{"id":772900,"date":"2026-02-18T15:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/772900\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:49:16","slug":"new-caledonian-society-launches-in-malaga-to-unite-scots-across-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/772900\/","title":{"rendered":"New Caledonian Society launches in Malaga to unite Scots across Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Jennie
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\nWednesday, 18 February 2026, 16:05<\/p>\n

The Caledonian Society of Spain was formally inaugurated in Malaga city on Burns Night, Sunday 25 January, marking the launch of a new cultural society for people living in Spain with a connection to Scotland.<\/p>\n

The inaugural gathering took place at the city\u2019s Calanmor Pub, and founding president of the society, James McSwiggan, says the evening \u201ccombined a relaxed Burns Night celebration with the formal signing of the society\u2019s founding charter\u201d.<\/p>\n

James, 40, who has lived in the province for five years, told SURin English that the evening \u201cwhich included poetry readings, the formal signing of the founding charter, address to the haggis and Selkirk Grace, a toast to the Lassies and reply, whisky tasting and music\u201d, was designed \u201cto bring together Scots and friends of Scotland living in Spain\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bagpipes<\/p>\n

James explained that since he has lived in Spain, he has discovered other similar societies around the country, as well as Highland dancing groups and of course the connections between Galicia, where the bagpipes – known as \u2018gaita\u2019 – are a traditional instrument. \u201cThe society intends to operate across Spain, with regular gatherings and special events such as Burns Night and St Andrew\u2019s Day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

James hopes that future events will include \u201cHighland Games on the beach and visits to Highland dance schools and Scottish cultural clubs in towns and cities across Spain\u201d.<\/p>\n

James is originally from Clydebank, but lived in London for 20 years before moving to Malaga five years ago. He said that he has always maintained \u201ca strong personal connection to Scottish culture and community\u201d and with that connection in mind, he explained that the Caledonian Society of Spain was founded because \u201cwhile Spain has a long-established Scottish presence, there was no dedicated cultural society bringing people together in a way that felt settled, inclusive, and contemporary\u201d.<\/p>\n

He wants to \u201cprovide a welcoming cultural home for Scots and friends of Scotland living in Spain, focused on shared tradition, conversation, and community rather than formality or politics\u201d.<\/p>\n

Spanish in Scotland<\/p>\n

He says that \u201cScotland has a way of staying with you, wherever you live\u201d and that the Caledonian Society \u201cis about creating a place where that shared connection can be enjoyed openly, through culture, conversation, and community.\u201d He added, \u201cBurns Night felt like the natural moment to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

James also pointed out that he has had a lot of interest from Spanish people who have spent time living in Scotland but have returned to their native country and are keen to maintain the links. There\u2019s \u201clots of enthusiasm\u201d and \u201cinquiries via the Facebook page\u201d he has set up.<\/p>\n

As for Sunday\u2019s Burns Night celebration, James points out that it has been planned to be \u201cdeliberately informal rather than a full Burns Supper, reflecting the society\u2019s aim to be open, accessible, and welcoming from the outset\u201d<\/p>\n

For further information go to: www.caledoniansociety.es<\/a> or Facebook: The Caledonian Society of Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wednesday, 18 February 2026, 16:05 The Caledonian Society of Spain was formally inaugurated in Malaga city on Burns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,7707,225966,15465,4678,104,6095],"class_list":["post-772900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-malaga","tag-roots","tag-scottish","tag-society","tag-spain","tag-with"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116092427655551069","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}