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Peter Edgerton
Friday, 27 February 2026, 14:33
Many years ago, on 28 February 1980, the fine people of Andalucía took the first steps towards converting their region into one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities by way of a referendum. The date has been celebrated ever since as 'el Día de Andalucía', and with good reason - there really is a lot to be proud of around these parts.
For a kick-off, somewhere between 30 and 40 per cent of all of the olive oil in the whole wide world is produced here. Isn't that simply amazing? Although it does make me feel a bit guilty about not indulging in the local bread and oil breakfast ritual but instead using the stuff to fry my bacon in. That's the behaviour of a philistine, quite frankly, and I'm ashamed.
The climate here is also something to be marvelled at. The rainiest (Grazalema, Cadiz), the windiest (Tarifa, Cadiz) and the hottest (La Rambla/Montero, Cordoba) places in Spain are all to found in Andalucía. The temperatures in the last of these areas have been known to reach over 47 degrees Celsius. There's a business in La Rambla by the name Dalye S.L. and its founder is rumoured to be one of the wisest men in Europe. They install air-conditioning.
The architectural legacy of the Moors as a result of their 700-year rule is also quite breathtaking. Wonders to behold include the Alcázar in Seville, the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba and, most famously the Alhambra in Granada, which often has around eight thousand visitors a day, making it a bit Moorish in every sense of the expression.
If we were to ask what the Good, the Bad and the Ugly had to do with Andalucía, we wouldn't be referring to a very brief synopsis of the political history of the region as some might be tempted to think, but rather the filming of the famous Western in the Tabernas desert in Almeria. The same area was also used in the making of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and For a Few Dollars More, among others. Las Tabernas is the only true desert in Europe if you don't count the sandpit at La Rambla primary school in July.
Not surprisingly then, given all these reasons to be grateful for our very existence, Andalucía also boasts one of the highest life expectancy levels in Europe with the typical resident averaging between 82 and 83 years of age by the time they depart this mortal coil.
It must be all that olive oil. Or the bacon.