La Vida Alcalaína

This post is an abridged translation of an article by Gabriel Almagro published in  El Alcornocal , our local paper.  You can read the complete article in Spanish here . The War of Independence in Alcalá de los Gazules, 1808-1813 In the build-up to the celebrations for the bicentenary of the  1812 Constitution , this is a good time to examine life in Alcalá de los Gazules during the years of French rule.  Knowledge of the events which took place here helps bring us closer to the actions of our ancestors who risked their lives fighting the French invaders, preparing the ground for the writing of the Constitution which formed the basis of a new era in Spain's history. The French invasion began in the summer of 1808, when the Spanish people took up arms against the appointment by the Emperor Napoleon of his brother Joseph   Bonaparte as King of Spain, following the  abdication of the Bourbons in Bayona.  Napoleon hoped to suppress the uprising by sendin...

The average Spaniard eats 15% more fruit and vegetables (excluding potatoes) than the average resident of the UK. But whereas 7% of Brits declare themselves to be vegetarian, only 0.5% of Spaniards do (4 million people compared to just 200,000). So it is perhaps not surprising that vegetarian visitors to Spain (let's call them VVs) often have difficulty when eating out, especially away from the big cities.  There are a few specialist vegetarian cafes in places which have a lot of overseas visitors or residents, usually run by foreigners, but your average Spaniard definitely prefers a bit of meat or fish with his or her daily 400g of vegetable matter. The following scenario is common: the VV goes into a restaurant and asks for something with no meat in it. A vegetable stew is recommended - traditional Andalusian berza . When it arrives, nestling amongst the chickpeas and cabbage is a small lump of fatty bacon. The VV complains.  The waiter is perplexed.  "¡Eso no es c...

The Costa de la Luz, or "Coast of Light", boasts some of the finest beaches and nature reserves in Europe.  It stretches for over 200 miles from Ayamonte on the Portuguese border to Tarifa, the southernmost point of mainland Europe.  It faces onto the Atlantic ocean; head due west and eventually you will pitch up in West Virginia. With its wide, windswept beaches of golden sand, and those great rolling waves beloved of surfers, it has a completely different character from the crowded and tideless  costas  of Mediterranean Spain. Within an hour or so´s drive of Alcalá you can reach all the Costa de la Luz beaches that fall within the Province of Cádiz: Sanlúcar de la Barrameda ' s beach is on the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir, one of Spain´s longest rivers and the border between the Provinces of Cádiz and Huelva.  Its waterfront restaurants are famous for langostinos and the driest of all dry sherries, manzanilla - a combination almost as magical as eggs an...

Every Spanish town and village has its own local version of the Virgin Mary; ours is  Nuestra Señora de los Santos,  Our Lady of the Saints.  They are represented by luxuriously dressed statues, wearing a crown of stars, and occupying pride of place in the local church.  They are often named after the location of an apparition, such as  Nuestra Señora del Pilar who appeared on a marble pillar in Zaragosa, or a desirable quality, such as Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Mercy).   Nuestra Señora del Carmen , patroness of the Carmelite order, is especially popular amongst fishermen and seafarers. ROMERÍA Sanctuaries and shrines dedicated to Our Lady can be found all over Spain, and pilgrimages to these places, which are known as romerías , are typified by a festive atmosphere, in total contrast to the solemn parades of Semana Santa (Easter Week) with their penitents in pointy hats. Alcalá is currently in the middle of a series of events dedica...

Doma Vaquera is a style of horseriding which enables the rider to carry out daily duties on horseback on a working cattle farm. It was developed out of the use of the horse for handling the fighting bulls of Spain and grew out of decades of daily work with them in the open countryside.  The style of riding, tack, dress and discipline of the working horses evolved into a competitive event, which has followers all over the world.   Around Alcalá these techniques are still used on working farms and it is not unusual to see horsemen rounding up cattle in the fields, sometimes carrying garrochas , three-metre poles which are used  instead of ropes or lassoes  to control the animals. In the video below, recorded last night at a doma vaquera contest in Alcal á, the horseman is on foot and controls the horse using  riendas largas , or long reins.   The soundtrack is the theme from The Last of the Mohicans; this was actually used in the contest, but becau...

The town is in a complete tizzy at the moment.  Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, or Alejandro Sanz as he is better known, is giving a concert on Saturday at the football ground, as part of his latest tour.  It is generating almost as much excitement as the Pope´s visit to Santiago later this year.  Eight thousand tickets have been sold, and every hotel room and holiday let for miles around has been booked.  The Mayor has assured us that there will be parking for 4000 vehicles, and 150 people have been conscripted to undertake security and traffic management.   Special events are being laid on to entertain the crowds over the rest of the weekend, including a horse-riding display, an art exhibition and a medieval market.  The bars and restaurants are looking forward to a windfall weekend to make up for the fall in tourist numbers caused by the recession. Not being a great fan of pop music, I had never heard of this fellow before I moved here, but he is definitely...