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LIFE IN SPAIN

Seven essential apps for life in Spain’s Málaga

Málaga is one of the most popular cities for foreign residents in Andalusia and if you want to enjoy living there to the fullest, these 7 essential apps will help you out.

Published: 22 May 2023 17:24 CEST
Seven essential apps for life in Spain’s Málaga
The apps you need if you live in Malaga. Photo: Tabea Schimpf / Unsplash

Málaga’s coastal location as the gateway to the Costa del Sol, its bustling centre and many cultural and artistic attractions make it a popular choice for foreigners. 

If you’re living in Málaga, you’ll know that sometimes simple tasks such as parking, finding up-to-date information about the beaches and booking a doctor’s appointment can be tricky or take time. These seven essential apps can help you out. 

Playas de Málaga

If you’re a fan of the beach, this app could prove very useful during the long summer months in the city. It gives you information on each of the beaches in the Málaga area, as well as the possibility to reserve barbecue spots to have your own moragas (beach parties with barbecued sardines). Health and safety information about all the beaches is also provided along with any updates from the Málaga City Council Beach Area. Directions to get to any of the beaches, weather information and even digital postcards are also available. It can be used in both Spanish and English. You can download it via the AppStore here.

EMT Málaga

The app from the Málaga Municipal Transport Company is invaluable for those who regularly need to travel around the city on public transport. It can tell you the best route to get to your destination, how long you need to wait for a bus and even enables you to top up your EMT travel card with more credit. If you use the Malagabici public bicycle system, it also allows you to find out how many bikes are available at each station and even rent them with your EMT card. It’s available via the App Store here and via the Google Play Store here.

Aparcamientos Málaga SMASSA

This app, managed by the Sociedad Municipal de Aparcamientos y Servicios de Málaga, offers several utilities related to paid parking in the city. You can check how many free spaces there are in each municipal car park and in the different SARE parking areas. You can even pay for parking fees straight from your mobile. If you do this, it also allows you to renew the parking time and notifies you when it’s about to run out. In addition, it has a radar function that detects where the nearest parking space is. It’s available via the App Store here and via the Google Play Store here.

Too Good to Go

Too Good To Go is a great app that allows you to get your hands on food that would otherwise be thrown out.

According to the Too Good To Go website, around a third of food is wasted. Not only is that bad for the environment, but it also means that you can take advantage of loads of perfectly good (and tasty) food that would otherwise go straight in the bin. 

You can download the app here, and through the Apple App Store, Google Play y Huawei AppGallery. From there, you can browse the various local restaurants and businesses partnered with Too Good To Go, including Aloha Poke and Udon, and arrange to pick up your food from a nearby location. 

Salud Responde

Andalusia’s public health app is an invaluable resource for anyone registered in the public system. The app enables you to book an appointment without having to call on the phone, to modify any existing appointments or find out any laboratory results. You can also look up the answers to any frequently asked questions on many health-related topics such as vaccinations, allergies, sexual health, flu, maternity care and hospital admissions. It’s available via the App Store here and via the Google Play Store here.

PideTaxi

Whether you’re a regular taxi user or occasionally need to book one after a late night or an early morning flight, then PideTaxi may come in handy. It was launched by Radio Taxi Association of Spain and is associated with Unitaxi in Málaga. Through the app you can request a taxi to come straight away or book it in advance from any point in the city. You can also request special taxis such as a vehicle adapted for the disabled, a taxi for large groups or the transportation of pets. The app will also help calculate the trip price so that you’re not surprised at the end. It’s available via the App Store here and via the Google Play Store here.

Málaga CitySense

CitySense is a citizen participation project in Málaga that aims to generate new collaborative experiences for users in the city. It enables the city to gather data on the way its citizens use the city and its services by reading the sensors on your smartphone, which is all done anonymously and safely. It also gives users real-time data on the city from culture to science and weather, as well as various points of interest you may want to visit. You can find out more about the app here. 

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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