The Provincial Council and the Town Council of Albox are strengthening ties to ensure that the Jubilee Year of ‘El Saliente’, which is celebrated in 2025, will be a turning point in the history of this municipality in the Almanzora Valley. The Vice President, Fernando Giménez, has visited the municipality to hold a working meeting with the Mayoress, María del Mar Alfonso, her government team and, also, the Secretary of the Sanctuary of El Saliente, Pedro Manuel López Navarro.
During the meeting, the three parties have taken the first steps to organise a series of activities and actions to promote this magical enclave presided over by the Sanctuary of ‘La Pequeñica’ and encourage participation in a pilgrimage that unites the regions of Levante, Almanzora and Los Vélez.
In the same way, in the office of the mayoress, possible synergies have also been analysed to position Albox within the tourist panorama of the province and to add to the religious tourism the patrimonial excellences that the centre of the municipality offers in order to dynamise key sectors for the Albox economy: commerce and the hotel and catering trade. The idea is to promote the Sanctuary and its surroundings as one of the major tourist attractions in the province of Almería.
Fernando Giménez has congratulated the mayoress for this initiative: «Albox has lacked a promotional strategy in recent years and the government team is drawing up a roadmap that aims to position the tourist excellence of the municipality in the province».
In the same way, Giménez has shown his commitment to both the government team and the representatives of the rectorate of the Sanctuary of the Provincial Council to ensure that the Jubilee Year of ‘La Pequeñica’ can be present in the 103 municipality and that it resonates in the neighbouring provinces of Murcia and Granada. To this end, he proposed the creation of a working committee to explore cultural, gastronomic, religious, touristic and artistic actions. «Sabores Almería and the Instituto de Estudios Almerienses will participate in this multidisciplinary programme,» he added.
He also recalled how the Sanctuary has benefited from two of the direct aids from the Provincial Council, charged to the Agreement with the Bishopric, to restore the roofs of the Sanctuary and to asphalt the car park that gives access to the «house» of ‘La Pequeñica’.
For her part, the mayoress María del Mar Alfonso thanked the Diputación for their involvement with Albox: «From the first moment they have supported us and this visit is a sign of their interest in helping us to ensure that the Jubilee year crosses borders and is historic for our municipality».
Alfonso has assured that «we are going to work, through institutional collaboration, to ensure that the people of Albox can improve their quality of life and that in Albox there are more and better opportunities for all its residents. For us the promotion of the Jubilee Year is essential because it is part of our roots and can be a great element to create employment and wealth».