The small municipality of Macharaviaya exhibits a landscape that is typical of the region to which it belongs but is without remarkable contrasts in elevation, since the terrain is composed of a succession of hills of similar altitude. In the absence of the vineyards that disappeared with the phylloxera pest, they are covered with pastures occasionally mixed with olive trees.

This is an area of pleasant geographic contours, but one that is not without small ravines and canyons, and is the setting for the village and its sub-district of Benaque, which is barely three kilometres away. It is even smaller than Macharaviaya but shares with it the same peaceful and old-fashioned ambience, far from modern rush and bother.
Macharaviaya originated as an ancient Arabic farm community and was founded as a royal burgh in 1572, taking the former Arabic name of Machar Ibn Yahha (farmstead of the son of Yahha), which is preserved today with practically the same pronunciation. The expulsion of the Moors resulted in the depopulation of the village, and it appears that unlike so many other villages in the area, there was no fully developed programme of repopulation.

 

The extended period of decadence experienced by Macharaviaya in all aspects of life, particularly relating to population, took an unexpected turn when the Gálvez family appeared in the little community. They provided a surprising economic stimulus in the eighteenth century. Throughout that century and part of the next, the village enjoyed unaccustomed prosperity and was visited by the most influential personalities in Málaga, who came to Macharaviaya to establish ties with the Gálvez family.
A new church was built over the former one during this period, the Real Fábrica de Naipes (Royal Playing Card Factory) and an Agricultural Bank were created and a potable water distribution system was begun. This economic development financed by the Gálvez family was so great that the village began to also be called the “Little Madrid”. Although this was without doubt an exaggerated nickname, it attests to the economic good times of the period.

A new period of decline began with the arrival of the phylloxera pest, as in nearly all of La Axarquía, and the village only began to emerge from it a few decades ago when it became a refuge for numerous artists who chose it as a residence, no doubt so they could devote themselves to their creative work in complete peace and quiet. A stable residential tourism industry has also been established that has contributed greatly to restoring many of the old dwellings that had fallen into disuse and disrepair.

Outstandings Visits:
It is often said that modernity has not crossed the threshold of Macharaviaya and that it is still as it was in the eighteenth century. While this assertion is not totally correct-such a thing would be impossible-it does contain much truth. The streets are still cobblestone and care has been taken that the façades of the houses do not display features that are out of place, therefore the traditional architecture shows up splendidly and is in perfect harmony with the irregular street plan.
The first thing that a traveller will notice as he enters the village is the quadrangular two-story brick monument which commemorates the debt of the village to its benefactors, the Gálvez family, as stated on the stone tablet from 1786. Inside the village the San Jacinto church attracts attention. It was built in the eighteenth century in the same place that the first church had been built two centuries before, in 1505. It has a Latin cross floor plan with a single nave that measures 36 metres long by 9 metres wide and has a barrel vault and a graceful dome on the transept. The sober entrance to the church, done in facing brick and very much in the style of the era, consists of Corinthian columns under a divided pediment, over which appears a royal coat of arms.

Next to the church is the cemetery, which is the location of the entrance to the church’s crypt. These premises occupy practically the entire underground area of the church and house the tombs of several members of the Gálvez family, who are represented by marble sculptures in praying posture.
At the present time the old playing card factory is not exactly a visually impressive piece of architecture (truth be told, it never was) but it is an inseparable part of this village’s history and its economic development. After his departure for America José Gálvez opened new commercial avenues in the New World, and thus the Playing Card Factory of Macharaviaya reaffirmed the monopoly that the former owner of the factory, Félix Solecio, held on the sale of playing cards in the “Yndias” by the terms of a contract signed in 1576. The factory produced 30,000 decks per year, which were manufactured from a paper made in Benalmádena. (Paper manufacturing requires a huge quantity of water, which was very abundant in Benalmádena). Production stopped in 1815 and the building, located at Calle Real de Málaga 15 to 23, was converted into dwellings.

In the sub-district of Benaque, less than three kilometres from Macharaviaya, the visitor can view the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación church. This is a sixteenth century structure without garish decoration but rather with the authentic flavour of the simplest Mudéjar style. It was erected over a former mosque of which the minaret remains and is used as a bell tower. It has been subjected to a number of modifications since part of the roof collapsed in 1930. The house of the poet Salvador Rueda, who originated the poetic movement known as Modernism, can also be visited. In it is displayed a notable legacy of the poet.

 

How to Get There:
Go towards Motril on the Mediterranean Expressway (A-7; N-340) and some five kilometres past the exit for Chilches take the MA-176. This road leads directly to Macharaviaya, although not in a straight line. .

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 7.2 square kilometres
Population: about 370
What the natives are called: Macharatungos
Monuments: the Gálvez monument, San Jacinto church, Fábrica de Naipes (old playing card factory), and the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación church (Benaque)
Geographical Location: in the La Axarquía region, 25 kilometres from Vélez Málaga and 27 from the provincial capital. It is 240 metres above sea level, the average rainfall in the area is 520 litres per square metre and the average annual temperature is 17.5º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Calle Real, 12 (29791). Telephone: 952 400 042; Fax: 952 400 026