La Vida Alcalaína

Alcalá's annual music festival takes place slightly earlier this year, with the first event on 31 July.  All events start at 10 p.m. and are free unless otherwise stated. Tuesday 31 July, in the castle: Family event with story-telling accompanied by classical music. Wednesday 1 August in the Plaza Alta:  Candle-lit flamenco spectacle with guitarist José Carlos Gómez . Thursday 2 August in the castle: literary readings from members of the public, with a performance by singer-songwriter Juan Luis Pineda. [NOW IN SAFA PATIO BECAUSE OF THE WIND] Friday 3 August in the patio of SAFA (off Plaza Alta): Classical/flamenco pianist Dorantes.   Tickets available at the door: €15 seated, €10 standing. Saturday 4 August, Plaza Alta: Flamenco gala with singer Rancapino Chico  and friends. Sunday 5 August, SAFA patio: Classical concert with a  10-piece orchestra from Seville , including Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  Admission €5 on the door.

Alcalá is mourning the death on 3 July of historian Carlos Perales, who dedicated his life’s work to to uncovering the truth about events in and around Alcalá during the Civil War and under the Franco dictatorship, long concealed under Spain's Pacto de Olvido ( Pact of Forgetting ). Carlos died on 3 July, shortly after falling victim to an aggressive cancer.  He was the brother of one of the leaders of the re-emergence of socialism in the province after Franco’s death, the politician Alfonso Perales (who also died prematurely of cancer, in 2006), and was President of the foundation formed in his brother’s honour. He himself was a life-long socialist, joining the PSOE in 1976 as soon as it became legal again after Franco's death. He leaves a wife, two children and numerous other relatives, many of whom live and work in the town. Carlos was born in Alcalá in 1958, and studied Modern & Contemporary History at the University of Cádiz.  Until 1999 he taught at the Valc