GOYESCA BULLFIGHT TICKETS REACH 800 EUROS ON THE BLACK MARKETBy David Eade
We may be in an economic crisis but it hasn’t stopped tickets for Saturday’s Goyesca bullfight in Ronda being offered for 800 euros on the black market.
Saturday is the key day in Ronda’s annual Feria de Pedro Romero and already all the top hotels are reporting 100 per cent occupancy. Crowds will flock in to town for the day fair which lasts till 20.00, the celebrity bullfight and move on to the feria ground in the evening.
The Goyesca bullfight always attracts major names with media stars in abundance plus national, regional and local politicians. There are rumours this year that Julio Iglesias and his family may also be amongst those attending.
The best seats were long ago sold out and it is these that are changing hands for around 800 euros although some are reported to be on the market for well over 1,000 euros. Those willing to sit in the sun may still be able to purchase tickets from the bullring box office which also has seats for the other bull fights and carriage display.
This year the matadors Perera, Manzanares and Cayetano will be talking part in the Goyesca bullfight. As is traditional before the event they will travel in open horse drawn carriages from the Hotel Reina Victoria to the Plaza de Toros accompanied by the Damas Goyescas.
DEATH CRASH
A retired couple were killed last Thursday morning on the A-367 at Cañete Real close to its borders with Cuevas del Becerro. The 74-year-old driver and his wife, 70, were apparently attempting to pass another vehicle when their four-wheel drive car crashed head-on into a livestock lorry in a no overtaking zone. It is understood the Spanish couple live in Germany but had spent the holiday period in Serrato, their birthday, close to the town of Ronda.
WOMEN ROBBERS
On August 13 the BP petrol station in Ronda on the road to Campillos was raided at around 21.30 by an armed gang. The presumption had been that it was male robbers but now the National Police have arrested two Ronda women, one with numerous previous convictions. Officers have also recovered the fire arm used in the raid which netted just 300 euros.
SPORTING PLAN
Ronda has given the go-ahead for the second and final phase of work on the Ciudad Deportiva to which it has allocated 750,000 euros. The regional government will add a similar amount to the sports complex project. Much of the town hall’s funding comes from the supermarket giant Eroski that is building a commercial centre on the town’s former football and sports stadium.
DRUGS FIND
Ronda’s local police have discovered six marihuana plants that were being grown in an apartment in the town centre. The flat had been rented by three youths for the holiday period. The illegal crop was found after the flat of another resident was flooded when the plant’s irrigation system failed and the trio being away their flat was entered by its owner.
TOURISM POLICE
In a joint venture between the tourist office and the security delegation Ronda is now to have a special police squad dedicated to helping tourists. Four officers who have learned foreign languages will patrol in the mornings and afternoons in the popular tourist zones and give advice, help with thefts and assist when cars have been towed away for being illegally parked.
BETTER COMMUNICATIONS
The regional government will soon introduce the new ‘Tetra Digital’ communications system but Ronda is one step ahead of the game. The councillor for security, Rafael Lara, says 120,000 euros has been assigned to introducing the system for the local police force which will protect their internal communications and also allow for officers to speak to each other or operate as a group.
