Zahara de los Atunes www.eladezaharadelosatunes.org 2 SUMARIO • Introducción / introduction 4 • Historia / history 8 • Monumentos / monuments 10 Fortaleza y casa-chanca Palacio de Pilas Escuela antigua Cañones Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen El vapor El río Cachón Milla náutica • Nuestro mar / our sea 19 Playa del Carmen Playa Cabo Plata Playa de Aguenmedio Playa del Cañuelo • Nuestra flora y fauna / our flora and fauna 25 • Nuestros vestigios / our Legacy 26 • Qué comemos en Zahara / what to eat in Zahara 28 • Qué hacemos en Zahara / what to do in Zahara 30 • Servicios / services 32 • Plano / plane 34 Fotografías: Carlos Yebra D.L.: LE-388 2015 Evam 3 INTRODUCTION About Us Zahara de los Atunes is a small town with a population of approximately 1,200 inhabitants, in the South of the province of Cádiz, between two mountain ranges, Sierra del Retín and Sierra de la de Plata, and bordered by the River Cachón and the Atlantic Ocean. It still holds traces of that fishing, artisanal and traditional village essence that many visitors find in its happy and easy-going inhabitants. Every corner of the village and its surroundings are awash with colours, intense light, sunsets over the sea and reflections in the sand. There is something about this little southern corner that attracts thousands of visitors each year from all over the world, including famous people from the country’s social, cultural and political scene, many of whom have chosen Zahara as their secondary residence. Located in a privileged environment, Zahara de los Atunes boasts kilometres of beautiful beaches with fine golden sands and blue crystalline waters, which are home to a wide diversity of marine species, among which we can find the bluefin tuna, (fish that gives the town its name -atún in Spanish-), which visit us every year on their migration route to spawn and breed. The tuna fishing industry has always been a key part of the town’s development. In ancient times the town’s economy was completely based on fishing, and today a culinary culture exists around this precious treasure that, thanks to tourism, has become its hallmark. 4 INTRODUCCIÓN Quiénes somos Zahara de los Atunes es una pequeña localidad de unos 1.200 habitantes, aproximadamente. Situada al sur de la provincia de Cádiz, entre dos sierras, la del Retín y la de Plata, y entre dos orillas, la del río Cachón y la del océano Atlántico. Aún guarda vestigios de ese pueblo marinero, artesanal y tradicional, esencia que muchos visitantes han percibido de sus gentes, alegres y sencillas; hay que destacar los colores que impregnan cada rincón del pueblo y alrededores, con una luz intensa, atardeceres con puesta de sol en el mar y reflejos en la arena. Algo tiene este rinconcito del sur que con reconocimiento a nivel mundial, atrae a miles de visitantes cada año, entre ellos personajes de la vida social, cultural y política del país, muchos incluso han decidido hacer de Zahara su segundo lugar de residencia. Enclavado en un entorno privilegiado, Zahara de los Atunes disfruta de kilómetros de hermosas playas de arena clara y fina, y un mar de aguas azules y cristalinas, aguas ricas en especies marinas entre la que destaca el atún rojo, pez que le da nombre, y que cada año nos visita en la ruta migratoria que recorre para desovar y reproducir su especie. A lo largo de su historia la pesca del atún ha supuesto una parte fundamental en su desarrollo. En la antigüedad la economía del pueblo se basaba literalmente en la pesca, hoy existe toda una cultura culinaria en torno a este preciado tesoro que se ha convertido gracias al turismo en una marca de identidad. 5 7 HISTORY Our past Although remains can be found from the Palaeolithic period, it was not until the arrival of the Tartessians and Phoenicians that these beaches started being relevant from the commercial and historical point of view. In the early days of Zahara de los Atunes, the stagnation of the Cádiz population was highly significant, for more than 200 years, on the Castilian-Nazari border (Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times). As a result, the repopulation attempts of the old municipality of Vejer failed. This, together with its being on the border, as well as pirates and tuna fisheries (almadrabas) all conditioned the town’s development. In the 15th century, the Duke of Medina Sidonia exchanged the towns of Zafra, Zafrilla and Halconera with King Fernando IV for that of Vejer, precisely in order to be able to control the almadrabas at Conil and Zahara. Neither the border situation, nor the frequent attacks by Barbary pirates, from the 15th century, could deter the Duke in his determination to operate the highly profitable fisheries, building castles at Conil and Zahara to defend the almadrabas and the coast. So we could say that Zahara de los Atunes, as a population centre, basically emerged, from the building of the castle and Zahara de los Atunes by the Dukes of Medina Sidonia. 8 HISTORIA Quiénes fuimos Aunque existen vestigios desde el Paleolítico, no será hasta la llegada de los tartesos y fenicios cuando estas playas comenzarán a tener cierta relevancia desde el punto de vista comercial e histórico. En el nacimiento de Zahara de los Atunes tuvo una gran importancia el estancamiento en la población de Cádiz, durante más de 200 años, de la frontera castellano-nazarí (Baja Edad Media y comienzos de la Modernización). Este hecho hizo que fracasasen los intentos repobladores del antiguo término de Vejer. Este factor unido a la frontera, piratas y almadrabas, condicionaron su nacimiento. En el siglo XV, el duque de Medina Sidonia cambió las villas de Zafra, Zafrilla y Halconera por la villa de Vejer al rey Fernando IV, precisamente para poder dominar las almadrabas de Conil y Zahara. Ni la situación fronteriza, ni los frecuentes ataques de los piratas berberiscos, a partir del siglo XV, arredraron al duque en su empeño por la explotación de sus rentabilísimas pesquerías, construyendo sendos castillos en Conil y Zahara para defensa de la almadraba y su costa. Así que podemos decir que Zahara de los Atunes, como núcleo poblacional, surgió, básicamente, de la construcción del castillo de Zahara de los Atunes por los Duques de Medina Sidonia. 9 MONUMENTS Fortress and Chanca-House, Pilas Palace Zahara Chanca Palace, also called Las Pilas Palace, was built in the first half of the 15th century by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, descendant of Guzmán el Bueno, who received the king’s grace to run the almadrabas in the South Atlantic and Mediterranean. Its aims were threefold: • Defensive Castle against Turkish-Barbary pirates. have visited Zahara and spoken of its wonders, such as the • Residential Palace for the Dukes of Medina Sidonia author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who during the almadraba season. put Carriazo, the protagonist of La Ilustre Fregona, in the Zahara fishery. The work depicts the life of apícaro (roguish • Chanca, a processing plant where the tuna fish was cut up, hero) at the fisheries: «In short, everyone saw Carriazo as a salted and prepared. virtuous, clean, well-bred pícaro who was more than fairly discreet. He went through all the levels of picaresqueness It is the only Palace in the world with these features. With until he graduated as Master at the Zahara tuna fisheries, a surface area of over 15,000 m2, inside were a huge where he is the epitome of picaresqueness». salting plant (currently a church since 1906), a wood store, In 1929 the Consorcio Nacional Almadrabero (Almadraba a butcher’s, a supplies store, a well, the Duke’s lodging National Consortium) was founded, an association of a quarters, kneading ovens, pools, etc. It has a slightly mixed nature with public and private capital, which included quadrangular floor plan and originally consisted of three State and large tuna fishery companies. Making use of the towers: two corner ones, Torre de Levante [Eastern Tower] extraordinary powers granted by the Royal Decree of its and Torre de Poniente [Western Tower] (the only one constitution, and experiencing a sharp decline in catches preserved today), and a central one, Torre de la Vela, where during the Second Republic, the Consortium implemented the Bell Tower was. a policy for rationalizing the fisheries, which would lead to There were two large courtyards, their current layouts a drastic suppression of many of them, although the one coinciding significantly with their respective original ones. at Zahara survived. The Consortium ran the fishery and One attached to the North façade, used as a boathouse, occupied the Palace from 1929 to 1936, when it was used as containing the Postes de la Ramada, where the tunas were barracks, first by the army and then by the Civil Guard until hung for cleaning and quartering, and where the auction was 1974. held. The other courtyard, larger than the previous one, is The building was declared a National Monument by Decree currently the rear part of the enclosure and delimited by the on 22nd April 1949, and in 1985 the new Spanish Historical outer wall on the South, East and West. Heritage Law declared it a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC). At the beginning of the 17th century, and due to the good In 2004 (BOJA of 19/11/04) the Andalusian Regional campaigns, Zahara began to be populated. The first houses Government Ministry of Culture declared it a Site of were built, nearly always against the town wall. Then houses Cultural Interest in the category of Monument, thanks to with vaulted ceilings started to be built.