La Vida Alcalaína

  The old town hall on the Plaza Alta Visitors to Alcalá will not immediately recognise this little white village as a city, but in fact it has had city status since 1876. This year celebrates the 150th anniversary of its change in status from Villa to Ciudad, and the alcalaínos have been celebrating. Some historical background During the decade leading up to 1876 Spain had experienced considerable political turmoil. In 1868 there was a revolution against Queen Isabel II, who was deeply unpopular. Known as "La Gloriosa", the revolt was led by two former army generals, Juan Prim and Francisco Serrano. It started with a naval mutiny in Cádiz, and following her defeat at the Battle of Alcolea, near Cordoba, Isabel fled to France. Serrano became president of a new Provisional Government but this was doomed to failure as it was comprised of a mishmash of Liberals, Moderates and Republicans with nothing in common except a desire to get rid of Isabel. They did however manage to dra...

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...

An American gentleman penned these lines during a recent stay in Alcalá de los Gazules, and has kindly allowed me to share them with you. Gazpacho The social climbers won't leave simple fare alone; have somehow to corrupt and claim it as their own, endow it with Privilege and Prestige, attempt to slide it out of reach. They've taken guacamole, dead easy and good (ripe avocado, chopped onion, squeeze lemon, dash salt, mash with fork) to come up with versions that hinge on this or that: a blender, paprika, sour cream, capers... till fancy and high-strung, it's no longer for just anyone. They've done all they can to appropriate gazpacho. The next time you pay through the nose for a bowl, take time to reflect that as good a gazpacho's as ever been made happened 80 years back at a camp in the cork oak-forested hills northwest of Algeciras where a crew of corcheros weeks absent from home soaked their leftover bread in a basin with water, added garlic, olive oil, salt. Wh...

Now and again you come across people who spend their lives fighting for magnificent but futile causes, and their names fade from the pages of history. Salvochea was one of those. He was committed to social justice for the labouring classes at a time when they had few rights and no political voice. The 19th century in Spain was marked by conflict between conservatives who supported the status quo, where the monarchy and the Catholic Church had absolute power, and liberals who wanted reform and a voice for the emerging middle class. Those at the bottom of the pile were largely ignored by both parties. Salvochea began by believing that social change could come through the existing political system, but towards the end of the century when the poor were still dying of hunger he changed tack and supported the anarchist idea that workers must take matters into their own hands and bring about change by whatever means were available to them. He died a frustrated and disillusioned man, his ...

Now and again you run into people who help restore your faith in humanity with their quiet dedication to making the world a better place.  Salustiano Gutierrez, who succumbed to cancer last Saturday aged just 58, was one of those people. Born and raised in Granada, Salus came to the nearby town of Benalup-Casas Viejas in 1992 to teach at the new secondary school. He hadn't intended to stay long but soon became deeply involved with the town and its people. He was inspired by the American social anthropologist Jerome Mintz, who lived in the town for several years in the 1960s and 70s, studying the minutiae of daily life in Benalup and the surrounding villages. Salus took up the baton and continued researching the town's history and culture.  He published his findings on a blog which he set up in 2007, Desde la historia de Casas Viejas .  The blog also includes many photos and film clips made by Mintz which give a unique insight into the daily life of past decades. Sal...

I'm delighted to announce that the book I've been working on for the past year,  Winds of Change: Alcalá de los Gazules in the 20th Century,  is now available worldwide on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format, price £5 and £8.50 respectively (if you are in the UK, or the equivalent in other currencies elsewhere).  Any profits will go to the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) in Spain to help run food banks for people who don't have enough to eat.  As with all the historical material on this blog, I have not done original research myself but instead translated the works of real historians who have slogged through dusty archives to bring the past to life.  Until now none of their work has been available in English; my aim in publishing this book is to make the fascinating history of the pueblo during that turbulent century available to a wider audience.   Click here  to read the full description,  download a sample, or buy a copy.  Thanks!...

In the brutal suppression of civilians that followed the Nationalist uprising in July 1936, women were not spared.  It was enough simply to be related to a Republican sympathiser.  This is the story of an incredibly courageous Alcalá woman who saw her family members gunned down by firing squad and who only survived by the skin of her teeth.  It was written by her granddaughter, Juana María Malia Vera, and published in Apuntes Históricos de Alcalá de los Gazules 2006 .  The original is also available on the blog  Historia de Alcalá de los Gazules . My grandmother Francisca was born in Alcalá in August 1910 to Francisca Torres Amador and Antonio Pizarro Álvarez.  She had three brothers, José, Antonio and Francisco, and one sister, Maria.  Her mother died when Francisca was only nine years old, leaving her in charge of the household and her four siblings.  The youngest, Maria, was only two.  At that point she started to wear blac...