NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR FOREIGN RESIDENTS
fuengirola MonTHly Information provided by
July 2014
issue nº 11
Ayuntamiento de
Fuengirola
952 58 93 00 // 952 58 94 40
FOREIGNRESIDENTS@FUENGIROLA.ORG
news FUENGIROLA NIGHT LIFE.
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news
www.fuengirola.org FUENGIROLARESIDENTSRESIDENTESFUENGIROLA
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OPEN AIR CINEMA IN LOS BOLICHES.
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NEW LOOK FOR LOCAL BEACHES.
Getting to know you foreign residents survey FUENGIROLA Council is currently doing a survey among its foreign residents to discover their opinions on several aspects of municipal interest. This survey was sent out, accompanied by a letter in seven languages, which explains everything about the survey. Foreign Residents councillor, Katja Westerdahl, held a press conference to explain this new initiative which looks to bring the council closer to its foreign neighbours. Westerdahl explained “The Foreign Residents Department maintains regular meetings with its foreign residents to find out their doubts, inform them of any new matters, etc.” She went on to underscore the fact that the aim of the survey was to better know their opinions about certain matters. In another press conference, Westerdahl said that “99.9 per cent of the people who have completed the survey have said they are lucky to live in
KATJA WESTERDAHL: Explains the aim of the survey. Fuengirola and that the quality of life in the city is high or very high.” She also said that most of the foreign residents who have submitted their surveys are English, Finnish, French and Norwegian. As stated by Westerdahl, some of them have made great comments about Fuengirola. For instance, one said: “I have lived here since 1981. If I had continued living in my country, I would not have made it to 91. The quality of life in
Fuengirola is so high that it increases longevity.” Once the survey has been filled out it can be handed in personally to the Council’s registry, the Council’s Tourism Office or the Deputy Mayor’s office in Los Boliches, it can also be scanned and sent in to foreignresidents@fuengirola.org. Westerdahl commented that if anyone was unable to either hand or send it in then they could call 952 58 94 90 and a council representative would drop by and pick it up.
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Baby steps… for this publication FUENGIROLA Monthly is now a year old! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone, being part of making FM has been so much fun! At the Foreign Residents’ Council we have loved every issue, I hope our readers have, too! Do tell your friends, relatives and neighbours about us and tell them how easy it is to get Fuengirola Monthly delivered to your email every month: just mail us with a request at foreignresidents@fuengirola.org.
When we first started editing it together with Euro Weekly News group, I wrote an editorial which I headed “thank you.” Now, it is time to say “thank you” again. Thank you to all our wonderful Fuengirola residents, who keep reading us, subscribing to this newsletter and telling us it is important to them! Thank you to all Euro Weekly News group personnel, especially to Jennifer, who will be
a mum for the first time any day now! Thank you for a year of dedicated and hard work, it is much appreciated! We are still taking baby steps as a oneyear-old does. So do give us feedback on our publication! And thank you for choosing Fuengirola! Katia Westerdahl Foreign Residents´ Councillor Ayuntamiento de Fuengirola
Enjoy the night life of Fuengirola ON July 18 it will be ‘Noche Viva Fuengirola’ which is a pioneering concept where businesses, which have signed up for the initiative, can stay open until 2am and offer special promotions and discounts to their clients. This special shopping day will also have all sorts of leisure and cultural events. The event will take place around Calle Jacinto Benavente, the sea walk, Avenida Juan Gomez Juanito and Molino de Viento as this is the commercial heart of the town, but councillors for Commerce and Events, Carmen Diaz and Isabel Moreno, have said businesses from all over town will be taking part. In order to attract a greater number of people there will be several cultural activities including a Vespa concentration in Plaza de España where there will also be a Mariachi band playing. The Plaza Reyes Catolicos has been reserved for the youth of the town and in Plaza El Yate there will be opera and classical music.
IRONS: Mayor Esperanza Oña presents a unique museum exhibition.
Irons? Yes, yes… irons are on display FUENGIROLA Mayor Esperanza Oña presented a unique museum exhibition featuring especially selected pieces from one of Europe’s largest iron collections. French entrepreneur Pierre Lachnowicz has been collecting irons from all corners of the world for years. Two and a haf thousand irons, some of them dating back to the 17th century, make up his unprecedented assemblage, part of which has now been loaned to the Fuengirola Museum. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the history of irons by visiting the
exhibition, which will be open until August 30. The irons have been carefully selected to showcase their value, beauty and antiquity. The exhibition also features ironing boards and related utensils. “Of course these are not the irons we have at home. These irons have artistic and cultural value,” said Mayor Oña. The exhibition is completed by a video showing visitors the history and historical relevance of the irons, four period washing machines, a photography collection, sculptures, paintings and half a dozen industrial heaters.
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Open-air cinema returns to Los Boliches beach FOLLOWING its 2012 and 2013 success, the open-air cinema experience comes back to Fuengirola for a third year in a row. Esperanza Oña, Mayor of Fuengirola, presented the initiative alongside Juan Carlos Gomez, Director of the Parque Miramar Shopping Centre. This time moviegoers will get to choose which movies will be screened using a Facebook application. It is estimated that more than 14,000 viewers enjoyed this unique summer opportunity last year. The movies will be dubbed in Spanish with English subtitles and there will be four completely free screenings starting at 10 pm: July 22 and 29 and August 5 and 12.
OPEN-AIR CINEMA: A unique summer opportunity. Eight movies have already been preselected and divided into two different groups, including: The Croods, Madagascar 3:
Europe’s Most Wanted, How to Train your Dragon, Hotel Transylvania, Wreck-It Ralph, Monsters University, Despicable
me 2 and Tad The Lost Explorer. Moviegoers can visit Parque Miramar’s Facebook page and vote for their favourite films.
Day-care centre to open in July fiVe years after its first stone was laid, the adolfo suarez Day-Care Centre of the family association of alzheimer Patients will open its doors in July. approximately 2,000 fuengirola residents suffer from this disease, first described by german psychiatrist and neuropathologist alois alzheimer in 1906. fuengirola Mayor esperanza oña visited the facilities alongside ana Mata, Vice President of the Malaga Council, and francisca lebron, President of fuengirola and Mijas afa. it is estimated €1.7 million has been invested in the day-care centre so far. “The andalucian government should be aware of the continuously growing number of patients needing treatment and assistance to slow down this disease,” said oña. oftentimes families cannot afford treatment or medication. Mayor oña expressed her deep satisfaction over the centre which will reportedly offer treatment to 100 alzheimer patients.
ADOLFO SUAREZ DAY-CARE CENTRE: Mayor Oña visits the centre. Built on a 900-square metre plot, the two-storey 1,713 square-metre day-care centre will have an infirmary, a kitchen, a gym, a
laundry service, a waiting room, a computer room, examination rooms, bathrooms, dining rooms, a psychology and a podiatry service.
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ANA MULA: on a new platform.
New look for Fuengirola’s beaches FUENGIROLA Council has finished the gardens and the shower areas of the beaches. A total of 62 shower platforms have been finished since April. These fall within the Homogenisation Plan which has a budget of
€1.8 million with which the council are giving the coastal areas a unique image. Ana Mula, councillor for Beaches, announced that the council had finished the conditioning of the foot washing and shower
Taxis now have meters TAXIS in Fuengirola have started using taximeters to calculate passenger fares. Since Sunday June 15, Fuengirola passengers know how much they will be charged based on the distance travelled thanks to the electronic devices. There are currently 114 taxis in Fuengirola, including six which were especially adapted for passengers with reduced mobility. All the necessary formalities required to install the taximeters were complied with thanks to the Fuengirola Council and the Radio-Taxi Association. There were some delays in the process though. Five months ago, the Junta de
Andalucia took its time before authorising the new fare system, as stated by Council sources. With the introduction of the new fare system, taxis will charge the same in Fuengirola, Mijas, Benalmándea and Torremolinos. A study was carried out in 2012 taking into account several variables to determine what the new fare system should be. Fares had not been modified since 2008. The flag-drop fee, or the rate charged the moment the taximeter starts, is now €3.15, while the minimum fare has been set at €4.60. Taxis will now charge an extra €1.20 for pickups or if the passenger has more than two pieces of luggage.
areas which are spread around the beaches of the town. Mula explained the plan was put into action back in April and the wooden platforms improved the aesthetics of the beach. She went on to point out that not only did all the pergolas now have garden areas and shower facilities, but also that all the accesses were at least 1.5 metres wide which allowed handicapped people easier access to the beaches. Mula underscored the fact that, since April, the council had been working on giving all the garden and hygiene areas a similar look in order to fit into the council aesthetic which was “colourful and tidy.” As well as the new gardens and platforms there are new Local Police and lifeguard stations which will also contribute to the improvement of the beaches. Another change to the beaches is the amount of free sand available; the number of beach beds has been reduced so that there is more room - there are now a total of 230,579 square metres of free beach. Perhaps the most notable change will be the aquatic fun platforms which are a kind of Water Park at sea and which is almost exclusive to Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.