Old meets new in Calabardina, Murcia, continued

Aguilas - The Crosses of May.

Welcome. This post is about a fiesta in Calabardina and follows on from my last post.( If you would like to read that one first just scroll further down the page).

Having encountered assorted divers on the jetty, the statue of the Virgin was carried up and down two or three streets to the accompaniment of a band. Some houses had decorated crosses hung up outside.

There was a competition for the best decorated cross and these were displayed under the awning in the street.I think they deserved a better background..




Whilst walking around we encountered some of our neighbours - cue an impromptu chance to practice our Spanish above the noise of the band whilst walking in a throng of people. After this we decided we needed to recuperate and went for a cup of tea, (well, we are English), and then to join everyone else on the beach.




Something that hasn't changed here is the importance of the family. Most outings and events seem to involve a minimum of ten people. In many households extended families of between eight and twenty people will all lunch together every Sunday. On birthdays and other celebrations it's obligatory to invite the entire family. May is the month for first communions and weddings. Many of our Spanish friends have been to events involving two or three hundred members of the family for three week-ends in a row during this month.



On the beach, as elsewhere, Spanish people like to be close. They are exceptionally friendly to everyone and the concept of having your own space simply doesn't exist!

We'd read on a poster that we'd be able to buy a portion of paella at around two thirty so we went along.When we arrived at three p.m. it was (to our astonishmen) in full swing. (Normally everything is at least half an hour later than announced.)
This photo shows everyone under the awning in the middle of the street - a little like the recent Jubilee celebrations in Britain, but without the obligatory British weather!

They seemed to have done enough for everyone!  

                                                                                                                                                                                            


It tasted delicious, and at three Euros a portion (about £2.75) this particular Brit thought it was great value.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog. I love getting your feedback especially from other countries such as Germany, France and the USA as well as Spain and England. If you have any comments please send them to me at: writerinaguilas@gmail.com
Espero que has gustado este blog. Me gusta mucho tener los pensamientos de gente en otros paises, como Espana, Alemania, Francia y Los Estados Unidos.  Si tienes algunas pensamientos sobre el 'blog' escribes a  writerinaguilas@gmail.com
                                                                                                                                                                                                   One reader in Spain who enjoyed my post about the production of Esparto, (2/6/12 -scroll down to view this), sent me these photos showing two men demonstrating the craft in the museum in Cieza, Spain.

The next post will be in a fortnights time on the 15th. of July.Thanks for your company, Cathy.

Old meets new in Calabardina, Murcia, Spain.

Welcome to this week's post. This part of Spain is still  a fascinating blend of the traditional and modern way of life. During the years under Franco, (1936-1975) contraception, divorce, abortion and homosexuality were illegal and women were not even allowed to work without the written permission of their husbands. Now all of this has changed; divorce, abortion and gay marriage have all been legalised. (Although the current right wing government is trying to repeal the latter).

Most Spanish people in my experience welcome these changes, but of course (as in every country) one never knows how much is hidden. We were once with two older Spanish chaps when a dreadful comedy programme with a man in drag came on. One of the two muttered, "In Franco's time this would never have been permitted," whilst the other laughingly made a throat cutting gesture.

Calabardina is a small holiday resort close to Aguilas. Recently there was a local bank holiday week-end in celebration of the Crosses' of May and Carmen, the Virgin of the sea.




 On Friday a street was closed off and a large awning erected. On Saturday evening from ten p.m. there was to be music and dancing and free sardines to eat. A chiringuito  appeared-a  snack bar selling hot chocolate and churros (a delicious and horrendously fattening deep fried pancake with sugar.)





Some men had previously arrived in a van and erected this extra-terrestial saucer on the nearby waste ground.







On the Sunday morning we found a cross and small statue of the virgin being carried along the road towards the jetty. It was accompanied by the 'faithful' (mostly old), the obligatory marching band (mostly young) and a motley crew of onlookers (including ourselves and a lady in traditional dress.)

At the end of the jetty thirty or so people were about to go on a diving expedition. Dressed in wet suits they were lugging oxygen cylinders around and resembled huge black beetles.

                                        The church group were in their Sunday Best.

The band played on.

The two groups met in the middle. The divers in their suits and the faithful carrying the Virgin. The divers, (depending on their nationality) either continued with their preparations or just stood open-mouthed. The church group simply turned around to return back along the jetty.

Many others (mostly Spanish) were happily enjoying the unusually hot weather. They swam, sunbathed or chatted on the beach seemingly oblivious of the scene just a few yards away.

In my next post we look around here a little more and find out what went in that saucer!

If you would like to leave a comment on this page, I'm told that it is easier if you 'un tick' - 'Remember my password'. Otherwise I would be really pleased to receive any comments at my Email address : writerinaguilas@gmail.com 

I do hope that you join me again in a fortnights time on or after the 1st of July. Please forward my blog address to any of your friends who you think might enjoy it, Cathy.

El esparto - The grass

Welcome to this week's post. I thought I'd tell you about an ancient craft that's dying out in Murcia. We were intrigued to find several place-names here contain the word 'esparto.'

On looking this up in our much thumbed dictionary it only said, 'grass'. However we've learnt that el esparto, has a long and interesting history. The esparto is a sturdy grass that grows in the hills and all along the coast of Murcia. Along with fishing it was the chief source of income in this region up until the middle of the last century.

The esparto was cut down by hand and hauled by horse and cart to one of the local bays known as cocedores - cookers. In these bays small circular stone walls were built up in the water to form a zone where the people could work. The esparto was first immersed in the water to soften it, it was then raked and fanned out before being made into reels. It must have been hard back-breaking work getting it in and out of the cart and then lugging it into the water. Cold and tough on the hands in the winter and hot heavy work in the summer.

(Nowadays these areas, protected from the rest of the sea are perfect for children to play in, and being that little bit warmer are also good for ageing Brits to paddle in !)

The esparto was then taken by horse and cart to one of the twenty factories in the area to be made into rope.This in turn was used to make any number of things but in particular the rope soled sandals - alpargatas. (Some of us may remember them from the seventies, when I seem to recall them being called espadrilles).

An article in a local book  (Junto del mar, by Ramon Jimenez Madrid) details that this was also immensely hard and dangerous work. In the factories women sometimes had their hands or fingers crushed by heavy mallets. He also states that with the introduction of plastic and the demise of the industry many of these factories were deliberately set alight for the insurance money.
There still exist a small number of men working the esparto by hand. You can meet one or two of them and purchase articles at the Saturday market in Aguilas.  

I met this chap at a very English garden party in the mountains near Mazarron. He was plaiting the esparto in much the same way that we would plait hair. It would then be glued onto the soles of the sandals. He'd worked the esparto since he was a boy, and his father and grandfather before him. He had various objects on display: sandals, a wine/olive container, a massive basket to keep bread fresh, two large containers to transport goods on a donkey or mule and, (I did struggle to translate this) a container to put a ferret in, to attract rabbits when out hunting!

Incidentally the garden party was to raise money for a charity for cancer relief. We don't know many English people here, so it was a surreal experience to be in the middle of the mountains with about a hundred other Brits.

We had tea and cakes, a raffle, various traditional English fete type games and a rendition of songs from the musical Oliver! (As you can see from the photo this was about a month ago and the weather was more typical of English fete weather than Spanish weather - although it didn't rain.)

The couple who live here speak Spanish and are integrated into the Spanish community, but many Brits live in totally British enclaves.Some spend twenty or thirty years here without being able to speak a word of Spanish.They have British plumbers, electricians, solicitors, taxis, pubs and social clubs. And of course they can easily obtain fish and chips and a full English breakfast (not necessarily at the same time.) When we ask our Spanish friends how they feel about this they are always very polite but I suspects that they don't like it. I don't think we British would do either, but they tolerate it as they are naturally welcoming and having foreigners here is a major source of income, especially during the current crisis.

Next post - Old meets new in Calabardina, Murcia. Why has this extra-terrestrial saucer landed ?

If you have any comments on this blog I'd love to hear from you. It is (apparently) easier to comment on this page if you don't tick 'remember my password.' If you struggle as I do with technology just email me at : writerinaguilas@gmail.com
Please pass on the blog address to any of your friends who might be interested. I look forward to your company in a fortnight's time, on or after the 17th of June, Cathy.