Travel Guide
Moclin
Of all the frontier castles near Cortijo Bujio, none sits more dramatically than Moclín — a Moorish fortress crowning a mountain a thousand metres up, so hard to take that it was besieged, on and off, for two hundred years. But Moclín is famous for something even stranger than its walls: a painting that is said to have cured a blind man, a pilgrimage that draws fifteen thousand people, and a whisper of a fertility rite that found its way into the plays of Federico García Lorca. It is one of the region's great days out.
Moclín was, in effect, the last line of the Nasrid frontier on this side of Granada. Its castle, built in the mid-13th century on a peak at around 1,100 metres, guarded the mountain pass toward the capital — and it earned its reputation the hard way, under almost constant siege for two centuries until the Christians finally took it in 1486. Its position was so commanding that, after its fall, the fortress served the Catholic Monarchs as a base in the final years before Granada itself surrendered in 1492. (See our guide to the Granada frontier.)
Moclín's greatest fame, though, is a miracle. The village church holds a 15th–16th-century painting of Christ known as El Cristo del Paño — "the Christ of the Cloth." The story goes that a man suffering from cataracts touched the canvas and had his sight restored. In Spanish, cataracts were once called paño ("cloth") disease — and so the painting took its name. Around the miracle grew a romería (pilgrimage) that, held every 5 October, is now one of the most important religious festivals in all of Andalusia, drawing an average of 15,000 people to the small mountain village.
Here is the twist that delights literary travellers. The Moclín pilgrimage carried, alongside its piety, an older reputation as a fertility rite — a place where childless women came in hope. This charged, ambiguous atmosphere fascinated Federico García Lorca, who drew on the Moclín romería for the closing scenes of his tragedy Yerma, one of the great plays of the 20th century. The pilgrimage even inspired a ballet, The Pilgrimage of the Cuckolds, from an idea by Lorca and Cipriano Rivas Cherif. Few festivals can claim to have shaped a masterpiece. (See our guide to Lorca's Granada.)
Moclín is roughly 40 minutes from Cortijo Bujio, and — if you can time it for 5 October — the romería is an unforgettable spectacle of colour, devotion and Andalusian tradition. At any time of year, the castle and its views reward the drive, especially paired with Íllora and Montefrío for a full frontier day.
What is the Cristo del Paño? A miraculous painting of Christ in Moclín's church, said to have cured a man's cataracts (once called paño, "cloth," in Spanish). Its pilgrimage, on 5 October, is one of Andalusia's most important, drawing around 15,000 people.
What is the connection to García Lorca? The Moclín pilgrimage's reputation as a fertility rite inspired Lorca, who used it in the ending of his play Yerma.
Is the castle worth visiting? Yes — a dramatic Nasrid fortress on a 1,100-metre peak, once the last shield of Granada, with sweeping views over the old frontier.
How far is Moclín from Cortijo Bujio? About 40 minutes — best combined with Íllora and Montefrío, or timed for the 5 October pilgrimage.
Cortijo Bujio is 40 minutes from Moclín. Read on about Íllora, Montefrío, Lorca's Granada and the Granada frontier.
Sources: Ayuntamiento de Moclín, "Romería del Cristo del Paño"; Andalucia.com on pilgrimages; Fascinating Spain, "Moclín"; on Lorca and Yerma.