Christmas lights have been shining above the streets of Cartaojal since mid-October, making the hamlet near Antequera an early-season exception in Málaga province. The switch-on took place weeks before the main town centre’s planned display in early December.
Cartaojal is one of Antequera’s rural districts and has around 1,000 inhabitants, according to the discovery report. Its streets are now decorated with glowing baubles in different sizes and colours. The lights were switched on without a public ceremony.
Antequera town council told SUR that the early installation was linked to the way its lighting contract is organised. The Christmas decorations are contracted together with lighting for the town’s two summer fairs, enabling the contractor to coordinate installation and testing across the municipality’s outlying districts.
After the decorations went up in Cartaojal, their popularity locally led officials to leave them illuminated, the report said. The council has framed the move as a tribute to Antequera’s 11 rural districts and is considering an early switch-on in another district next year.
Mayor Manolo Barón publicised the display on social media with a playful reference to Vigo and its mayor, Abel Caballero, whose city is known for its Christmas lights. Barón described Cartaojal as the first place in Spain to switch on its Christmas illuminations. That claim was made by the mayor; the discovery report does not independently verify it.
The lack of an inauguration was attributed in the report to restrictions connected with the general election scheduled for 29 November, which bar formal public openings. The main illuminations in Antequera itself are expected to come on in early December, timed to the start of the Christmas shopping season.
For residents and visitors, the practical difference is that Cartaojal’s festive display is already visible while the larger town centre’s lights remain off. Whether another rural district will get an equally early start next year remains under consideration by the council.