The territorial delegate of Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía in Almería, Vicente García Egea, has presented today the I Encuentro de Cuadrillas ‘Recuperando parrandas y cantes de antes’, which will be held in the town of Lúcar next Sunday 19th December with the sponsorship of the regional ministry directed by the vice-president Juan Marín. The event is intended to become “an essential date in the tourist and cultural calendar of the province”; as well as “another attraction” to “attract travellers to the region through ancient folklore and the traditions of the elderly”.
García Egea has highlighted the “uniqueness” of this municipality in the Almanzora Valley, and has valued the “commitment” of the government team in “recovering” the traditional songs and dances of the area, not only through this meeting, but also with the realization of music workshops or making traditional costumes, as explained by the mayor, Manuel López Encinas.
“It is a type of folklore that had been lost among the new generations, and from the regional ministry led by Juan Marín we are going to be at the side of the Town Hall in this task of giving value to this tradition in order to recover the identity of our villages and, furthermore, as a tourist attraction for the area”, the delegate pointed out.
García Egea has indicated that initiatives such as the I Encuentro de Cuadrillas ‘Recuperando parrandas y cantes de antes’ of Lúcar is “in tune” with one of the strategic lines of action of the ministry, which is to “give a new approach to tourism from the municipal idiosyncrasy and sustainability”. “We want Almería as a whole to be known for its sustainable tourism offer, to form an important part of this brand, because the province has many indicators, and it is not just the Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural park that is the flagship”.
Along these lines, he alluded to the Sierra Nevada Natural Park, the Sierra María-Los Vélez Natural Park and the Sierra de los Filabres, where Lúcar is located, which “is the second most important forest mass in Andalusia after the Sierra de Cazorla and for which there are already initiatives to convert it into a natural park”.
“The traditions and popular symbology of the inland villages must also form part of the sustainable tourism image of the province, which is not only its coastal villages, and this is the commitment of the Regional Ministry of Tourism,” he concluded.
For her part, the Town Council’s cultural promoter, Rosa María García, explained that the initiative arose with the aim that the “most typical traditions” which were being “forgotten” and which form “part of the identity” of Lúcar “can once again take root through the youngest people”.
“We also want it to serve as a tourist attraction beyond recovering the memory of the town”, said García, who said that, in addition to the meeting, workshops and another meeting are being prepared in which “the elders will explain to the youngsters what the songs and dances were like”.
In this line, he stressed the ethnographic value of these traditions “which were not just a dance, but were associated with the way of living and expressing themselves in the farmhouses”.
For the I Encuentro de Cuadrillas to be held on 19 December, the Lúcar Town Council has also organised a snack and a “paseíllo” through the streets of the municipality, “which was what the “cuadrillas de ánimas” used to do at Christmas time”. The programme will begin at 16.30 with a reception, talk and dance performance in the Marín de Poveda Cultural Hall, followed at 17.30 by a snack of traditional sweets. Finally, between 18.00 and 20.00 there will be a parade of “cuadrillas”.
