# Hidden/Secret Spain



## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

Post about crime etc in Spain aside..........

I am resurching Hidden and Secret Spain for a forthcoming project :wink: and I come up with some gems [at least I think so] re facts and locations........At the risk of boring you..............

30 years after Spain chose democracy, freedom arrives in Cartajima, a forgotten Andalucian mountain village in the Alto Genal Valley

Cartajima, 16th June, 2007. In Spain's recent (27 May) mayoral elections, Cartajima, a village hidden in the Andalucian mountains (resident pop. 100) found the courage to freely exercise their democratic vote for the first time. By a vote of 133 to 89, they ejected the Francoist incumbent, who had dominated them by intimidation and a system of favours for 24 long years.

Thirty years and a day after Spain embraced democracy, the new mayor was installed in a simple ceremony attended by the village's residents who applauded tumultuously. "From Monday, the doors of this town hall will be open to everybody," promised Francisco Benitez Tirado after accepting the symbol of office from the town clerk. "There will be a new dynamism and unity in this village." He vowed that no town hall jobs would be lost and there would be no retributions as in past years. He appealed to the three opposition councillors representing the former mayor's interests for their collaboration. This was met with silence.

The celebratory party went on late into the night as the mostly illiterate and elderly population danced pasa dobles and reveled in their new-found freedom from intimidation. The ex-mayor and his family were not in evidence. They had lost their source of income and took it hard. At last this tiny village nestling in chestnut forests in the pristine Andalucian mountains can become the paradise it should always have been.

The village is now a jubilant place and the annual Feria to honour the patron saint, the Virgen del Rosario, will be fabulous. The festivities begin 14th August with a day dedicated to women - those who live here and those who left during the "years of hunger" to live abroad but come back to their spiritual home in August.

The Feria proper begins on the 15th with a procession of the Virgin through the narrow streets, led by a brass band, and followed by the whole village. The rest of the week until Sunday night will be devoted to cultural activities: children's theatre, song and dance, and the band will play from midnight till dawn. Cartajima's feria will be the BEST in the Alto Genal valley instead of the butt of jokes as in previous years.

"The village is already a sunnier place," say the British owners of the Hotel Los Castaños, a luxurious boutique hideaway hotel in the centre of the village. "People are looking forward to the future and the feria will the first outward expression of their freedom. Be prepared to sleep all day and dance all night!"

Just 90 minutes from Málaga airport and 15 minutes from busy Ronda, the Alto Genal Valley is the best-kept secret of Andalucia. This surprisingly lush valley has seven tiny traditional white villages dotted amongst the mountainsides where limestone crags, almond and cherry orchards and sweet chestnut forests dominate. The villages, founded by the Moors after their invasion in 711, retain their traditional lifestyle and architecture.

"Few tourists come this way but those who do will experience some truly awesome scenery. "Real Spain" is an over-used expression, but this is as real as it gets!"

There is so much more to Spain than the costa's.........


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## artona (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi Ray

Totally agree. Shona and I used to go over with some friends of ours. They never ventured out of Nerja.

We would hire a car and drive off into the inlands - fantastic and for us such an adventure


stew


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## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

Hi Stew.......Long time no see........Try and catch you when I am back in the UK shortly  for a brief family visit :roll: 


Anyway......yes so much more if people would just take to the roads heading inland...I now have dozens of locations like Cartajima with some stunning stop-overs........like I said, a project.........watch this space :wink:


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

Glad to see democracy of a form alive in Spain, not sure how a village with a population of 100 can democaratically vote 133 for 89 against anything and still be democratic!!!!!


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## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

Why?


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## artona (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi Ray



> Try and catch you when I am back in the UK shortly


yes mate, let me know where and when and we will try to be there.

stew


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## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

Ah, yes...I see............Still a fantasic village


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## ksebruce (Nov 5, 2006)

Resident population = 100
Votes cast = 222

:?


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## Detourer (May 9, 2005)

Typo...The pop should be 300'ish I am now told........... :roll: 

At first glance it looked like one of those postal votes the labour lot used to get upto in the UK :wink:


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