Discover Malcocinado: Churches, Festivals and Rural Traditions

Malcocinado stands out for its open, notably regular layout, with white rural buildings and numerous garden areas. The town combines this clear village structure with traces of a past shaped by agriculture, livestock farming and ecclesiastical history.

Landscape and Townscape

Malcocinado is designated as an agricultural mountain area within the important olive-growing landscapes. The town’s setting therefore brings together a mountainous agricultural character and olive growing within the same spatial classification.

History and Architectural Heritage

Malcocinado’s origins date back to the 16th century. The town was established as a settlement of shepherds dependent on Guadalcanal. Its parish history also points to this connection: until 1862, the parish bore the name Iglesia Parroquial de la Purísima Concepción. The parish church of San Antonio de Padua was historically affiliated with the Church of Santa María la Mayor in Guadalcanal.

San Antonio de Padua is a simple building with late-period architecture dating from the 18th century. Later alterations have shaped the building; its present appearance cannot be clearly assigned to a particular style. Pilar Grande includes a significant attached livestock watering trough.

Among the distinctive water features is the traditional Fuente de la Machacona, which lies below ground level. Brick and stone steps lead down to its water outlets. Outside Malcocinado, the remains of an old washhouse and two old water-lifting installations have also been preserved as ethnographic heritage.

Festivals and Routes

The festival of San Antonio de Padua on 13 June includes a mass, a procession and a traditional dance event. The pilgrimage usually takes place on the second or third Saturday in May. The celebration of Nuestra Señora del Rosario on 7 October consists of a mass and a procession, while the Feria del Emigrante takes place on varying dates in August.

A short route runs entirely within the municipality of Malcocinado. Historically, the Cañada Real ran via today’s Puerto de la Higuera and the road to Alanís. The different forms of festivals, routes and historical paths offer several ways to view the town from a chronological and thematic perspective.

Culinary Traditions

Traditional sweet treats include Gañotes. They are made using two eggs, a quarter measure of oil, sugar, a quarter measure of white wine boiled with aniseed and cinnamon, one kilogram of flour and Aguardiente. The shaped dough is fried in plenty of oil and then coated with honey.

Perrunillas are prepared from one kilogram of lard, five eggs, lemon zest, two glasses of Aguardiente, three kilograms of sugar, bicarbonate of soda and three-quarters of a kilogram of flour; they are shaped and baked. One egg white, set aside beforehand, is brushed over the pieces, which are then sprinkled with a little sugar. Traditional dishes and desserts from Extremadura are prepared using agricultural and livestock products.

Accommodation and Further Information

Visitors can find comfortable accommodation in country houses in Malcocinado. When comparing holiday apartments in Malcocinado, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be taken into account when making personal plans.

Further Destinations

Other destinations at the same higher-level category are Higuera De Llerena, Montijo, Santa Amalia, Valverde De Leganés, Villanueva De La Serena, Guadiana del Caudillo, Carmonita and Puebla De Alcocer.

To the higher-level travel overview: Badajoz.