo, as well as in the Town Hall. For performing arts, the municipality has the Municipal Auditorium and the new Las Lagunas Theater.

Throughout the year several music festivals are organized, mainly during the summer months and outdoors. In August the Flamenco Festival, the Latin Night and the Calapop Festival take place, dedicated to different musical genres. In June the Celtic Night is celebrated, in which pipe bands from Gibraltar and northern Spain generally play. In addition, throughout the summer the Noches de Luna y Playa take place next to the beaches of the municipality, which include concerts of classical music, dance and flamenco. Finally, in autumn the Mijas Jazz Festival is held, in its second edition in 2009 Andalusian musicians were promoted.

Other cultural events are the Story Contest, the Literary Contest of Love Letters, the Market of the Senses and the International Day of Peoples. The latter event takes place in the month of May.

Thanks to these events, Mijas receives a large number of tourists all year round, but mostly in the summer months.

Museums

Miniature Museum or Max Carromato

• Miniature Museum of Mijas, or Max Carromato: collects a collection of miniature items that includes a "Head of a white man reduced by the jíbaros", the portrait of "Abraham Lincoln" made in painting on the head of a pin, the "Our Father" written in the chanting of a visit card, the representation of "The Seven Wonders of the World" carved in a big dinner stick and the "U.
• CAC Mijas: Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Mijas. Opened on 29 November 2013. It hosts the world's 2nd most important collection of Picasso ceramics (in number of works). It also has different temporary exhibitions. Until June 1, 2016 the collection was exposed Picasso, Dalí and Miró: The Three Tenors of Spanish Art where they could be seen from lithographs to sculptures. In addition, free workshops for children are held every Saturday.

• Historic-Ethnological Museum: It was opened in 1995 and contains a collection of labrance utensils, fishing, oil mills, a winery, typical Mijeña cuisine, etc. In addition, itinerant art collections and local crafts are also displayed.

• Centro de Interpretación de las Torres Vigía: located in the Torre Nueva de La Cala del Moral contains a sample of the origin of the monitoring of the coast, the resources used, reproductions at scale of the 4 Mijas towers and historical texts. A second room narrates the landing of Torrijos on the beaches of Mijas and in a third one shows the fishing past of Mijas with fishing boats such as the tray, the jábega, the sardinal and the patera along with other sites.

Libraries

• Mijas Pueblo Library. (is located on Mexico Avenue 7)
• Las Lagunas Library (is located inside the Casa de la Cultura de Las Lagunas).
• La Cala Library.

Popular festivals

Given the dispersion of the population in different nuclei, localities and urbanizations, the festivals of the municipality are numerous. Each community or neighborhood celebrates its own festival and pilgrimage, but the main fairs are those of Mijas Pueblo, La Cala and Las Lagunas. The fairs usually start with a parade and fireworks and include equestrian exhibitions, exhibitions and sports competitions and the typical Mijas fandango is danced.

As in other towns in Andalusia, Mijas also celebrates Carnival, Holy Week, Corpus Christi, May Crosses, Candlemas and the night of San Juan, which is celebrated on Carril Street. The children make dolls and at 00:00 they are hung and later burned, thus falling into a bonfire where wishes written on paper are thrown away. In addition to festivals typical of the municipality such as the Fiesta de San Antón, in which the people of Mijas take their pets to the hermitage of San Antón, patron saint of animals, to be blessed. This Saint has a legend, and it is that for ``find a boyfriend'' women have to throw a stone at him and hit him.

Flamenco dance festivals directed by Remedios Fernández and Víctor Rojas are also held, in which the students during a whole course of rehearsals show their dances in a show that takes place in the Auditorium located in Mijas Pueblo in the month of June.

Gastronomy

In the gastronomic aspect, apart from the many international restaurants that exist, the cuisine of Mijas is based above all on the rich and varied first courses, due to its great variety of soups. Local dishes such as salmorejo, maimones, cachorreñas and gazpachuelo stand out, as well as typical sweets such as buñuelos and hornazos, all of them inherited from Arab times.

There are many shops where the neighbors do their shopping. Some of them are: Cortés butcher shop since 1890, Miguel Gómez supermarkets, Mijas Municipal Market, etc.

Crafts

In Mijas, articles of esparto grass, thread and wicker, ceramics, traditional and artistic forging, jewelry and silver embossing are produced by hand.

Sports

Mijas Golf

The star sport in Mijas in terms of number and quality of facilities is golf. The municipality has eleven fields to practice this sport, one of them being La Cala Golf & Country Club, one of the largest in Europe.

Since the inauguration of the Costa del Sol Hippodrome, Mijas has been the setting for one of the main equestrian events in Spain: the Mijas Cup or Andalusian Grand Prix, which has the particularity of being held at night. They are also many establishments where you can practice horse riding. Mijas has also hosted the Costa del Sol Rally, a scoring event for the Spanish Championship.

Each urban center has public sports facilities, the largest of which is the Sports City of Las Lagunas. In the municipal facilities it is possible to practice everything from aerobics, badminton or swimming to athletics, soccer and tennis among others. There are also numerous private facilities scattered throughout the urbanizations of the municipality.

Notable people

• Manuel Cortés, alias The Top: founder of the local PSOE and last Republican mayor of Mijas, who lived 30 years hidden in his own house to escape the repression of Francoism.
• Juan de la Loma, singer.
• Lázaro Jaime Blanco (1924-2017), son predilecto de Mijas.
• Joaquín Marín Alarcón (1947-2017), journalist, director of the newspaper Sur, RTVA and La Opinion de Málaga.
• Rubén Doblas Gundersen (1990-), youtuber.