La Vida Alcalaína

This is a translation of the results of detailed research into Alcalá's municipal archives by historian Ismael Almagro Montes de Oca and his colleagues, on events which took place here during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39.  The original articles, in Spanish, can be found on the blog Historia de Alcalá de los Gazules: La Historia Silenciada I La Historia Silenciada II Summary:   Although there were no battle-fronts near Alcalá during the Civil War, the overnight regime change in the government of the town immiediately after Franco's military coup affected everyone's lives.  The elected representatives and civil servants who supported the Republic were quickly replaced with Falangist sympathisers, and many were imprisoned or executed, along with other prominent Republicans. Streets were renamed after Francoist generals. Rights and freedoms were curtailed and private property was confiscated, often to the financial benefit of the new regime.  All forms of protest,...

Local artist Alfonso Jiménez Barrera will be exhibiting some of his paintings at the Santo Domingo cultural centre this coming week.  Visitors to the flamenco bar on the Plaza Alta will already by familiar with his signature work, a stunning townscape of Alcalá, painted in photographic detail, which hangs in the dining area. The exhibition is organised by the alumni association of the Sagrada Familia school (SAFA), and is open from 8 pm starting Saturday 11 August. Born in Alcalá de los Gazules in 1959, Alfonso has always been interested in the arts, especially painting and drawing.  Over the past few years he has dedicated himself full-time to his artistic works, and is well on the way to making a name for himself across Spain, winning various awards and participating in exhibitions in Barcelona and Madrid. Alfonso is self-taught, and is now passing on his techniques to local adults and children in classes held his own workshop.  His skill and patience as a teac...

Alcalá has made news this week by submitting a formal request to the Louvre museum in Paris for the return of the Lascut Bronze , an ancient Roman relic discovered here in 1866. The tiny bronze tablet was sold to the Louvre in 1868 by a Polish engineer, who had acquired it for next to nothing from some local labourers who found it on some land just outside the town, an ancient settlement known as la Mesa de Esparragal (or so the story goes). Dating from 189 BC, it is one of the first Latin inscriptions to be discovered on the Iberian peninsula, freeing the inhabitants of Lascuta from servitude as a gesture of gratitude for their assistance in crushing a rebellion in Astia Regia, near what is now Jerez. The first attempt by the Alcalá administration to retrieve its treasure took place in the 1980s, when local councillor Gabriel Almagro wrote to the Louvre.  They didn't refuse outright, but said there was no way they could comply at that time.  They offered instead ano...