La Vida Alcalaína

This is an abridged translation of an article about the speciality breads made in Alcalá, published in Cosas de Comé - La revista gastronomica de la Provincia de Cádiz . The traditional breads of Alcalá de los Gazules, especially the  pan cateto  [a chewy rustic bread with a thick crust] and the  molletes de matalauva [soft rolls flavoured with aniseed] have such a good reputation that they are now made at five bakeries in the area:  the Horno de Cuesta, Horno de Luna, Venta Patrite, Venta del Puerto de la Pará, and most recently, Gonzalo. Freshly baked pan cateto - the rustic bread of Alcalá Catalina Herrera explains it clearly: "I make the bread by punching it".  Her family, from the Venta Patrite   [next to the camp-site ], still knead the dough by hand.  Out there in the countryside, bread-making machinery hasn't yet arrived.  The "punching" is no exaggeration for this 78-year-old woman, who is one of those open books which exist in the Province a

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of  Naval Station Rota , the largest American military community in Spain.  It is located just fifty miles northwest of Alcalá, on the Atlantic coast to the west of El Puerto de Santa Maria. Surrounded by a 26 km security fence, the base covers 2,300 hectares (6,100 acres) and has its own airfield and seaport.  There are no public roads going through it, and best view is from the ferry from Cádiz which goes to the actual town of Rota. The base is home to over 20,000 people, including 9,000 Spanish and 2,000 US military personnel (Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force), together with their families, and around 1,500 civilian employees.  It is completely self-contained with its own shops, bars, schools, medical and leisure facilities, though the neighbouring towns with their fabulous beaches offer an escape for those who prefer to take their R&R away from the base.  It is a popular "layover" destination  for US servicemen, espec