CView January 23 2014

January 23, 2014

WALKS IN HISTORY: La Calle Calvario Story & photos by José Antonio Pilares.

Houses built on top of the old cementery

W

henever one decides to walk from the Rota Gate to downtown Rota one can choose one of two possible ways. On the right there is the Avenida de San Fernando, which became the town's “red-light-district” in the heyday of the Cold War when American presence in Rota was much larger. On the left is another street.This one has the small-town taste to it that invites us to calmly stroll downhill until reaching the town centre. La Calle Calvario.

This street was for a time Rota's main entrance as the roads from Jerez and El Puerto ended here. The town's cemetery, granary and only gas-station were here and the train station was nearby too. It 's hard to imagine today how busy it must have been a hundred years ago... but we are going to try.

We will begin our walk in the lower part of the street. Here we have a small plaza at the end of Calle Veracruz -Rota's old “high street”- where the old gas station stood not that long ago, and nearby is the beautiful Plaza de Pio XII -better known as the Sagrado Corazón for the statue of said image of Christ on a large pillar-. Until 1747 this was the end of town, but the town was ripe for expansion.

The economy was booming thanks to overseas trade and the population was growing.

People began to build new houses on the road to Jerez, moving uphill. These houses have a curiosity. Most of them used to be not just housing, but profited from the extra space to house warehouses or workshops of all kinds. Also most houses had two gates, one on Calle Calvario and another on the back, to the fields beyond. In the between them a long winding patio, usually with a well, connected both entrances and all the rooms in the house. Some of these old houses are lost today, but a many still are inhabited with their beautiful patios full of flowers and glazed tiles. If you ask nicely to the people living there (or just smile and show them the camera if

you don't speak much Spanish!) they will gladly let you in to show you... and tell you all about it.

As we move uphill, we begin to consider...“why the name?”.“Calvario” is the Latin name for the Golgotha, that is the place where Christ was crucified. The reason behind this macabre name for the street is that it used to be the route where a Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross, was carried out . A Via Crucis is a tradition of some Christian denominations, but especially Catholicism, the object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. Well, Rota's Via Crucis had several stops starting at the Iglesia de la O and ending at the top of the hill, that is why this hill -and later the street- received the name Calvario.

About halfway up the street we reach a large building with a sandstone façade on the left. Today it is the parish church of El Carmen, but it has a more curious origin. It was originally built in the late 1700's to serve as a granary to store the Church's tithe. The tithe was a tax on 10% of all farm produce shared by the Church and the Crown.All commoners had to pay it, and to store it granaries were built where necessary; because these granaries were referred to as “Cillas” this building received the name “Casa de la Cilla”. By 1833, Church lands in Spain were not only ubiquitous but also unproductive.The new liberal government nationalised Church property to resell it to investors.

The Manzanero family bought the Casa de la Cilla and used it as a factory for ropes, wines and tomato preserves, as well as as a store for the next hundred and thirty years. In 1963 it was sold again to the Church for the laughable amount of 500.000 pesetas (165,28 euros in today's money) with the condition that it be used sorely for parish purposes. In 1969 a new modern church was

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Iglesia del Carmen built in the rear of the building, albeit destroying part of the original patio.

If you enter the church, the first thing that comes to one's mind is “this is not a church”. One walks into a pleasant patio with columns and arches, similar to a cloister, but full of pots with flowers. There are still traces of the primitive use of the building on the doors on each wing of the cloister.These doors have two azulejos that read “Vanda de Sanlucar” and”Vanda de El Puerto”, meaning Sanlucar wing and El Puerto wing. In each of these sides the produce of the tithe of each city was kept in storage.

If we move along to the end of the cloister we enter the church itself. Possibly, the most characteristic thing here is the simplicity of the design; it is a chamber church -much alike a theatre- that spreads out the faithful in a fan around the altar, rather that in a straight line like in regular temples.

To exit the building we must again cross the patio, and probably we will realise that it is indeed a very busy place! Many associations and brotherhoods have their offices here, so there is always something going on with Caritas, the brotherhood of El Rocio...

When we step out into the street we turn left again to continue uphill, but soon we can cross the street to visit a small plaza. It has just a small iron forged cross on a pedestal.This is the Cruz del Calvario; the last station of the cross of the Via Crucis we talked earlier.Today it isn't much of a square as the palm trees that used to beautify it have been eaten away by an invasive species -the red palm weevil- but just five years ago this little place was enchanting.

A little known fact is that behind this small cross used to be the now lost chapel of El Calvario and the town's cemetery! It existed from 1644 to 1941 when the graves were moved to the new cemetery -where now stands the Parque del Mayeto- and in 1949 it was erased from existence. Cheap

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housing was needed for all the people that began to move into town after the Spanish Civil war (1936-1939) and someone had the brilliant idea of building it on top of the cemetery... talk about horror movies! Well, weird things DID happen at least in one of those houses. There is a small azulejo next to the door of one of these houses that states that there was in it an apparition of the Virgin Mary, and the tenant of the house was cured from paralysis by Her!

Let's continue uphill, we are almost at the Base now. Just across the street for these houses used to be Rota's own bullring.

It was used until 1952 when it collapsed under the weigh of all the “aficionados” that went there to see the bullfighter Paquito Casado.

According to Rota historian Prudente Arjona, whom was present that day, the bullring just collapsed outwards (not on itself) because of the poor quality of the materials. Nobody was hurt because of the way in which the building fell apart, which must have been somewhat funny to witness.

Finally, we reach the top of calle Calvario at Plaza del Triunfo, where a large statue of Our Lady of the Rosary welcomes all that enter Rota from the old road to Jerez, which today is the “Rota Gate”. Had the Base never been built, probably la Calle Calvario would have continued due north becoming Rota's main street. However, maybe it is for the better that it has remained as it is: quieter and with a small-town feel to it. zA street with hidden stories for anyone to try and uncover.

Erratum. In last week's article about the toponymy of Cádiz province it said that the Greek name for Cádiz was “ta Sidearm”.The spellchecker must have played a trick on us! The correct Greek form of the name was ta Gádeira; ta Gádeira.

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January 23, 2014

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January 23, 2014

A British Expatriate s Perspective on Living in Spain (This article was compiled from posts found at the following website: www.scribblerinseville.com The author, Ms. Fiona Flores Watson, is originally from England and now lives in Seville, Spain, with her Spanish husband and two children. This compilation of posts, from her blog, is provided with Ms. Watson´s gracious permission and provides a very interesting, and often humorous, perspective on living in Spain.)

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ne of the things that always astonishes – and depresses – me about long-term expats here in Spain is how many of them have a grasp of the Spanish language somewhere between weak and non-existent.

This might be because they haven’t been here long, or only stay for short periods, or because they’re studying but are finding it a struggle.

But there are plenty who just never bother, aren’t interested, because they live in an expat ghetto and only ever interact with other English people – at the pub, restaurant, cafe, or social occasions.

What’s the point of living in a country if you can’t interact with its natives? I guess it’s a matter of personal taste, but that was never the expat experience I was after.

While I can’t boast a huge army of Spanish bosom buddies with whom (on whom?) to practice, and thereby improve and expand, my linguistic skills, my Spanish is decent; my accent, however, is not. When I first arrived, I already had a reasonable level; however, that didn’t stop me from getting in a pickle, and making an arse of myself on regular occasions.

Here are some of the stupid mistakes I made early on in my nine years here in Seville, which I hope will serve to a) entertain, and b) inform.

Some are similar words which are easily confused, while others are so-called “false friends” – misleading words which resemble those of another language – in this case, English – while having a different meaning. They hold out the hand of friendship to you, and then cruelly snatch it away, laughing at your pain and confusion.

For many years, I was confused by the idea of a control on the motorway – how can they control my car? Using some scary super-high-tech remote sensor? But no – it’s a check, as in speed/alcohol motorway check.

As many women will have found out to their cost, embarazada does not mean doing something a bit silly which makes you blush; it means being pregnant. I also found it illogical (captain) and deeply muddling that subir means to go up, when sub is down – submarine, submerge, subnormal It’s also muddling that esperar means hope, wait and expect – that’s a fairly broad net to be spreading. “I´m hoping to see you,”, “I’m waiting to see you”, and “I’m expecting to see you” – think of the room for misunderstanding.

I used to regularly order “un vaso de agua de grifa” – “a glass of tap water”, while my now-husband died quietly of embarrassment.

Grifa=marijuana cigarette, grifo=tap.

Spanish expressions have caught my attention over the years. As a writer, translator, sometime English teacher and language graduate, I am always

fascinated by the use of the Spanish language - I think stretching that part of my brain was one of the main reasons I moved abroad in the first place.

“Que calor!/Que frio!”(It’s so hot! It’s so cold!)

Spain is a land of extremes – that’s one of the things I love about it.

Everything is black or white – the opposing emotions of grief and joy, as expressed in that most Andalusian of art forms, flamenco.

The full-on all-night partying at the Feria, in the midst of the worst financial situation the world has ever experienced. As the saying goes (can you tell I love sayings?), they don’t do things by halves.

The same is true for the weather – in November, as soon as the temperature drops below 10 degrees, it’s all “Ay! Que frio!” and on with the Boots.

In April, as the skies clear to their gorgeous rich blue, the sun regains its full force, and you bare your arms for the first time in months (yes, nonSpain dwellers, we do wear more than one layer for part of the year), people cry in anguish, wiping their brows as if they’ve just arrived from Siberia and are totally unaccustomed to sweating at 9.30 in the morning.

Not as if they’re Andalusians who have lived here all their lives, as most have.

No one (except me) ever says “Que buena temperatura!” – what a lovely temperature! God, I’m so English, aren’t I? “Pero jamon no es carne” (But jamon isn’t meat) As any vegetarian who has been presented with a salad delicately sprinkled with little chunks of cured pig will know, jamon iberico is not considered within the earthly realms of meat in Spain (and even less so here, where we’re pig-snuffling distance from the Sierra de Huelva), and therefore is not described as such.

Its provenance is more celestial, and it cannot be qualified or categorized alongside mere mortal iberico (prime pork) products such as salchichon or chorizo.

It is, quite simply, on a higher plane, and an unquestionably essential element of life. And, it seems, of salads, soups, and other dishes described on menus as being “vegetarian”. The fact that we might not want it doesn’t seem to occur to them – why on earth wouldn’t we?

(My carnivorous friends wax lyrical about its tender texture and sweet, nutty flavour, plus its super-healthy oleic acid content.) When you tell Spanish people you’re a vegetarian, you have to spell it out, very carefully and precisely, that this means you don’t eat chicken or jamon either.

“WHAT?” they exclaim. “You don’t eat JAMON? You mean you’ve never even TRIED it?”

The outrage is palpable – you’re clearly causing offence by disrespecting their hallowed ham. It’s like telling an English person you don’t like football, or the Queen. The look of bemused astonishment, the head scratching. How can this be possible? Yes, sir, I do not eat ham. I do not like it (Sam I am).

The moral of the story is: vegetarians, if you don’t want jamon - on any of your dishes – be sure to tell your waiter firmly: “sin jamon, por favor”.

So there you have it – another over-generalized view from a foreigner who calls Spain their home. It’s a frustrating country in many ways, but I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Please remember that I AM ENGLISH and my tongue is firmly IN MY CHEEK.

January 23, 2014

Enjoy the Bay with DiviertaSail!

by Karen Lucas / Photos provided by DiviertaSail DiviertaSail is the only sail boat rental company based in Rota and with a Rota soul.

The crew is professional with ample experience in sailing and in tourism, with the goal of giving their clients maximum quality. Their hope is to transmit their passion for sailing and the sea to their clients with quality service that everyone can afford, starting at just 15 euros per person.

The sailboat,Aiko (good luck girl in Japanese) is of Dutch origin with classic European wood interior, habilitated for 8 people. Aiko sailed around the world with its first owner and now offers happy moments in the sea to its clients.

Some of the things you can do with DiviertaSail: --Charter to Sancti Petri, Cádiz, Barbate, Chipiona, mouth of the Guadalquivir River and Doñana, El Puerto de Santa María, and southern Portugal (Algarve).

--Enjoy the sunset from the sailboat.

--Full moon sailings.

--Parties with family and friends.

--Learn to sail.

--Swim in the open sea.

--Fish --Romantic dinners --Wedding photo shots --Intimate flamenco recital

4 and maximum of 6 people. Tickets are sold separately

Some of the possibilities with off season prices: 1. Two hour sailboat ride in the Bay; morning or evening (sunset) 15 euros per person.

This includes a drink of champagne, beer, soft drink or water and potato chips, olives and mixed nuts. Minimum

3. Sailboat rental (6 hours) 200 euros for a maximum of 6 people with the drinks and snacks mentioned above.

ROTA

XXIII FIESTA DE SAN ANTÓN; Sunday 26 January Program: 10:00 : Registration of pets 11:00 : Judging in all classes begins 14:00 : Benediction of all animals 14:15 : Training exhibition by Club K2.

14:45 : B.I.S choice.

15:00.:Awarding of prizes and qualifications to the participants ALCALDE FELIPE BENÍTEZ THEATER Family Theatre, The Valiant Little Guy in "The Lost Treasure" 21:00, Sunday, 26 January Entrance: 3 € + 1 free child.

Ticket office is open Monday to Friday from 18:00 to 20:00 and two hours before the show. Avenida San Fernando, s/n. Tel.956 810022. Web: www.aytorota.es

Prices include, VAT, full coverage insurance and civil responsibility, passenger insurance, a professional captain and personalized service on board.

DiviertaSail can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ diviertasail For more information and reservations, call 669 369 771 Hacienda La Torre Hacienda La Torre is closed for regular restaurant business until Holy Week. You can still book banquets and parties, just stop by Venta La Rufana or call them at 956856616.

Anything you want us to pass along? Let us hear from you about your favorite places or coming events.

and groups formed when the minimum is met.

2. Sailboat rental (4 hours) 150 euros for a maximum of 6 people with the drinks and snacks mentioned above.

Other proposals are available with meals and drinks from 10 to 44 euros per person.

FLAMENCO PEÑA FLAMENCA VIEJO AGUJETAS Live Flamenco music; 21:00, Friday, 31 January Peña Viejo Agujetas. 2, Argüelles Street.

Sunset Walk Walk the bridges in the pine forest of Rota, a natural area with high ecological value Days: Tuesday at 19:00h Price: 1 € It’s necessary to pick up a ticket at the tourist information office.

Botanical Garden “Celestino Mutis” from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 14:00 and again from 16:30 to 18:30 Guided tours of the Luna castle Saturdays and Sundays at 13:00 and 19:00, prior reservation needed (call 956 84 63 45 or email turismo@aytorota.es) Flea Market Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Central Market. To get a table, you must sign up previously in the bar in the Central Market.

Flea Market Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Calle Sargento Céspedes, Chorillo Beach

PUERTO DE SANTA MARIA

The Last Neanderthal in Europe A chat. Thursday 16 January Parque de Los Toruños - Avda. del Mar, 7 (Valdelagrana) Concert by the group TANGARIA in Sala Milwaukee; 23:00, Friday, 24 January

Entrance 6 euros Concert of the `THE SMOGS´ in Sala Milwaukee; 23:30, Saturday, 25 January 60's and 70's singing band in the mod-eyé style advance ticket sales at: Restaurante 24hDiner - Tel: 956 540 914 SHORT WEEK- International Short Film Festival; 23 - 26 January 300 Short films from all over Spain, Japan, Argentina, Germany, Russia, France and the USA, for more information: www.shortyweek.com/ Painting Exposition "COSTA TUR": In the Cultural Center Alfonso X El Sabio C.Virgen de los Milagros (Larga), 89; Friday, 24 January opens. Monday through Saturday from 11:00 - 14:00 and 17:30 - 20:30 Peña Flamenca Tomás “El Nitri” – C/ Diego Niño, 1 22:00 Saturday, 25 January – singing GASOLINA HIJO and playing ANTONIO DE COS Free entrance Poker Tournaments at the Casino Casino Bahía de Cádiz; 21:00, Thursdays Casino Bahía de Cádiz - Camino del Juncal, s/n FORTY FIVE 45'S 21:00, every Sunday.

Buy-in: 45€ + 5€. 4.000 points. Freezout limited seating. Inscriptions: Daily at the Casino from 20:00 or via credit card at www.pokercomar.com, up to one hour before the tournamentw Guided Tour, Path of the Senses

This 4 and ½ hour tour explores the origins of the Sherry wines of El Puerto and it´s progress from the vine to the barrel.

Oenologists meet you, after a short bus trip, at a vineyard in the countryside and explain how the vineyard operates, later at the bodega a wine tasting accompanied by tapas and an explanation of the elaboration process, this last taking place in the famous Caballero bodega. Reservations: 649 882 288 - 956 853 960, www.rutadelossentidos. com - eventos@bahiamedia.net Museum piece of the month – 4 vertebras of a whale (Balaenoptera) vértebras de can beseen during regular visiting hours of the municipal museum

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

Flea Market on Sundays at Alameda Vieja s/n from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Archaeological Museum Plaza del Mercado, s/n. C.P. 11.408 956 14 95 60 museoarq@aytojerez.es

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