That was brilliant

 The theatre group, Lugarico, entertained us last night with their latest production. 

A  great deal of hard work must have gone into this play. It was not just the lines of which there were many but the timing which was perfect. All the effort though paid off with a magnificent performance that had the packed auditorium in pleats of laughter. 

I was delighted to give my new Fujifilm XT5 and my new Fujinon 70-300mm zoom lens a  thorough workout. 

Get the beers in ready

Note these are times in England. Add one hour on for here in Spain. 

 

A bit of culture for you

Evaristo Moya and I have talked about forming a club for artists for years now but never got round to it. Well now we have and the membership is growing. 

At our first meeting, Antonio Segura suggested that we should have two exhibitions - one in May where we would  each contribute 4 or 5 paintings and then a solo exhibition of my work as a photographer and artist in August. 

Our first exhibition!!

 

The PP candidates

 The Auditorium was packed for the presentation of the Partido Popular candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections on the 28th May. 

The people who spoke for the party enthused about the work that the present council has achieved. The videos showed the wide range of projects that have either been completed or are in progress. Over 4 million euros of grants have been gained to complete this work - more than any other town in the Vega Baja. 

I'm left wondering what the other parties taking part in the election can say and what slogan they can come up with that will beat "Passion for Bigastro". 

I would not be surprised to find the PP gaining a higher percentage of the vote and therefore more councilors in the next legislature. 

You can see my photos from the event in the album located in the sidebar.  

Carrying the torch

 

The PP candidates

 

La Cruz

 

It's a nice walk for those who are fit!

 

And if you live at Villas Andrea, you could meet them en route - save walking up from the town!!

The campaign begins

 

For your health's sake

 

This route takes in the parks in Bigastro where facilities are being installed for the health conscious.

Easter in Bigastro

 

Afternoon tea at Butterflies Cafeteria, Jacarilla

We returned today to Butterflies Cafeteria for traditional afternoon tea. It was a challenge to clear the three tiers of cakes and savouries but we managed it!!

My favourite from the savoury selection was the quiche which had the right amount of mature cheddar to give it bite. It was a close call on the cakes between the scones and the chocolate choux bun. 

To be honest, it was all perfect and very good value at 15 Euros per person. 

 

Palm Sunday

 After the Covid years when the procession for Palm Sunday could  not take place, it made a welcome return on a glorious Spring morning.

A minor change had to be made due to the work going on in the park. The procession set off from the Town Square in front of the Church. 

You can find my photos in the album located in the left hand sidebar.  

We have a museum!

On Saturday, the lady Mayor cut the ribbon to open the Museum (at the back of the Town Hall). 

You can find my album of photos in the left hand sidebar.  

Facts and figures

In the year 2000 there were just 392 foreigners living in Bigastro. You can see from the latest table below how that number has grown. 

The numbers have remained reasonably steady since 2007. The largest figure was in 2011 when there were 1,253 foreigners here. The group that has grown most is that from Africa. 

Población según nacionalidad (principales nacionalidades), 2022 (Unidad: personas)
Nacionalidad	Total	Hombres	Mujeres
TOTAL POBLACIÓN	7.130	3.591	3.539
Españoles	5.873	2.937	2.936
Total Extranjeros	1.257	654	603
Total Europa	518	267	251
Total Unión Europea	245	130	115
Alemania	11	5	6
Bulgaria	89	45	44
Francia	9	6	3
Italia	6	6	0
Polonia	14	8	6
Portugal	6	4	2
Rumanía	29	13	16
Total Europa No Comunitaria	273	137	136
Reino Unido	174	90	84
Rusia	29	12	17
Ucrania	52	26	26
Total África	592	321	271
Argelia	93	56	37
Marruecos	481	249	232
Nigeria	0	0	0
Senegal	16	14	2
Total América	117	49	68
Argentina	8	4	4
Bolivia	13	7	6
Brasil	8	3	5
Chile	1	1	0
Colombia	48	14	34
Cuba	6	2	4
Ecuador	22	14	8
Paraguay	0	0	0
Perú	1	1	0
República Dominicana	4	1	3
Uruguay	1	0	1
Venezuela	3	1	2
Total Asia	30	17	13
China	11	6	5
Pakistán	9	7	2
Oceanía y Apátridas	0	0	0
Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Revisión Padrón 2022. Fecha de consulta: 26/01/2023

Save 20 Euros

To encourage people to spend locally, the Town Hall have started a campaign they call Bono Consumo. In essence you can claim two vouchers of 10 Euros to spend in a selection of local businesses.

 

 Application form