PALM SUNDAY BLESSING

HUNDREDS of residents and visitors celebrated the traditional ‘Palm blessing’ on Sunday that marks the beginning of Holy Week in Benidorm.

The Palm Sunday blessing of the palm leaves and olive branches at San Jaime and Santa Ana church also included a procession through the streets before Mass, with large numbers of residents and tourists taking part in the solemn event. Also present was Benidorm mayor Toni Pérez and several other members of the local and provincial governments, together with the local patron saint fiesta authorities.

Children were once again the protagonists, as according to tradition their godmothers gift them a palm leaf to be blessed by the local priest.

VILLAJOYOSA has been named ‘Maritime Town of the Year’.

The award celebrates the importance of the town’s fishing trade and the local leisure activities linked to the sea.

National government sub ­ delegate Araceli Poblador handed the award to Villajoyosa mayor Andreu Verdú, who highlighted the four pillars of the town’s tourism trade, namely the Moors and Christians festivities ­ officially classed as an International Tourism Interest event ­ the local seabased cuisine, its history and its beaches.

The mayor also used the opportunity to underline the difficulties currently faced by the fishing sector and the council’s efforts to alleviate the situation, includ­ ing the Pescaturismo plan presented at national travel fair Fitur, “to give the sector a viable alternative.”

“Villajoyosa’s cuisine is based on fishing; if this sector disappears, the tourist trade will suffer immensely,” warned Sr Verdú.

The local fish market is one of the town’s main