La Vida Alcalaína

 ... No, our provincial capital hasn't turned into Magaluf. We're talking about 1625, when Spain and England were at war over something or other. (If you really want to know see  Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630 .) George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and Lord High Admiral, wanted to destroy Spain's economy by raiding ships laden with gold and silver from the Americas and taking over the port towns such as Cadiz. Around a hundred ships and 15,000 men were readied for the Cadiz Expedition, led by Sir Edward Cecil - a proven soldier but with no experience of naval warfare. They left Plymouth on 6 October 1625 but bad weather in the Bay of Biscay caused delays and damaged many ships. By the time they reached Cadiz they had nearly run out of supplies.  Cecil was surprised by how well the city was fortified (after the English pirate Francis Drake "singed the King of Spain's beard" there in 1587, and Anglo-Dutch forces burned the city to the ground in 1596, the gaditanos...

Christmas in the pueblo is very different to what I remember about Christmas in England. It's about family, primarily, but the Nativity itself isn't forgotten. There isn't the same orgy of consumerism beginning in September, as most people don't start shopping until well into December.  Although Papa Noel is a bigger presence than he was twenty years ago, it's the three wise men, los Reyes, who bring the main gifts on 5 January. People gather in the street for zambombas, meeting old friends who have come home for Christmas and enjoying flamenco carols you can sing along with and dance to. The stress of one person cooking a meal for twelve people on the Big Day making sure everything is hot at the same time just doesn't happen, because different family members bring contributions to the Nochebuena and Nochevieja dinners, which take three hours to eat rather than twenty minutes - then after midnight the younger generation heads for a big party organised by the tow...

Last weekend, over two glorious sunny days and one wet one, Alcalá hosted the fourth  Feria del Mundo Rural y la Caza  with a range of activities, exhibitions and retail opportunities celebrating rural crafts and traditions.  Here are some of them - sadly I didn't get a decent photo of the catapulting competition and the mule-loading demonstration scheduled for Sunday morning was rained off, but there will be another opportunity no doubt. Payoyo goats, perfect for turning weeds into cheese Merino sheep from Grazalema, famous for their fine wool Demonstration of chair-making by Asociación Jacaranda How to cook the pig you've just slaughtered Products made from esparto grass Alcalá's famous rustic bread, baked in wood-fired ovens Hunting knives with handles made from antlers Souvenirs made from cork (but sadly not made here) Costume for a country lady Accessories for the country gentleman                         ...

Many years ago I read a book called "The Anarchists of Casas Viejas" by an American anthropologist called Jerome Mintz.  Casas Viejas was the old name for Benalup-Casas Viejas, about 15 km from Alcalá. Back in 1933 it was the scene of an event which shook the nation to the core and helped bring down the socialist government of the Second Republic. One of the key figures in that event was a young woman who went by the name "Libertaria", which piqued my romantic imagination. I vowed to find out more about her and one day write her story.  It's taken a while, but the book is now out and is available  on Amazon  worldwide, in paperback or Kindle format, at giveaway prices. The introduction to the book is reproduced below. Subsequent chapters cover the evolution of anarcho-syndicalism (also known as libertarian communism) in the area and why it was so attractive to men who could barely get enough work to feed their families; a detailed look at the events of January 1...

Alcalá has just been voted the most magical town in Andalucía (of course some of us have always known that, but now it's official).  There is no doubt that the number of visitors has increased dramatically over the last few years, especially since the Covid pandemic as more people opt for self-catering holidays in the countryside rather than crowded beach hotels. (They are easy to spot, wearing shorts in November and frowning at their phones trying to work out in which of the narrow backstreets their accommodation is.) The number of self-catering holiday lets in Alcalá has gone from two or three pre-Covid to over thirty today, as enterprising young people convert their late grandparents' abandoned dwellings into sparkling new air-conditioned apartments with fitted kitchens, hot-tubs and Ikea's finest wall art (see a list of them  here ). Of course, it's great to see semi-derelict properties restored and it provides work for local builders, but one can't help wonderi...