BUCKING THE TRENDIn December the number of unemployed in Ronda dropped shaprly which bucked the trend for municipalities of over 20,000 people in Málaga province that all showed an increase.
According to date provided by the Andalucía ministry of employment the total number of jobless in Ronda was 3,999. That is a decline of 102 over the November figure of 4,101. Mayor Antonio Marín said in presenting the statistics this represented a fall of 2.5 per cent.
There is a heavy imbalance in Ronda between male and females in the jobless tables with women bearing the brunt. Hence Marín expressed his satisfaction that 95 per cent of those who found work in December were women.
Marín credited the job creation schemes under the government’s plan Zapatero and the regional government’s Proteja for helping peg back unemployment in the municipality. The town hall has also cut its spending including the cancellation of last year’s May fair and used the money on creating work for 300 residents.
Of the other major municipalities in Málaga province Málaga city, Fuengirola, Torremolinos, Antequera, Marbella, Veléz-Málaga, Alhaurin de la Torre, Estepona, Mijas, Rincón de la Victoria and Coín all showed increases. Whilst in Rincón de la Victoria the leap was just 7 per cent in Estepona it was a massive 291, in Marbella 238 and in Mijas 234 per cent.
FIRST DEATH CRASH IN SERRANÍA
It was the first fatal accident in the Serranía de Ronda of 2010. On Monday morning at 7.50 a car left the MA-9300 road in Gaucín and fell down in to a gulley. The 45-year-old driver from Bormujos in Sevilla was killed but his two passengers aged 31 and 36 years only received light injuries.
According to the Guardia Civil the accident was at km 2.5 on the road that links Gaucín with El Colmenar. The tragedy happened on a bend and the car’s fall was slowed by the bushes and undergrowth.
One of the injured was taken to Ronda hospital but the other declined further treatment. The victim was travelling in the back of the car and all three worked for Copersa. They were a security team engaged in the improvement work on the Ronda to Algeciras railway line.
Ronda fire brigade, the 061 ambulance service, the Guardia Civil from Gaucín and Marbella along with the local police all attended the scene. They all reported on the difficulty in carrying out the rescue and recovery because of the heavy rain and lie of the land.
FRAY LEOPOLDO TO BE BEATIFIED AT AIR BASE
Fray Leopoldo, the friar who is on the path to being declared a saint by the Catholic Church, will be beatified on September 12 at an air force base in Armilla in Granada province. The site was chosen because of the large number of people who want to attend the event which will be presided over by the Archbishop of Granada, Francisco Javier Martínez.
Fray Leopoldo was born in the white village of Alpandeire in the Serranía de Ronda. Visitors can drive along the Fray Leopoldo route that runs through the village of his birth and around the area in which he grew up. However it was whilst he was a friar based in Granada that his work amongst the poor of that city earned him the respect and devotion that led to the calls for him to be declared a saint.
It was 49 years ago that the process of having Fray Leopoldo declared a saint were started and on September 12 his name will be inscribed in the book of the beatified by the prefect of the Congregation for the Cause of the Saints, Angelo Amato. Services will also be held in Málaga and Alpandeire to mark the event.
Fray Leopoldo is held in great veneration in the Serranía village and the local people have been at the forefront of the movement to have their famous son declared a saint. Hence there will be major celebrations there when he is declared blessed by the Catholic Church.
PASOS LARGOS
A wine from the Pasos Largos vineyard has been listed in the Best Wines of Spain Guide produced by Repsol. Pasos Largos is a red wine created in the Serranía de Ronda and is the only one from Málaga province to make it in to the prestigious guide. It is judged as the best red wine in Andalucía and is rated one of the top wines in Spain.
TAKING ACTION
Ronda mayor, Antonio Marín, has taken action against the opposition Partido Popular councillor José Herrera for “disobedience” at a recent council meeting. Marín ordered him to sit down and stop speaking on five occasions but Herrera refused to give way. The row is over the new magazine that the mayor is editing in which he is said to ridicule the opposition and hostile media.
SNOWY RONDA
No sooner had Ronda taken a breather from the torrential rain than the snow fell. On Friday residents and those in surrounding areas woke up to a white scene with several inches of snow on roofs, cars and on the ground in rural zones. There were numerous accidents on the San Pedro road - drivers were urged to use chains on their vehicles’ wheels.
HOW MUCH
The true extent of the recent rainfall in Ronda has become apparent with the release of the figures for the period from December 16 to January 7 when 578 litres of rain fell which is more than half of the 973 litres recorded over the year. The worst day was December 24 with 113 litres with 61 and 57 litres on previous days.
MUSHROOM MUSEUM
The village of Júzcar in the Serranía de Ronda is this year to open a cultural centre that will also host a tourist office and a museum dedicated to the wild fungi found in the area where a mushroom fest is celebrated every November. It is one of a number of projects that will be realised with 252,000 euros funding from Málaga province.
YEAR ON
The highly dangerous 2010 Dakar Rally is underway and January 13 marks one year since the Ronda biker Cristóbal Guerrero was seriously injured. His progress over the last 12 months has been slow but sure. He has spent a lot of time at a specialist clinic in Barcelona but was well enough to spend the festive season with his family in Ronda.
TOURISM PROJECTS
Ronda issued this week the tenders for three tourism projects. Together they will see an investment of 2,663,000 euros. Two will involve the enlargement of the Paseo de los Ingleses and the Cuenca gardens both of which are located above the edge of the Tajo gorge. The main road into Ronda – the avenida de Málaga – will also be upgraded over its first stretch.
