La Vida Alcalaína

This year has seen the adoption of two new hijos predilectos (favourite sons) by the town of Alcalá de los Gazules - one long dead and one very much alive. The former is Diego Ángel de Viera , the priest who gave up his worldly goods to set up the charitable institution known as the Beaterio  in 1788.  There are various  actos de homenage  at the Beaterio throughout the year, including a musical evening on 6 July and an exhibition on 9-11 August. The latter is the prolific artist, sculptor and writer  Jesús Cuesta Arana , who lives and works in the town and is very much a part of its cultural character. His wife Isabel taught for many years at the local secondary school, and they have recently become grandparents.  Cuesta Arana has been described as a modern-day "Renaissance man".  Ever on a quest for new projects, he has recently taken up jewellery designing and engraving. Cuesta Arana's paintings are full of life and colour, magic and myst...

Zahara de la Sierra Last Sunday we visited Zahara de la Sierra, a  pueblo blanco in the Sierra de Grazelema, the mountainous northern part of the Province of Cádiz.  We went with members of El Pavo Trotón , a group based in Alcalá which organises regular excursions.  The journey took about an hour and a half, passing through some stunning scenery. Our trip coincided with the religious festival of Corpus Christi .  Zahara's celebrations, which originated in the 15th century, are famed throughout Spain and have been declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional .  The locals get up early to harvest esparto grass, rushes and oleander from the surrounding countryside, and use them to line the narrow streets and alleyways, which are then decorated with flowers, and embroidered sheets are hung from the first-floor windows. Church of Santa Maria de la Mesa At 11 a.m. there is a Mass in the church, and then the symbolic body of Christ is borne b...