Ladies of the Night: Poetry and Music in the Street

Four evenings spread across the summer, each one staged after dark in a different corner of Vélez-Málaga's old town. The format barely changes and that's the charm of it: three local poets read their work, a single musician threads the gaps between them, and everyone sits out under the warm night air at nine in the evening. The opener in the cloister of the San Francisco convent pairs poets with the piano and voice of Alicia Tamariz; later dates bring a violinist, a tango duo and a soprano, moving on to the atrium of Santa María church, the contemporary art centre and finally the patio of the Cervantes house.

You won't follow every word unless your Spanish is good, but the settings are worth the seat alone, and the spoken-word rhythm carries even if the meaning drifts. Turn up early to nab a decent spot.