This festival has been declared to be of Tourist Interest by the Provincial Council of Málaga.
Please check with the local Town Hall or Municipal Tourism Office for the festival date before planning any sightseeing activities.

Villanueva de Tapia is a village in Málaga where one can enjoy both the town centre and its natural surroundings. Its gentle lands include the Sierra del Pedroso mountain range and the ancient holm oak and pine forests. This was a necessary route to the village, even back in Romans and Moorish times, as shown by the discovery of archaeological remains in the town centre and in areas like El Hoyo de Cabello, El Cortijo de los Galeotes and Las Laderas del Aseo. The municipality sits on the farthest northeast side of the province of Málaga, bordering Córdoba and Granada in a triangle that has been home to settlements of many cultures for its strategic location.

This was probably one of the many reasons for the annual livestock breeders meeting, held to buy and sell cattle. Later on, it became the place to hold the Royal Cattle Fair. The fair, also called Feria Grande, has been celebrated since 1869 and is considered to be among the oldest and most important ones in Andalusia. In fact, it is part of the livestock dealers' route. It was also known as the Fair of the "Entredicho". The name was also used to refer to the locality due to the frequent disputes between the nobles of the time over the appropriation of the lands, rich in grasses and with extensive Mediterranean forests.

As it is the very last fair of the season, it would be attended by buyers who had already been to other cattle fairs and yet had not find what they wanted to purchase, or by sellers who had not obtained what they expected for their merchandise and went to the Royal Cattle Fair hoping to make a good sale. Today, the fair has become one of the most influential events in the province in terms of farming and livestock. A wide-ranging programme provides visitors with the chance to attend the agri-food and livestock trade fair, the morphological contest for the Málaga goat breed, the suckling goat regional culinary competition, cheese tastings, and the traditional livestock market. At this market, goats, horses, cattle and pigs are bought and sold, and old-fashioned deals are still closed by shaking hands.