Sanlúcar, Between River and Sea

Horse racing on the beach at Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Sanlúcar, Between River and Sea

At Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the province of Cádiz, the Guadalquivir meets the Atlantic. Boats rest close to the shore, Doñana lies across the water and the beach changes shape with the tide.

In August, that same shoreline becomes a racecourse. Horses, sea light and the town’s wine culture offer three ways into a place whose identity is inseparable from the water.

Racehorses and jockeys beside the water at Sanlúcar

When the tide reveals a racecourse

Sanlúcar’s organised beach races began in 1845. Held on the sand exposed at low tide, they turn the shoreline into a temporary sporting arena, with the water beside the course.

The contrast gives the scene its character: the speed of the horses against the broad horizon, bright jockey silks against sand and sea. Here, the tide helps determine the rhythm of a tradition.

Macarena beside boats at the mouth of the Guadalquivir

From the racecourse to embroidery

At the river mouth, boats and the opposite shore return the scene to a quieter pace. Sanlúcar’s equestrian tradition provides a visual thread between the races and Macarena’s editorial look.

Her blue trousers carry embroidered horses among branching botanical motifs. Pale stitching makes the figures visible against the blue fabric, echoing the chapter’s horses through line and detail rather than a literal racing scene.

Macarena at a terrace with a glass of manzanilla in Sanlúcar

Manzanilla and the pause after

Manzanilla is a dry wine made from Palomino grapes and aged under a living layer of yeast known as flor. Its ageing takes place in Sanlúcar, where the local microclimate shapes its distinctive character.

A terrace table brings the journey back to the scale of everyday life. After the movement on the beach, a glass of manzanilla offers another expression of Sanlúcar: local knowledge, time and the pleasure of a pause.