Last night for this year's Workshops for Peace: tears for the kids

This year we only made it to the last night of this great project. This was the 11th edition of San Pablo de Buceite's magnificent effort that this year brought in some 180 kids from places like Cuba, Morocco, the Saharawi refugee encampments in Algeria and from various parts of Spain. Workshops went on for a a good fifteen days in all kinds of arts and crafts, ranging from pottery and photography to symphony orchestra and band, from theatre to percussion, from voice to foam rubber, and more. It's hard to describe the feeling we always have when it comes to the end - but the tears shed by the kids who'd never met each other and have become fast friends, not knowing if they'll ever meet again ... those tears say it all. (On a more political note: If this project is lost for any childish political reason, the politicians involved should be lined up and given a rope with which to hang themselves. The project desperately needs international repercussion - if you can help, or know someone who can, please let us know, no matter how small that help might be. It is vital for its continuation.)

Live music at La Estación in San Pablo tomorrow night - So What?

SAN PABLO Hold on, we're not being rude. The man goes by the stage name of Ik, which is a play in Spanish on ¿Y qué? - So what? Well, having checked out Google extensively for anything about out friend Ik, and found nothing, we deduce that he plays the guitar, is comfortable with himself - or at any rate with his guitar and a lamp. This does look like a relaxing evening tomorrow night, from 10.30pm, at La Estación in San Pablo.

Workshops for Peace this weekend in San Pablo

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SAN PABLO DE BUCEITE This annual event is back this weekend. Our earlier item includes a full programme of the workshops, events and parallel activities, exhibitions, etc. with translations - just click on the poster on the sidebar to access it. See you there?

San Pablo's 11th Workshops for Peace welcomes 250 kids on Thursday 18

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Jimena/SAN PABLO DE BUCEITE The annual Workshops for Peace has become a tradition that continues despite financial constraints and a lack of support from PP-run entities including the village's 'mother' municipality, Jimena (because it was started and continues under the PSOE). The event this year brings together some 250 kids from Cuba, the Sahara, Morocco and other parts of Spain, who mostly stay at private homes in the area, and take part in a large number of activities, largely musical or theatrical. Talleres por la Paz begins with the official opening on Thursday, July 18, and ends ten days later on Saturday 27. As you will see from the full programme below (English in italics), most of the onstage activities take place in the evening, but are prepared during the day at various workshops.>>>

Jimena and San Pablo pools open to the public tomorrow

JIMENA/SAN PABLO The municipal swimming pools management (i.e. the Council) has announced that they will be open to the public as from tomorrow, which will surprise many who have passed them each day and seen lots of people in the water, doors open, etc. The fact is that the Jimena pool has been open for swimming lessons at all levels, but not to the general public. This is because a lifeguard had not been hired, a fact noticed and complained about by the opposition in the Council, about which an article in today's Europa Sur reports. Below are the door and season ticket prices (opening hours are supposedly at the door, so we'll try to get them and update tomorrow - and whether they also apply to the San Pablo one, too):>>>

The Henderson family lunches in San Pablo

Station on the Algeciras - Ronda line,
with evident British influence

JIMENA /San Pablo de Buceite Who are the Hendersons? you ask. They are the descendants of Sir Alexander Henderson, the man who built the Algeciras-Ronda railway, as well as the Reina Cristina Hotel in Algeciras and the Reina Victoria Hotel at the other end of the line in Ronda. The Henderson family had lunch recently at that wonderful jewel of restaurant in San Pablo, (appropriately) La Estación in San Pablo, run by Nieves Domínguez and her son, Samuel. The family were apparently on a trip up the hills in preparation for a Michael Portillo TV programme about the British-built railway (about which we reported here years ago). More, no doubt, later, so watch this space.

Reservoirs now contain enough water for 'three years'

Guadarranque reservoir, Castellar,
on a sunny day before the rain

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The Mancomunidad water company, ARCGISA, yesterday announced that calculations resulting from recent rainfall said that there is enough water in the aquifers and reservoirs for the next three years. A reliable private source told us yesterday that some 250 millimeters of rain had come down in San Pablo over the previous eight days. The water company declared that the reservoirs at Guadarranque (Castellar) and Charco Redondo (Los Barrios), which supply all of the Campo except Tarifa, contained a combined total of 146.71 cubic hectolitres (hL3). The Almodóvar reservoir that supplies Tarifa is at 90% of capacity with 5.17 hL3. Based on an annual consumption of between 55 and 57 hL3, says the company, this is a reserve for the next two and a half years, which, added to alternative supply from the aquifer wells of San Roque-Castellar and the Guadiaro-Guadarranque Canal diversion, would be sufficient to supply the area for approximately the next three even if it doesn't rain at all. Reservoir dams near Jerez had to be opened earlier in the week because they were in danger of overflowing.

Marijuana by the river

Illustration only

JIMENA Agents of the Guardia Civil recently found some 51 kilos of cannabis plants by the river at San Pablo de Buceite, part of the municipality of Jimena. The plants were hidden among bramble thickets, and the GC came across them on an operation against illegal hunting in the area, which is known as a place used for hiding. They saw a pathway through the brambles leading to a small plot where the marijuana was harvested, cut and laying on the ground ready for processing. Nearby were several barrels containing water, which irrigated the plantation via a rudimentary drip system. The plants were confiscated and the matter was put in the hands of the courts at San Roque. The local GC area's most recent haul before this was at Sotogrande, where they confiscated 180 kilos.

Jimena and San Pablo roads to be improved

Forty kilometers of roads to undergo works - but when?

JIMENA (Press release) The provincial road authorities announced on Monday that tenders are being invited for improvements to roads on the northern part of the Campo de Gibraltar. More specifically, these are the CA-8201 that runs from Jimena to Puerto Galis (known as the Ubrique road), a stretch of 18kms, and the CA-8200, which goes from San Pablo de Buceite to San Martín del Tesorillo, some 22kms. How these are to be financed is not made clear in the press release we saw, but if the present economic climate is anything to go by, we wonder when exactly work might be scheduled to begin - and end. These roads have been under the magnifying glass of various ministries and local government entities for a number of years, so please allow us, and you, a pinch of salt.

Silo and Casa de Cultura progress

©Alberto Bullrich 2012

JIMENA Mayor Guillermo Ruiz held a meeting yesterday with the second V-P of the provincial authority, Bernardo Villar, to look into the work being carried out at the old silo building at the entrance to the village, which is scheduled to become a museum as well as the Information Centre. They also visited the Casa de Cultura in San Pablo, which is being updated and to which a meeting room is being added. The silo is being given a multi-purpose room on a new floor, plus the installation of a false ceiling, doors and windows and electricity. The outer area will be improved with new flooring and parking facilities, all of which will be employing 59 people. In San Pablo, the Casa de Cultura building is undergoing structural strengthening as well as other basic work. The total investment for both projects is almost €270,000, financed by the PROFEA funds of Diputación.

Marcus Myers is also at La Estación tonight

JIMENA / San Pablo That great restaurant on the railway station platform, La Estación, in San Pablo is opening an art exhibition tonight, with a jazz concert by Álvaro Fernández Gaviria - but we've just had an e-mail from Nieves to say that Marcus Myers, who has had successful gigs in this area before, will also be there with his music. Tonight sounds like a good evening out! Check our UpComing Events calendar at the very bottom of this page.

Power cut in San Pablo

JIMENA/San Pablo de Buceite We did not get the information in time to warn anybody about a power cut that was scheduled for yesterday between 9am and noon, but by all accounts, it was not of great importance. However, Endesa has also announced a power cut for San Pablo for Wednesday, between 8.30am and 3pm, which affects the following sectors: Carretera Algeciras-Ronda, Carretero Bajo, Corchado. It is all due to repair and reconditioning work at various distribution centres in the area.

Marcus Myers at La Estación, tomorrow evening

SAN PABLO Nieves and Samuel, of the justly famous Restaurante-Bar La Estación, in San Pablo de Buceite, are hosting a gig by Marcus Myers tomorrow, Saturday, December 3 from 10pm. Marcus is a singer songwriter who plays the acoustic and the electric guitar in his own inimitable style. His band, Equis, plays a selection of music from the  Stones, The Beatles, Van Morrison and Oasis, to name just a few. Myers moved to the Ronda mountains some years ago, seeking peace, quiet and inspiration away from the bustle of London. You can check him out on his website or on YouTube. To book ahead call 956 642 244.

Royal Household declines Beffa's invitation

(Photo: TioJimeno)

JIMENA / San Pablo The President of the Junta Municipal de Distrito, Andrés Beffa, issued an invitation to the Royal Household a few weeks ago, in the hope that a member of the Royal Family might attend the 10th edition of the Talleres por la Paz (Workshops for Peace, we call them) next year. The invitation was politely declined "for reasons of planning" over the signature of María Sáenz de Heredia, head of the Household's Planning Cabinet. Nevertheless, His Majesty sends "cordial greetings to the residents of San Pablo and the participants in the Workshops." It will be remembered that Federico Mayor Zaragoza, who headed UNESCO for ten years, did accept the invitation to attend the event.

PSOE calls for Ruiz to obey the law and establish the Junta in San Pablo

Beffa and Gallego
(Photo: europasur.es)

JIMENA / San Pablo As we reported here, there is an ongoing feud between the leading parties regarding the Junta de Distrito in San Pablo. The latest news is that the PSOE is demanding that new Mayor Guillermo Ruiz obey the law and set up the Junta as it was duly elected. However, Ruiz (PP) says that new regulations are being created and the Junta will be established when these are ready, to which Andrés Beffa and the associations that were part of the previous Junta strongly object and call 'undemocratic'. Others have joined the fray, including former Councillor J.A.Vázquez (PA) with a stinging article titled Mentiras Arriesgadas (Risky Lies) on his blog. Curiously, former PP Councillor and San Pablo resident Sandra Gallego joined forces with Beffa at a press conference at the Reina Cristina Hotel yesterday. Calling San Pablo 'an oasis of peace', Beffa>>>

San Pablo's 'illegal' Junta still functions three months after new Councils were established

San Pablo de Buceite

JIMENA / San Pablo (Agencies) Three months after new, post-electoral Councils throughout the country came into official being, the so-called Junta de Distrito (District Council) of San Pablo de Buceite still exists. Although this might not surprise anyone, it is in fact presided by Andrés Beffa (PSOE), who was named as such at the session that constituted the Council of Jimena (of which municipality San Pablo is part) on June 11. The political and administrative entity is holding a plenary session next Tuesday with seven of its eight members (5 representing political groups and 3, local associations), all except Beffa as 'acting members'. Beffa sees this as 'an aberration' according to Europa Sur, because there will be members present who were not even on the electoral lists at the May 22 elections. According to statutes, says Beffa, the Junta should have been constituted 45 days after the Municipal Council. The Junta de Distrito is therefore illegal.>>>

Former UNESCO chief accepts invitation to San Pablo's Workshops for Peace

Federico Mayor Zaragoza

JIMENA / San Pablo (Source: buceite.com) Federico Mayor Zaragoza headed UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) from 1987 to 1999 and since 2000 presides the Foundation for the Culture of Peace, has accepted an invitation to inaugurate the tenth edition of San Pablo de Buceite's Workshops for Peace, scheduled for July, 2012. His acceptance is viewed with great pride by the organizers of what has become an unusual and effective event, and growing in importance in the Campo de Gibraltar.

Dogged politics mar agreements on San Pablo 'divorce proceedings'

JIMENA/SanPablo (Agencies) As we announced here, San Pablo is in 'divorce proceedings' against Jimena. The matter has taken on a different tone now that a new local government (PP) is in place in Jimena, while that old PSOE warhorse, Andres Beffa, is still in (apparently unelected) power in San Pablo. As part of the municipality, San Pablo must meet certain requirements in order to continue the process towards becoming an ELA (Entidad Local Autonoma) like San Martin del Tesorillo. The first of these is to set up a Junta Municipal de Distrito, which needs Jimena Mayor Guillermo Ruiz to designate which local associations will be on that this entity's council. Only three (out of a total of 12) associations will have 'voice and vote', according to municipal rules. Ruiz has met with some of the main associations to enable an agreement, but this has not happened. The matter is urgent as the 'mini-council' must be constituted by next Friday. The Mayor is in a quandary: "It is a strange, difficult situation because if I designate the associations there will be those who will be unhappy." (Prospero note: There are always those who could never agree even with their own shadow. Jimena is rife with the sort who prefer to put party and personal interests before those of the municipality's well-being. The latter is desperately needed at this desperate (financial) time.)

Atomica 4 is playing in San Pablo on Friday

Who? Okay, many readers will know Matthew Parkin, who used to live in Jimena and moved not that long ago to San Pablo. Matthew is the bassist for a band called Atomica 4, founded in the summer of 2010 with drummer Peter Chichon. They and two more members, one of whom is Rubén Peña (who's the other guy, Matt?), have a gig this Friday at Venta Las Acacias (a.k.a. Venta Chinela) in San Pablo, starting at 10pm. (They will also be playing during the Workshops for Peace in San Pablo later this month) On Facebook they say they are 'fed by shoegaze and 90s Rock, with an intense sound. They even released a CD in June that you can hear here.

San Pablo's 9th Workshops for Peace: read all about it

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JIMENA / San Pablo Let's start at the beginning. This year's edition of the San Pablo de Buceite Workshops for Peace -its 9th edition already- is taking place between July 21st and 30th, that is, it starts next Thursday. Anybody who has taken part or even an interest in the past will tell you that not only has the initial concept grown but it has got a lot better and more varied. The word 'workshop' sounds like a lot of work, and some of it is. But the basic idea is for people of different nations, cultures and backgrounds to come together for a series of artistic and/or cultural endeavours over a period of time that allows them to get to know each other at least a little. For the most part, the workshops are aimed at the young ... well, we'll be putting things up on this site and on JimenaPulse, referring to all that is going on (Look for the poster illustrating this item, on the sidebar). In the meantime, the full public programme is below in a somewhat peculiar translation by Google, on which we will be improving. The poster, by the way, is based on a graffiti mural workshop that was part of the previous edition, directed by Antonio Fernandez.