Cruces de Mayo 2013 Motril......

 



 From 3 to 5 May will take place in the city this traditional celebration, which will feature a varied program of activities that combines music and entertainment for all ages.

     The Deputy Mayor of the City of Motril Holidays, Alfredo Ortega Tovar, accompanied by Manuel Ballesteros, Security council, presented the festival program of Crosses, to be held in our city of 3 to 5 May.

     Ortega Tovar noted that a total of 64 crossings filled with colorful different Motril spaces, including participation by categories of twenty crosses in streets, squares and places, five schools, 5 windows, 23 crosses itinerant and 11 located in the Senior Center.
Also, Tovar Ortega stressed that the official opening of this celebration will be on May 3, Day of the Cross, at 12:00 pm in the Plaza of Spain, place where Cross will also be located city.
The enrollment period to participate in the contest Cruces remain open until this Thursday, May 2, and will award prizes worth 2,100 euros. The first three winners in the categories of streets, squares and places will get a compensation of 500, 300 and 100 euros respectively, while the other categories will be awarded with 200 and 100 euros for the first and second place and a certificate for the third position.
Also on Friday, starting at 13:00 am will be traveling Cruces parade and musical performances will be held, who will come from the hand of the formation flamenco 'To the beat of the Way', at six in the afternoon and the 19 : 00 hours with the Dance Academy of Sorrows.
On Saturday, the square of Spain will be a hive of activity and good atmosphere from 14:00 hours with the spectacle of the dance academy and acting Irene Molina at 18:00 rociero choir 'Al Compass Way '. At seven o'clock in the afternoon there will be the awards ceremony of the Crosses of May 2013 and will close the day at 19:30 am the group 'Aires rocieros'.
The last day will star Cruces small house and be entertained by fairground in the La Matraquilla, which will have special discounts.
On the other hand Ballesteros has indicated that to ensure the smooth development of the traditional May holidays, the municipal side mild and severe sanctions set worth 300 euros to 24,000 euros for those who consume beverages outside the designated areas, and beverage dispensing unauthorized littering the streets, public nuisance or harm the furniture.
It also will launch a safety device for a total of 11-22 agents that permanently ensure the normal development of these crosses and whose work will intensify in the algid hours of increased presence of people. Firefighters also be prevented in the park with their equipment and the specific level of the crosses installed and shortcuts to each of them, like the Civil Protection Service, which position will rotate depending on the locations to concentrate more people.
The mayors of Safety & Parties have appealed to citizenship for maximum enjoyment of these festivities in healthy living, while Motril and have invited visitors to intensely live this traditional celebration in the company of family and friends.


Translated by Google!

 

Los Alamos opens the indoor pool will be part of a sports complex in April 2014.....

 This is the second heated pool for Motril, which will cater to the residents of the north and east of the city, which already enjoy three paddle tennis courts in the park adjoining Provinces.

The Mayor of Motril, Luisa García Chamorro, along with the Minister of Culture and Sport, Luciano Alonso, opened the indoor pool in the neighborhood of Los Alamos, which represents an investment of 1,700,000 euros between the two administrations.

The event was also attended by the Government Delegate of the Board in Granada, Maria Jose Sanchez and the deputy mayor of Sports, José García Fuentes and several members of the municipal government.

Chamorro Garcia pointed out that today is a great day for Motril "because finally opened the second pool which will cover the city, which will be linked to a large sports complex that includes three paddle tennis courts in the park-and Provinces running-and a gym on the adjacent plot, which will house two paddle courts and decks to be built in a second phase, which will be ready by April 2014. "


 Also, the mayor pointed out that the sports complex will meet the needs of all residents of the north and east of the city, claiming this facility, "and specifically to fans of swimming, a sport in rise both to the physical preparation for rehabilitation in all ages. "

Motril City Council will also have two pool lanes 200 hours per year and may use them intact two Saturdays and two Sunday morning to accommodate various local sporting events.

Meanwhile, Luciano Alonso explained that the work has involved the construction of an indoor swimming pool with a glass of 25 x 12.5 meters, a glass splash of 12.50 x 5 meters, entrance hall, cloakroom, nursing, offices, warehouses and technical rooms. The total floor area is 1715.26 meters square.

The City issued a tender for the operation of the pool, for a period of 50 years, which will be managed by the company 'Brother Alvarez'.

The mayor thanked the concessionaire's commitment to physical activity in the municipality and the effort to invest in what will be a large sports complex next year and is already generating jobs.

Detained at the Port of Motril, a luxury vehicle stolen in Spain, along with the driver.........

The Civil Guard have recovered in the port of Motril (Granada) a luxury vehicle stolen in Spain that was intended to sail for Morocco with documentation and counterfeit plates with those of other European countries, and have arrested a 32 Moroccan citizen, a resident of Madrid, accused of car theft and falsifying their data.

   The arrest took place at noon on Wednesday during the security check of vehicles and people    loading onto the ship bound for Melilla, as reported in a statement Armed Institute.

   Specifically, the officers identified the driver of a passenger car with foreign registration BMW and he introduced them the certificate of registration and the receipt of compulsory insurance which was listed as owner of the vehicle.

   The documentation appeared the vehicle chassis number and fact, die in the car appeared that number so apparently everything was fine. However, the policemen found some evidence that made them suspect that this number could have been tampered with and that it could be a stolen vehicle, so they made a thorough inspection and managed to find out the true number of frame.

   After consulting this new number in the databases you have access to the Guardia Civil, the agents found that belonging to a passenger of the same make and model, whose abduction had been reported in the suburb of Majadahonda last November .

   That is, the vehicle that stopped now intended to embark for Morocco abroad but was not Spanish. It had been stolen in Madrid and had turned the documentation and enrollment had put another of the same features, but abroad, particularly Belgian, and his fate, like that of many other vehicles of this type was to be sold in Morocco or any other North African country.

   It is the second stolen vehicle Civil Guard recover this year before it was embarked for Morocco. The previous car had been stolen recovered in Holland and also had doubled enrollment and documentation.

Spanish demonstrate against King.......

Thousands of people demonstrated against the Spanish monarchy on Sunday, demanding the return of a democratically elected head of state, another blow for embattled King Juan Carlos.
The marchers thronged Puerta del Sol, a central square in Madrid, on the 82nd anniversary of the establishment of Spain’s last democratically-elected republic, which was overthrown by an army uprising that led to a civil war and the 36-year military dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

Franco appointed then Prince Juan Carlos as his successor as head of state, a job the royal took over as king upon the dictator’s death in 1975.

The monarchy’s popularity has slumped in recent months, with the 75-year-old king being criticised for going on a luxurious safari during Spain’s financial crisis and a corruption scandal with links to royal family members.

“This monarchy was imposed on us by the dictatorship, therefore we consider it to be illegal,” 45-year-old teacher Maria Ayuso said. “Also, we consider it anachronistic to have a non-elected head of state; it’s not democratic.”

For decades, the king was largely admired for having shepherded Spain from dictatorship to a modern democracy, with many citing his role in adroitly getting the participants in an attempted military coup in February 1981 to stand down peacefully as a highlight in his career.

But things began to go awry when he broke his hip while on a previously unannounced elephant hunting trip in Botswana even though it was widely known he was president of the Spanish branch of the World Wildlife Fund. The king had to be flown back to Spain aboard a private jet for hospital treatment.

In an unprecedented act of royal contrition, Juan Carlos apologised, saying as he left the hospital: “I am very sorry. I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

Matters got worse when the king’s daughter, Princess Cristina, was named as an official suspect in an alleged plot to embezzle public money.

The investigation centres on whether the 47-year-old princess’ husband, Inaki Urdangarin, and his former business partner took advantage with her knowledge of their royal connections to funnel about 5 million euros (£4.26 million) in public funds, using companies and an allegedly non-profit institute they ran.

Neither Cristina nor Urdangarin have been charged, but both have been called to testify before an investigating magistrate. Urdangarin has appeared in court twice and the princess has been subpoenaed to attend, pending an appeal.

Cristina’s court summons is a first for a member of the king’s immediate family.

¡Que Verde Era Mi Vega!

 The mining-forest set of the Cerro del Toro, Motril, Granada,  is constituted by remains of mining labors of the centuries XIX-XX, inside a small woodland that surrounds the exploitations.

It is located in the western foots of the Sierra del Jaral, north of Motril, and next to its urban area.     It is a promontory of practically conical form, with very sloped hillsides around all its contour, except to the East, where a great rocky wall develops on the Barranco de las Provincias.                        Beside the hill in strict sense, stands out a projection placed to the southeast forming a small elongated plateau.                                                                                                                          Though its profile stands out inside the mountainous horizon that borders Motril's fertile plain, its altitude, 318 m above sea level, places it below other close summits.                                                    It is surrounded by several courses of water ending in the same city, emphasizing the Barranco de las Provincias in the eastern part.

At present the environment is enormously transformed. There stand out specially the effects of the plastic greenhouses, which spread on the whole low part and which have provoked important lands fellings. It begins to feel also the Motril urban development push. This landscape contrasts with the great surface of forest of replanted pines in the mountainous zone in the northern part.

In the environment there are been identified archaeological remains from Calcolitic Age and a set of  ceramics showing the occupation of the zone between the VIIIth-XIIIth centuries associated to mining labors. In the same way, this deposit has been identified  in the documentary appointments of the 11th century, in Al-Idrisi's text. Nevertheless, there are not direct evidences of those mining labors, due to the intensity of the exploitation realized in the second half of the 20th century when were extracted around 250.000 ton. of mineral.

 

 

The mines of blende of the Cerro del Toro might constitue the first evidence of the use of the zinc in metallurgy in Europe, in a epoch as early as the IXth and Xth centuries.

The first written reference of the exploitation is that of Al-Razi (888-955), coinciding with the chronology of the scant remains found in the summit.

The exploited mineral has been above all zinc and in minor measure galene and fluorite. Other minority identified compounds are pyrite, tetraedrite, bornite, calcopyrite, smithsonite and cerusite.

With the next creation of the Geo-mineral and Forestal Park of the Cerro del Toro, will be allowed a better analysis of the archaeological preserved remains.

 

 

 The future opening of the former mines, turned into center of interpretation, will enable for its visit a gallery of 300 meters, fitted into rocks limy and placed on the level 200 (known as mine Pepita).

The Cache                                                                                                                                                                   

Cars can be parked in N 36º 46,076'   W 003º 30,882', a viewing-point in the former tracing of the road N-323, after leaving Motril's last buildings.
The acces to the cache is possible across a track forbidden to vehicles, departing from this viewing-point and driving up to the top of the Cerro del Toro.
The cache is hidden half  way. 

 

Spain hits rock bottom....

An article  By David Eade,  Gibraltar Panorama 
09-04-13


We know Spain is in financial meltdown. We also know that traditionally Andalusía has been one of the poorest regions of that country. Hence when Spain hits rock bottom, Andalusía falls off the scale.

These unpalatable facts are reflected in a report produced by the Catholic charity Cáritas in conjunction with the Universidad Cardenal Herrera entitled: "Pobreza y privación en Andalucía y España".
It shows just how hard the region across the border is being hit by the recession.

The findings show that 5.95 per cent of homes in Andalusia are not able to provide a hot meal every two days consisting of fish or meat. This compares with the national average of 2.9 per cent.

In addition 10.52 of homes in Andalusia are not able to adequately heat their homes in the winter months. This figure is almost double the national average of 5.95 per cent.

When it comes to paying the mortgage 53 per cent of families say they are in trouble whilst 43 per cent are behind in monies owed on purchases, credit cards or loans.

Over half of families in this region, 55.38 per cent, say they will not be able to go away from home on a holiday this year. In Spain nationally just 39.37 per cent of families will be forced to forego a break.

Almost half of families in Andalusia, 48.01 per cent, admit they do not have the capacity to meet unexpected household expenses compared with 35.35 per cent nationally. For 16.83 per cent of this region's families making ends meet to the end of the month is very difficult compared with 10.06 in Spain. Homes in Andalusia suffer more from damp, cracks and being in a poor state (23.45 per cent) than in the country generally (15.61).

This says the report shows the classic concept that Andalusia is one of the poorest regions in Spain. Only the Canary Islands, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha fare worse and the latter two on different parameters. However the intensity in the poverty levels have grown more in Andalusia than on average in Spain and it is this intensity of the poverty that is amongst the worst in the country.

These figures are averages and hence even within Andalusia there will be areas that fare better or worse. I think there is no doubt that La Línea falls in to the second category.

This situation should concern us as Gibraltarians on two levels. The first is humanitarian: no man, or woman, should wish his fellow to suffer such a plight.
The second is that Andalusia and the Campo de Gibraltar are our nearest neighbours and hence what happens there impacts here. If people across the border have less money, they will spend less in our shops, hotels and restaurants.

A poor and politically unstable Andalusia and wider Spain impacts on Gibraltar in all sorts of ways, including the political.
The kneejerk reaction of the Partido Popular and other politicians of the right, is to bring Gibraltar down to the Campo's level and not to attempt to raise that area up.

 Hence the inexplicable emphasis on attempting to ruin Gibraltar's  economy, which is the powerhouse of the Bay Zone, at the very time when a strong Gibraltar can offer hope to the unemployed and struggling businesses across the fence.

Frontier truths exposed.......

 There is a growing disquiet from the other side of the Gibraltar Frontier in the way the Gibraltar Government has intensified its efforts to expose the totally disproportionate and sometimes inhumane manner in which the Spanish Government practically on a daily basis imposes its ant-Gibraltar sanctions at a so called EU Frontier.

Panorama understands from informed sources on the Spanish side of the border that not only the regional government but as far afield as Madrid are now seriously monitoring with a growing level of unease the increased strategic frontier focus by the Government regarding the frontier situation. Particularly in exposing Spain’s continued hard-line and totally disproportionate attitude, towards cross-frontier traffic, including the many complaints that have been received by the European Commission by Nationals from many parts of the EU.

EU Commissioner Confirms Level of Frontier Complaints Received in Brussels

This exact point was confirmed at the highest level during the recent visit by the Gibraltar Delegation to Brussels when Cecilia Malmström ,the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, responsible for police cooperation, border control, asylum and migration who noted that many complaints had been received directly by her department form EU citizens regarding the Gibraltar –Spanish frontier and the disproportionate traffic delays.

Most people are well aware of the Spanish tactics by their official agencies at the Frontier and how physically easy, it is for them to create queues stretching back into Gibraltar by systematically applying the desired amount of pressure at the bottleneck to the frontier exit crossing!

In recent months the Government have implemented what appears to be a strategic approach to this everyday but important political issue that affects not only the local population but visiting tourists and many thousands of Spanish cross-frontier workers who are also fed up by the Spanish government’s fascist style management of a modern international frontier.

The Government’s three prong frontier strategy started late last year when they installed ‘CCTV Camera’s’ this after an absence of a number of years.

Unlike the past, modern digital technology now plays a major part in monitoring frontier movement, but predominantly the frontier traffic hold-ups that are deliberately applied by official Spanish agencies by orders from MADRID.

Since December when the Government installed a set of cameras strategically placed to monitor on a 24/7 basis the frontier traffic activity which through digital and internet technology can now be witnessed and recorded anywhere in the world not only in EU.

Gibraltar Frontier Cameras

 The Government said at the time that this type monitoring would serve a dual purpose: it would allow people wishing to go into Spain to check the length of the queue and it would also provide useful evidence for the EU Commission.

As it turned out the cameras became popular and not only in Gibraltar

In the first month of the frontier cameras’ operation, the website had over 100,000 hits, of which 45,000 were from Gibraltar, 44,000 from Spain (more of that later) and 7,500 from UK. Interestingly, there were also hundreds of hits from each of USA, Germany, Denmark, France, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland and even New Zealand!

Government Notice Explain Real Reasons for Frontier Queues!

The next part of the frontier strategy involved far less technology, but just as an effective means of explaining and transmitting who is really to blame for the plight of those caught up or stuck in the frontier traffic.

The erection and installation of signs or notice boards have been carefully located to enable everyone leaving Gibraltar in no doubt just who is to blame!

The signs are written in English, Spanish and French. There is one sign that even informs frustrated motorists where they can register their complaints. The sign gives full details of the Spanish Foreign Ministry including telephone numbers.
The European Commission which also includes similar details and ECAS the European Citizens Action Service.

Certainly the notice boards have so far proved effective, I have seen tourist take a photo of the boards where they must later check the information on the board to register a complaint to the various entities mentioned.

Direct Protest to the European Commission!

The Government last week took the Frontier issue direct to the heart of European Politics when as part of the visit to lobby EU Commissioners and MEPs regarding Gibraltar and issues with Spain the Government also presented its case to high-profile and influential EU Commissioners taking a full dossier and press cuttings for the EU’s perusal.

Although the Commission indicated they are aware of the underlying problems to long standing problem regarding frontier delays, I believe not enough material can in my view be sufficient to expose the Spaniards for what they are.

This must be constantly transmitted to Brussels and elsewhere with evidence continuously updated. In fact I will go further, I even think that gathering this type of evidence should be a full-time role for some department or entity!

The Spanish now appear to be getting all flustered by all the attention being focused on their malicious actions at the frontier, something they can no longer hide from the prying eyes of the world.

Although something tells me that things will not change dramatically.

This particular Spanish Government has demonstrated time and again the little respect and EU etiquette it adopts, not only on Gibraltar related matters but in other areas.

In my opinion it will have to be down to people at the EU Commission who will eventually have to apply the right amount of pressure to put Spain on an EU straight and narrow path and for it to act responsibly … IF THAT’S POSSIBLE!


by Leo Olivero    02-04-13
Panorama Gibraltar

Crested Coots........

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment  released into the wild  eleven couples of captive bred crested coot, to reinforce the small Andalusian population of this endangered species.    


 

Crested Coot - Fulica cristata

 These waterfowl, provided by the Natural Reserve of Birds Cañada (Sevilla), have been released in several wetlands in the provinces of Granada, Cordoba and Almeria, in the context of the Recovery Plan and Wetlands Bird Conservation, approved by the Board in March 2012.
Suárez Pond in Motril is one of the protected areas included in Andalusia Wetlands Inventory which lists 14 wetlands in the province of Granada which total an area of ​​676.12 hectares protected.  
The Ministry has introduced four couples in this space that are evolving smoothly.  

The Territorial Delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, Sandra Garcia, visited the location of the Crested Coot  and reported that "the objective of settling a new breeding population in the enclave."  
Garcia stressed "the important work that is being done from the Junta de Andalucía to protect wetland ecosystems."
Located in the town of Motril is a natural area that has the optimum conditions for the reproduction of the crested coot, by the proper water level, the abundance of submerged macrophytes throughout the year, a growing population of Rallids (indicator aquatic species ecosystem quality), refuge areas, perimeter fencing reserve area and constant vigilance.

Thanking the Volunteers for their work Garcia said  "To this must be added the maintenance and monitoring of wildlife volunteers who develop  this protected environment." 
All the birds have been previously marked with plastic collars with an alphanumeric code to facilitate subsequent individual monitoring and assessing the degree of success of releases.