CASTELLAR Sunday lunch at a roadside venta with the family is a long held tradition in Spain. Locally, one of the places we might have visited was the one on the way up to the castle at Castellar called La Jarandilla. Aside from the restaurant, we might have visited the flea market (photo) as well, which had grown over the years into something that at least in part sustained a few local families. But none more so than that of Francisco Fuentes, who ran the whole complex for years and who was on a hunger strike until recently because he had asked for a meeting with Manuel Gutiérrez, the Managing Director of La Almoraima, in whose land Fuentes has had an establishment for 18 years, with approval from the Junta and all local authorities. It wasn't just the venta, either: there was a rural tourism complex that included environmental education facilities, rafting and all kinds of supervised activities mainly aimed at children. (Prospero had a great time there with his kids a few years ago; the perfect rural setting for a wonderful family outing.)>Gutiérrez ordered the closure of La Jarandilla without notice and demaned that it be vacated in three days. No explanation, not even a meeting. Five local families depended on La Jarandilla and have been unemployed for nine months now, in a place with - not that that can matter much to the head of a public company headquartered in Madrid. The photo shows the family outside the local offices of La Almoraima's management company, Tragsa, which served little purpose even though Fuentes has the support of local unions and political parties.
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