On September 17th, at 17:30 h., On La Plata Street, a Race of Ribbons for ADULTS will take place.
Women interested in getting a ribbon to embroider or paint it and participate, can do so contacting through the Commission of Celebrations, from September 1st. More information at the Tourist Office. It will be a fun afternoon!
The carrera de cintas, or belt race, is a traditional sport often played during the feria patronal in Spain and Latin America. In the carrera de cintas, short belts with loops on one end are hung from a wire suspended between two posts. Contestants, who may be on either horses or bicycles, ride towards the wire and attempt to capture a belt by putting a peg through the loop. Traditionally, the belts are given to a group of women who then award prizes. The origin of the sport is not known.
I couldn’t find a video from Vera but this gives an idea of the fun to expect.
VERA FAIR AND FESTIVALS IN HONOR OF SAN CLEOFÁS 2017, 21 to 25 September.
The annual fiesta and a promise of late nights starts on 21st September with one of the highlights for some people being the bullfights.
More information regarding the bullfight.
Reservation of tickets and more information can be obtained on the following telephone numbers: 676 385 583 – 650 275 262, and on the website: www.grupovientobravo.es
The first weekend in September is marked on the calendars of Vera´s people. Tradition dictates that they join a pilgrimage to honor the Virgen de las Huertas (Virgin of the orchards). The shrine is a simple building of local architectural tradition dating back to the sixteenth century.
Given that the patron saint of Vera is the Virgen de las Angustias (Virgin of Sorrows), this is not a major celebration. However, devotion brings neighbors to the shrine located on the outskirts of the town year after year. The pilgrimage is held to pay homage to the people of Lorca who assisted Vera´s population when the town was besieged by the Moorish king Aben Humeya in 1569.
In fact, the city of Lorca did not have to intervene. The Moorish king turned back when he heard relief was on its way shortly after the attack on Vera’s walls had already begun. Thus began the memory and gratitude towards the patron of Lorca.
The celebration is marked by parades of horse drawn carriages that are colourfully decorated flowers and it wouldn’t be Spain without some loud music and dancing. The parade passes the local roads and reaches it’s destination at the Heritage. There the party will continue with Flamenco dancing music and fireworks until late in the night.
On Sunday it will all start again and will include a large Paella and a Children’s Piñatas Contest. There are some links and a google translation of the programme below. Sounds like fun!
ROMERIA VIRGEN DE LAS HUERTAS 2017 PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
SATURDAY 2
17:00 h. Begin the journey from La Legua through the usual roads, with all those floats and horses that want to accompany to the hermitage to snack.
9:30 p.m. Performance of the Flamenco Dance Academy “Las Chibancas”
10:30 p.m. Fiesta with the performance of “Ensía de Almería”
00:00 h. Great Musical Piro Show.
SUNDAY 3
11:30 a.m. “Pilgrimage of the Virgin of the Huertas” from its hermitage to make the habitual route.
We want to encourage everyone to participate in our Pilgrimage, dressing in the typical costumes, as well as decorating floats and vehicles without missing horses and riders to give a great color and splendor.
The Queens and Ladies of Honor for children and youth 2016 paraded in a chariot adorned for the occasion, accompanying our Virgin of the Huertas.
2:00 p.m. Arrival of the Romería to the Hermitage and we will be able to taste a paella.
5:30 p.m. Awarding of prizes of the Children’s Piñatas Contest, we encourage all the children to present their original piñata.
6:45 p.m. Performance of the flamenco group “Virgen de las Huertas”
7:30 p.m. Holy Mass officiated by our parish priest D. Carlos Fortes García, accompanied by the Choir of the Fraternity of Our Lady of Rocio de Garrucha.
Then, as is traditional, the Raffle will be held in honor of Our Lady of the Huertas several prizes that will be displayed at the entrance of the hermitage.
To end the party we will have the live music performance of “El Bartolico”
Not being golfers the beautiful restaurant at Desert Springs doesn’t normally feature when we are recommending a venue. This week we were guests of good friends celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Desert Springs offers a lot more than Golf, there is a Cricket Academy, conveniently located within the resort, within walking distance from team accommodations, comprising an international size world-class quality grass pitch complemented with floodlights, shower and changing facilities. A number of County teams use it for winter and pre-season training camps. They also host Football, Cycling and Tennis camps, have a fully equipped fitness centre and there is the Gym, developed in consultation with Daley Thompson. Ian Botham has a villa here and can often be seen in and around the area.
There is a good choice of places to eat. The Deck at the Club House offers a wide choice of light lunch time food available through daylight hours, including tasty soups, tapas, salads, burgers, pasta, wraps and filled ciabattas.
The Crocodile Club Restaurant & Rosewood Bar. The ‘Croc’ features an eclectic menu of Mediterranean, Pacific Rim and Thai dishes, along with fresh fish and grills, Pastas and Pizzas and Desert Hamburgers; lots for kids and something special for the adults. Tables are available in the restaurant around the open fire or on the terraces or outside in the semi-secluded terraced garden. The restaurant is open for lunch and/or dinner according to the season.
El Chiringuito Pool Bar, serves light lunches and a range of superb healthy fruit punches of the innocent and more grown up variety, the pool bar is a great place to lounge and shoot the breeze.
The Cave Bar, known as La Cueva del Almanzora, this original but refurbished cave has a really cool bar and offers an extraordinary private meeting room and exclusive and atmospheric private dining facilities in its underground gallery.
We went to the El Torrente Restaurant, it is known for its fine Spanish dining including several very special local dishes and fresh fish. It is in a beautiful setting with a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. The main restaurant is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also provides a Bar and Deck Menu with a wide choice of light lunch time food available through daylight hours, including tasty soups, tapas, salads, burgers, pasta, wraps and filled ciabattas. We ate from the Chef’s Selection Menu..
CHEF´S SELECTION MENU
STARTERS
Chilled Cream of Almond Soup with Honeyed Croutons and Sweet Tomatoes
Raf Tomato Salad with Longfin Tuna and a Garlic and Parsley Oil
Lightly Battered Pickled Fish with a Carrot Dressing
Iberian Pork Cheek and Goat´s Cheese Vol au Vent
MAIN COURSES
Slow Roasted Pork Shank with a Black Pepper Sauce
Accompanied by Hassleback Potatoes and a Courgette and Yellow Pepper Ratatouille
Baked Swordfish Steak in a Tamarind and Ginger Sauce
Accompanied by Vegetable Basmati Rice
Creamy Rice with Squid, Prawns and Tarragon
Vegetarian Dish – Pasta with a Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce
CHEF´S SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Pan Fried Iberian Pork End Loin with Sautéed Garlic and Apple Vinegar
Accompanied by Hassleback Potatoes and a Courgette and Yellow Pepper Ratatouille
Pan Fried Fillet of Norwegian Salmon with a Dijon and Maple Syrup Sauce
Accompanied by Vegetable Basmati Rice
Lamb Chops with Mint Sauce
Accompanied by Hassleback Potatoes and a Courgette and Yellow Pepper Ratatouille
Grilled Fillet Steak 200g / 250g
Accompanied by Chips and Salad
Sunday Roast- Please ask the waiting team for further details
Accompanied by Roast Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables
DESSERTS
Chilled Coconut Custard
Apple Crumble with Ice Cream
Orange and Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries
Fresh Fruit Salad
Starter, Main Course, Dessert and Coffee
A couple of the “Big Boys” opted for the large steaks and the clean plates told their story. I had the tasty Pork Shank. The ladies had the Cod and Duck and all were very nice. The Muga was a good choice of wine and the “special” chocolate brownies and coffees rounded off a lovely evening.
Desert Springs is well worth a visit for a celebration with friends or a special meal for two.
I can’t comment on price as we were guests but we found it very reasonable! Check out their web site here for lots of information, as we haven’t been to the other restaurants I have used some of their text but I’m sure Desert Springs won’t mind the publicity and we intend to visit the Croc bar soon..
This video gives a “taste” of the restaurant, the sound is not essential!
The Plaza de Torres in Vera will host the tribute show “We Love Queen” from 22.00 on 19th August. It promises to be a spectacular celebration in Dance and Music of the popular band.
This Friday 17th August at 22.30 The Dixieland Clasijazz Band will be performing at Plaza Pérgola. Paseo Marítimo de Vera. Just along from Chiringuito El Playazo near Garrucha’s Mercadona.
We normally pick our Olives in early November. It proves very popular with guests. Some like to join in for an hour or two, others like last year spent three whole days helping out and very grateful we were to. Whether guests help for 10 minutes or three days they all enjoy the trip to the press to see for themselves the process of producing Extra Virgin Olive Oil from fruit they have helped to pick. We have 55 trees and hope to get around a tonne of Olives but it varies from year to year. The yield also varies depending mainly on the water content, a lot of rain before harvest will result in around 1 litre of oil from 25KGs to 1 litre from around 20Kgs of Olives.
We pick the fruit over a three day period, it is important not to leave the Olives any longer than 72 hours before pressing as this increases the acidity of the oil. The fruit is gathered by combing the branches with small plastic rakes so they fall onto large nets spread under the trees, these are then emptied into our trailer for transport to the press.
At the press the Olives are cleaned and separated from any leaves and twigs and then the Olives are “Cold pressed” at around 35º to release the oil from the water. Depending on which press we use either we bottle it ourselves or they do it for us.
It’s not all hard work though. We try to enjoy a nice lunch each day during the picking and when we go to the press we have a nice coffee and tostado while the pressing is taking place followed by a long lunch on the way home.
We still have some availability during the beginning of November if you would like to help while enjoying a break at Finca Arboleda.
Liquid Gold
Spain is the largest olive oil producer in the world, accounting for 44 per cent of the world’s annual supply, and the country’s love affair with the diminutive fruit shows no sign of decline despite new challenges.
WITH an estimated 340 million olive trees, Spain produces around 1.2 million tonnes of olive oil per year, enough to fill 400 Olympic swimming pools. About 45 per cent of the country’s olive oil is produced in the Andalucian province of Jaen, where olive plantations occupy 590,000 hectares including 66 million trees. These account for a fifth of the global olive oil supply, with the region producing more than the entire country of Italy, the world’s second-largest manufacturer. Olive trees are said to have been introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians almost 3,000 years ago, but it was the Romans who started large-scale production, with the Moors later introducing improved growing methods.
Fruity facts:
There are over 100 varieties of olive grown in Spain, but only 24 are regularly used to make oil.
Olive trees live on average for 3-600 years, with some of the world’s oldest examples found in Spain. One individual in Tarragona is said to be over 2,000 years old.
Despite leading the global production ranking, Spain with 11.3 kilos is runner-up to Greece (12.8 kilos) in terms of per capita consumption.
The Spanish word for oil, aceite, is derived from the Arabic word al-zait, which literally translates as ‘olive juice.’
There are four types of virgin olive oil, extra virgin, virgin, ordinary virgin and lampante, all of which differ in acidity with extra virgin, the highest grade, having the least.
I found this fun video on YouTube and have promised myself that I will make one this year.
Almeria’s most famous son will play in Huércal-Overa.
David Bisbal will perform the final Spanish leg of his Hijos del Mar (sons of the sea) tour on Saturday, October 14 at 10:00 pm at El Hornillo football pitch in Huércal-Overa.
Bisbal is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as a runner-up on the interactive reality television show Operación Triunfo.
He has since released six studio albums, all of which topped the Spanish Albums Chart, in addition to recording a number of live albums. He has toured throughout Europe and Latin America and is now considered to be a crossover international artist. Bisbal has recived around 50 platinum discs for his recordings.
Hijos del Mar is his sixth studio album, recorded and produced in the United States, England, Sweden and Spain. It was released to the market on December 2, 2016, achieving in just two weeks platinum status in Spain. The first single “Antes que no” (Number One) achieved No. 1 status on iTunes in 9 countries including Spain and several Latin American nations in the first days after its launch, as well as achieving good reviews in social networks due to the innovative production made in the video of the single. David Bisbal launched the music video for another song included in the sixth studio project “Hijos del Mar” called “Hurts too much”. This song arises from the idea of making a collaboration with Unicef and is dedicated to children who suffer the consequences of wars. As a promotion, the Hijos del Mar Tour covered most of Spain, saving the best till last in Huércal-Overa. It then continues the promotion in Latin America.
Tickets are €80 for the front rows and €32 for a general seat, plus all the usual fees. You can buy them through ticketmaster.es, David bisbal’s website or la cafetería del Teatro Villa de Huércal-Overa y en Joyería Vasary in town.
Sweet California are a popular female Spanish band and they will perform in the Bullring on Saturday.
Formed by Sonia Gómez, Alba Reig and Tamy Nsue. They have achieved success thanks to the albums “Break of Day”, “Head for the stars” , with which they were awarded discs of gold and platinum in Spain, with their last album “3” again set to break records of sales they will tour throughout 2017. Sweet California have more than 300,000 followers on Twitter and 500,000 on Facebook , plus more than 85 million views of videos on Youtube . Sweet California’s songs on Spotify have been heard by more than 390,000 people.
Enjoy singing along with Sweet California to the songs that you know by heart, “Vuelves”, “Hum”, “Good life”, “Empire” and many more. Do not miss out on the chance to enjoy Sweet California in concert, on a night you will never forget. The popularity and affection Sweet California are receiving is growing all the time, both in Spain and Latin America, where they will arrive in 2017 with the “Ladies tour” . They are in great form and they have already obtained Platinum Discs, with more than 100,000 discs sold, as well as MTV Awards and Prizes Los 40 . Now they are coming to the city … Come on!
Prices: There is a single price for the Vera concert, € 21 (General). Tickets for the Sweet California concert in Vera are available on the RedEntradas.com website and on the phone 958 10 81 81 (Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.). Also on the official website of Sweet California.
You can catch a taste of them here if you can not wait until 22.00 on Saturday.
On Friday 11th August Pastora Galván will perform in El Palmoral in Vera. Daughter of José Galván , she studied Flameco at the Seville dance school between 1990 and 1998, during which time she began her first professional work. She has performed all over Latin America, USA and Europe with the Company of Israel Galvan, her brother. It should be quite a night, it starts at 22.30, don’t be late.
The following night Saturday 12th August sees a Flamenco singing and dancing recital by “Entre Carrillos y Carretas”. Sung by Cristo Heredia, Edu Garcia, and Antonio García, guitarist Antonio Luis López and Eduardo Aguilera, Percussion Moi Santiago, Mariángeles Carrillo, Mariángeles Hernandez, Carmen and Alba Segura. Support is provided by the students of the School of Flamenco de Andalucía of Vera.
Both of the events are free and are sure to be well attended.
Not being golfers the beautiful restaurant at Desert Springs doesn’t normally feature when we are recommending a venue. This week we were guests of good friends celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Queen Tribute Act Like You’ve Never Seen Before.
Jazz By The Beach.
We normally pick our Olives in early November. It proves very popular with guests. Some like to join in for an hour or two, others like last year spent three whole days helping out and very grateful we were to. Whether guests help for 10 minutes or three days they all enjoy the trip to the press to see for themselves the process of producing Extra Virgin Olive Oil from fruit they have helped to pick. We have 55 trees and hope to get around a tonne of Olives but it varies from year to year. The yield also varies depending mainly on the water content, a lot of rain before harvest will result in around 1 litre of oil from 25KGs to 1 litre from around 20Kgs of Olives.
At the press the Olives are cleaned and separated from any leaves and twigs and then the Olives are “Cold pressed” at around 35º to release the oil from the water. Depending on which press we use either we bottle it ourselves or they do it for us.
