Our Town

Today, the market town of Alcalá la Real, in the Sierra Sur mountain district, has 5,550 inhabitants spread across 14 smaller towns and villages within its jurisdiction. Spread out across the two hills of Las Cruces and La Mota and onto the plain below, Alcalá La Real has a population of some 16,977 plus people making it a bustling rural town.

Our town can proudly boast a booming economy, a cosmopolitan community, low crime rate, excellent education and healthcare systems and a lower cost of living than that of its more southerly neighbours.

Shopping is a delight of discovery as Alcalá has retained a host of small specialist shops hidden up and down small side streets as well as catering to some 9 supermarkets, many bars, cafes and restaurants.

Tuesday is market day, so get up early and be in town for around 9.30am to have a traditional breakfast of Churros and Chocolate in the Paseo de Los Álamos, then stroll down to the market and wander around the stalls and be amazed at the variation, colour and vibrancy of a true Spanish market!

Here in Spain fresh produce is available seasonally and at the weekly market you can browse the many market stalls selling fruits, vegetables, dried pulses, sweets, herbs, household goods, clothing and leather shoes and boots. Set back to the left of the fountain you will find a section containing small table stalls. These are people selling their locally produced fruit and veg, straight from the garden so it could not be fresher!

Explore the Bars and sample the Tapas freely supplied with every drink and watch Spanish life unfold around you as families and friends meet and greet one another with the traditional kissing of each cheek. In summer ensure you have your afternoon siesta so you can enjoy the cool evening air as the townsfolk do, walking in the Paseo de Los Álamos around the gardens, fountains and children’s play areas with children and babies until the small hours.

Agriculture

Know as The Sea of Olives, this mountainous area, mostly owned by local farmers, is given over to the production of Olive Oil and just about every village and hamlet has a least one processing plant. Spain itself has more than 300 million olive trees and is the world’s biggest olive oil producer and exporter and 70% is produced here in the province of Jaen.

The Olives are picked by hand from late November through to March and at this time there is an influx of migrant workers from across North Africa and the Eastern Europe to help with the labour intensive picking.

The Olive might be king here but Holm, Gall and Kermes Oaks, Cherry, Pomegranate, Almond, Orange and Walnut trees grow here too bringing variation into the landscape as do the vineyards around Charllia. Open fields are rare and are mostly planted with wheat and sunflowers.

The local farmers also keep live stock of goats, pigs, rabbits and hens and with their market gardens are self sufficient selling excess at the local markets. Ermita Nueva is well known for its fine cheeses.

Employment and Housing

Apart from agricultural employment the plastic fibre and film derivatives businesses have steadily increased in this area as have metal working and craft working.

At the current time, a vast amount of new building is going on in Alcalá, new apartments, the new hospital and a new poligono (industrial estate) are under construction and when completed will create several hundred new jobs.

Of course Alcalá like the rest of Spain is undergoing a massive change at the moment, with more of the population shifting from rural to urban living, not only giving the building industry and associated trades and businesses a massive boost but the town itself with new businesses opening to service this increase in population.

With the population shift also comes a vacuum and the need to fill it has come from abroad with British, German, French and the Dutch all eager to by the rural houses. This has created a whole new industry dedicated to facilitating the purchase and renovation of these rural houses creating cosmopolitan villages in the heart of rural Spain.

With the travel time from Granada Airport being only 45minutes, Alcalá La Real and surrounding area is an ideal holiday location and is also a great location choice for those wanting to “live in the sun but still have to work in the smoke”, commuting back and forth to the UK.

The Tourism Industry and local businesses are rising to the task of dealing with larger numbers of tourists each year by producing leaflets multi language leaflets and by employing staff with second languages. The number of Bed & Breakfast and House Rentals businesses has also grown significantly. Alcalá La Real is rapidly become a popular destination in Andalucía.

An original article written by Diane Dennett 20 th October 2007 ©