Alguazas

Alguazas is a Spanish municipality in the Region of Murcia, belonging to the Vega Media del Segura region.

It has an area of 23.74 km² and a population of 9,965 inhabitants (INE 2022). It is located at an altitude of 90 meters above sea level, with a maximum height of 214 meters above sea level, in Cabezo de la Zobrina. It limits to the east with Molina de Segura, to the south with Las Torres de Cotillas, to the west with Campos del Río and Villanueva del Río Segura and to the north with Ceutí and Lorquí.

Place name

The name of the municipality comes from the Arabic word "Aluazta" or "Alhuasta" words that mean "the one in the middle" given its privileged geographical location between the Mula and Segura rivers. His current name does not appear until the 13th century, when Alfonso X the Wise ceded the town to his wife Violante de él.

Prehistory

Its geographical situation between the Segura and Mula rivers allowed the territory to be populated for thousands of years. The first settlements of which there is evidence date from the Bronze Age (2000 BC), with sites of collective burials being found, such as in the Loma de los Peregrinos. Other deposits found are a flint workshop in the Cabezo de la Zobrina, the Campo del Alfarero and the Cueva del Casón, both located in the left bank of the Mula river.

History

Muslim period

The name Alguazas comes from the Arabic word Al Waza, which means "the one in the middle", because it is located at the confluence of the Mula and Segura rivers. During the Islamic period it was populated by the Bena Andik Berber tribe. It is necessary to wait until the conquest of the Taifa kingdom of Murcia, in the 13th century, to find the first written references to Alguazas.

In the Cantigas de Santa María, Aluaça is quoted about the complaints of Ramón de Rocafull, who had been dispossessed of his estate.

Village of Queens

After the conquest it was donated to Queen Violante, wife of King Alfonso X. Until the year 1321 several queens were lords of the town. First, Constanza de Aragón to whom her father Jaime II ceded Alguazas. After this, the town returned to the hands of María de Molina, wife of King Sancho IV.

Faced with the border reality of the Kingdom of Murcia, the bishop of the diocese of Cartagena, with his armies, set out for the Almeria border, winning Lubrín from the Muslims in 1309. Ferdinand IV of Castile ended up exchanging the castle of Lubrín for the possessions that his mother, María de Molina, had in the Kingdom of Murcia, including Alguazas. The exchange became effective after the death of the queen, in 1321.

Ecclesiastical Lordship

Under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Cartagena, Alguazas became increasingly important. In the 14th century, the fortress of the Torre de los Moros, located in the orchard next to the Mula River, was restored. This fortress served as a refuge for some bishops, as a prison and as a military base.

King Boabdil el Chico from Granada sacked and burned the town, taking the Mudejars from these lands. The inhabitants of Alguazas as well as their leaders had to take refuge in the Torre de los Moros until the great Muslim army withdrew.

Due to this and other battles, Alguazas has had to be repopulated on several occasions, almost always by Mudejars, people who worked the land, the main economic engine of the town. The irrigated lands had a ditch that came from Archena, where it collected the waters of the Segura river.

In 1501 the alguaceños became Catholic and their aljama gave way to a council. After a great flood in 1528 the town moved to its present, higher location. The town was founded on its new location on October 4, 1528. The new church they built was consecrated to San Onofre, patron saint of the town.

Village of Behetría

In 1580 Pope Gregory XIII granted Felipe II the privilege of obtaining some assets from the church in order to obtain resources for the battered royal treasury. In this way, Alguazas and Alcantarilla, villas in the hands of the diocese, were confiscated and put up for sale by the crown. Alguazas was bought by some moneylenders, including Giovanni María de Corbari, who, in turn, sold it to Alonso de Tenza, lord of Espinardo. The residents of the town, with a loan given by the Marquis de los Vélez, requested the right of first refusal to buy their own jurisdiction and not depend on any lordship, achieving it after long lawsuits in 1590, which was a unique event throughout the world. Kingdom of Murcia. As its own manor, Alguazas elected its political positions annually.

In 1613 the expulsion of the Murcian Moors took place, for which the population of the municipality fell significantly. In the 18th century, the region of Vega Media del Segura was one of the main producers of rice, until in 1720, when residents of the same asked the king to prohibit its cultivation due to the number of diseases it produced.

The War of Independence led to the construction of different defensive elements in Alguazas, such as a large wooden wall along the Mula River, as well as other constructions.

The disentailment periods

The council and the municipal church had large properties that were expropriated by the State in the different confiscations of the 18th and 19th centuries. All the brotherhoods and sororities disappeared as they had no income. These did not reappear until the end of the 19th century.

From the end of the 19th century to the present day

In 1865 the railway arrived in Alguazas with the inauguration of the Murcia-Albacete section of the Chinchilla-Cartagena line.

In 1873, the municipality of Alguazas adhered to the Murcian Canton, proclaimed in Cartagena on July 12 of that year, thus joining the cantonal rebellion during the First Spanish Republic.

At the end of the century, Alguazas counted among its neighbors Massa Martínez, who obtained important benefits of all kinds for the town and the towns of the Vega Media del Segura region.

The first years of the 20th century are marked by the political changes that took place in the City Hall. It is also worth noting the rise of the canning industries, which gave work to many alguaceños, as well as people from other municipalities in the region and neighboring provinces.

In the framework of the revolution of 1934, the town and the Town Hall were taken over by socialist forces on the night of October 6 to 7 of that year, having to attend members of the Civil Guard from different areas of the Region of Murcia for eviction.

After the Civil War, the canning industry reappeared in Alguazas, with an important export component, although since the 1980s, this type of industry has declined, closing most of the factories in the town. Currently, Alguazas presents a stagnation, if we compare it with other neighboring municipalities.

Geography and hydrography

Embalse de Los Rodeos, which represses the waters of the Mula River in periods of flooding and which makes the southern border of the municipality.

The relief of Alguazas is not very mountainous, since it is located between the fluvial valleys of the Segura and Mula rivers. The Segura river runs through the municipality on the east side in a NW-SE direction, with many meanders, something characteristic of Vega Media del Segura. El Segura serves as a border with the neighboring municipalities of Lorquí and Molina de Segura.

The Mula River runs through the municipality of Alguazas on its south side in an E-W direction to its mouth, forming the limit with the municipality of Las Torres de Cotillas.

In addition, the municipality has different boulevards, usually dry, although with the autumn and spring rains, they can carry water. The boulevard of Huete stands out, to the north of the municipality and that part of its route serves as the limit between Alguazas and Ceutí.

The average altitude of Alguazas is 117 meters above sea level, although that of the urban area is between 80 meters above sea level. and 110 masl. The lowest point of the municipality is at the confluence of the Mula and Segura rivers, which is about 65 meters above sea level. Next to El Barrio del Carmen, is Mount Anaor, with its Anaor peak at 186 meters above sea level. thus being one of the highest in the municipality, although the highest altitude in the municipality resides in the vicinity of the Rodeos reservoir, to the east of the town, where altitudes are reached above 200 meters above sea level, the highest point being 214 meters above sea level.

Neighboring municipalities

Northwest: Villanueva del Río Segura	North: Ceutí	Northeast: Lorqui
West: Campos del Río		This: Molina de Segura
Southwest The Towers of Cotillas	South: The Towers of Cotillas	Sureste: Molina de Segura

Symbols

Flag

Mars Flag.

Alguaz shield.

Horizontal triple, fold to the center. The upper band is red, the central one is light blue and the lower one is flag green, in such a way that the central one is twice as wide as each of the other two. And loaded on the blue band, the shield of the Villa.

Shield

The shield of Alguazas is quartered. The tower of the first barracks symbolizes the town that in the Middle Ages arose around its fortress castle. In the second there are two eight-pointed stars crossed by a sinople band, alluding to the arms of the bishop, Juan de Media, Lord of Alguazas, when the population constituted a council.

The last two quarters depict a two-handled jug with lilies, a miter and a staff that refer to the arms of the Cabildo de Cartagena. The legend that appears on the embroidery, honored and ennobled, includes the Royal provision of Felipe II when he mediated in the conflicts that occurred between the neighbors and the church, once the independence of the town was achieved.

Cuarilongo, quartered. 1st, of sinople, a tower, of gold, donjonada and crenellated, masonada of sable and clarified of gules, on waves of silver and azure. 2nd, two eight-pointed gold stars, in a field of azure, crossed by a sinople band lined with gold, and loaded with a gules quote, also lined with gold. 3rd, of azure, a jug with two handles, of silver, with lilies of the same metal. 4th, of sinople, miter and staff, of gold, accompanied. Gold border with the legend "Honoured and ennobled", in sable. Stamped with a lord's crown (of smooth gold, trimmed with twelve points, of which only seven are visible).

Administration and Town Hall

Mayors since 1979

Legislature	Name	Group
1979-1983	Silvino Jiménez Alfonso	PSOE
1983-1987	Silvino Jiménez Alfonso (1983-87) José María Hernández Palazón (1987)	PSOE Independent
1987-1991	Silvino Jiménez Alfonso	PSOE
1991-1995	Silvino Jiménez Alfonso (1991-93) Francisco Franco Hurtado (1993-95)	PSOE
1995-1999	Diego Oliva	Popular Party
1999-2003	Diego Oliva (1999-2001) José Antonio Fernández Lladó (2001-03)	Popular Party
2003-2007	José Antonio Fernández Lladó (2003-05) Francisco Franco Hurtado (2005-07)	Popular Party UPDA
2007-2011	José Antonio Fernández Lladó	Popular Party
2011-2015	José Antonio Fernández Lladó	Popular Party
2015-2019	Blas Ángel Ruipérez Peñalver	PSOE
2019-	Blas Ángel Ruipérez Peñalver (2019-2020) Silvia Ruiz (2020-)	PSOE Popular Party

Motions of no confidence in the mayor's office

Consistorial House of Alguazas.

Alguazas has the highest number of censure motions in the entire Region of Murcia since the democratic period began in 1979.

In the 1983-1987 term, three motions were presented, but only the last of them succeeded in removing the socialist mayor Silvino Jiménez, in favor of his former colleague José María Hernández, who became mayor with the support of the four Alianza Popular councilors and two other councilors who had left the PSOE together with him.

Another successful motion of censure occurred in 2001 and dismissed the mayor Diego Oliva with the votes of the seven councilors of his own group, the Popular Party, and promoted what until then was his right-hand man and lieutenant of mayor, José Antonio Fernández Lladó.

The fifth took place in 2005, when the four independent councilors joined the PSOE, in exchange for the head of the list of independents and former socialist mayor Francisco Franco, leading a motion of censure that went ahead leaving in opposition to until then mayor José Antonio Fernandéz Lladó and his group the Popular Party.

The sixth motion of no confidence occurred on July 17, 2020, electing Silvia Ruiz from the PP as the new mayor with the support of Unidad por Alguazas.

Demographics

Demographic evolution of Alguazas (black line) in the context of the region.

Since 1900, Alguazas has followed an upward trend, parallel to other municipalities in the region, such as Ceutí and Lorquí, which has tripled the population at the beginning of the century, largely due to improved communications with Murcia, to the installation of industries and immigration.

Education

The municipality of Alguazas has 5 educational centers with a wide range that ranges from 2-year-old children to higher education such as high school and higher degrees. The centers are:

• Child and primary education centre "Our Lady of the Carmen", in the Barrio del Carmen, near Mount Anaor.
• Public College "Monte Anaor", in the center of the town. This is the oldest of all existing educational centres.
• Secondary Education Centre "Vega Media", concerted centre Child Education, Primary, Secondary and Vocational training located in the highway of Mula, in the Barrio del Carmen..
• Institute of Secondary Education "Villa de Alguazas", Instituto de Educación Secundaria y Bachillerato located in the Barrio del Carmen de Alguazas. It has about 500 students. The Institute was opened in 1999.
• Guards "Reina Sofia", nursery located in the Barrio Del Carmen, on Calle Miguel de Unamuno.

Sports

The municipality has several sports clubs, which satisfy all the needs of the young people of Alguaceños.

The main sport is soccer, which is why it has several clubs that stand out at the regional level.

• The Club Deportivo Alguazas has several categories, from child to youth, and competes against other teams from the Region. He often plays his games as a local at the San Lorenzo Municipal Football Field, located on the Mula road. That field was recently rebuilt, installing artificial grass instead of land. Coinciding with the festivities, tournaments are organized to which large teams come at the national level.

• La Escuela Deportiva Alguazas Football Room also has several categories. It competes against other regional teams, always highlighting among them, as it has reached the regional championship several times. Many team players sometimes participate with the murcian selection of football room in national tournaments having been awarded as pichichi and best player on occasion. Play your games at the Municipal Sports Pavilion.

The second most important sport in the municipality is baseball. Alguazas, has two national baseball teams. These are:

• Baseball Club Alguazas
• Anaor Baseball Club

It also has other rhythmic gymnastics, handball, basketball, etc. teams.

Sports venues

The municipality has a wide range of sports facilities where many sports can be practiced. These are:

• Campo Municipal de Fútbol de San Lorenzo: 7 or 11 artificial grass football field with 3 wardrobes, stands for up to 500 people, canteen, night lighting, etc.
• Municipal Sports Police: Polydeportivo has 3 tennis courts, one of the frontons,
• Municipal pool: Located next to the municipal sports centre, it has two swimming pools, one of a smaller and a newly renovated semi-olympic.
• Municipal Sports Pavilion: It is a pavilion with a lounge football court and with two removable basketball tracks. It has a grandstand of more than 500 people. Outside it has another basketball track, also in a state of ruin.
• Municipal Pool Cover: It is an indoor swimming pool located in the vicinity of the Municipal Pavilion that has two swimming pools, a semiolimpica and which was planned to end by September or October 2011. Shortly before she was finished, she was set on fire at the end of 2011.
• Baseball field: Outside the municipality is the baseball field, something precarious and in a state of ruin.

Patron Saints

• Saint Onofre and the Virgin of the Rosary.
• San Antonio, despite not being Pattern of SheriffsThere are those who consider it as such. It also gives name to neighborhood and Square in which is the Holy Image (Plaza de San Antonio No-5).
• Santa Barbara Patron in the Pedanía The Paraje.
• Santo Domingo pattern on the pedannia The Garden of Above.
• San Antón is celebrated as a popular pilgrimage Sheriffs and in the bordering villages, at the same time that San Antón is the patron of the pedannia of The Pullas.
• The Virgin of Carmen is the patron saint of neighborhood to which he gives name, where his hermitage is located, which at the same time welcomes his Holy Image.
• The Virgin of the Purest Conception is the patron saint of neighborhood to which he gives name, where his hermitage is located, which at the same time welcomes his Holy Image.

Holy Week

The origins of Holy Week in Alguazas date back to the 16th century, at that time one of the pasos that used to process through the streets of the municipality was Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno. Over the years, devotion to Holy Week has grown among the residents and has become a benchmark for the town's festivities.

On Friday of Dolores, the processions begin in the municipality, which will end with the Procession of the Risen One, Easter Sunday. During those days, the Nazarenes and musicians populate the streets of the town where a special atmosphere is breathed. If we talk about Holy Week in Alguazas, we cannot fail to mention the most typical, characteristic and at the same time traditional, such as the Dance of the Saints, a tradition that goes back years and that has spread over time. to other surrounding municipalities.

Festivities

Alguazas celebrates its patron saint festivities during the month of June, in honor of San Onofre (12th) and San Antonio de Padua (13th), where the most deeply rooted and important events stand out, such as the parade of floats, concerts, religious events or the presentation gala of the Ladies and the Election of the Queen of the Festivals.

Heritage

The Tower of the Moors

Mountain viewer, ancient Moor Tower.

The Old Tower, the Bishop or the Moros.

The Old Tower, of the Bishop or of the Moors, names by which it has been known, was built on a Muslim cemetery at the beginning of the 12th century. It is a square-plan construction, consisting of two bodies made up of thick mortar walls, and although it must have originally had a moat and wall, today there are only vestiges of having battlements and two long, narrow loopholes on each front.

The origins of the fortress tower date back to the Almohad domination, being contemporary with the fortresses of Aledo and Alhama de Murcia.

Built in the middle of the orchard, on the left bank of the Mula River, it belonged to the temporal power of the Church in the Kingdom of Murcia during the Late Middle Ages. In 1442 there were bombards, thunderbolts, crossbows, spears and shields in the tower and it served as a watchtower to, in combination with other strategically located towers, warn the city of Murcia through smoke that there were incursions by Moors from Granada.

It served as a refuge for several bishops of the diocese of Cartagena, serving as an ecclesiastical prison and serving as a military base for various incursions into other nearby towns. A notable fact is the presence in Alguazas of Bishop Diego de Comontes who had confronted the council of Murcia not only with his forces but also with those of other companies sent by the monarch himself in support of him.

It suffered several attacks, the hardest when the Moorish king of Granada, Boabdil el Chico, looted and set fire to houses, trees and crops, destroyed the fortress and took all the inhabitants of the place captive.

After the flood of San Calixto in 1651, for the reconstruction of the building, the bricks of the wall that surrounded the fortress were used.

When Alguazas, buying itself, acquired its independence at the hands of Don Alonso de Tenza, the fortress tower remained the property of the Council, but they did not take care of its costly maintenance, so the deterioration progressed, although given Its good structure has miraculously been able to reach our days; partly thanks to "los Tobalos", who acquired it in the mid-19th century, when the confiscation of municipal assets.

Owned by them, the battlements and sentry boxes were demolished, being converted into a farmhouse, until in 1989 it was acquired by the City Council and with the help of the Autonomous Community a first phase of restoration was carried out. Today there is a small ethnological museum of the orchard on the upper floors, and on the ground floor, concerts and other social events are given.

Church of San Onofre

Church of San Onofre de Alguazas.

Alguazas is home to one of the most interesting churches in the Region of Murcia. This church is the result of a phased construction throughout its history, which is why it is an atypical temple with forms that are not entirely harmonious.

The temple harmonizes three different styles: the 16th century Mudejar (in the central nave), the early 18th century Baroque (Rosario Chapel), and the late 18th and early 19th century neoclassical (transept and dome by Lorenzo Alonso).

Construction of the church began in 1529 by the master mason Alonso de Cabrera and was completed in 1534. In 1535, to cover the costs of its completion, the side chapels were sold to distinguished families of the town. Subsequently, important works would be carried out, such as the placement of the wooden ceiling, in 1566, and the placement of the new portal in 1642. At the end of the 18th century, the demography of Alguazas developed significantly, which is why the church was expanded. The project was directed, in 1793, by the architect Lorenzo Alonso, and the works finished in 1801.

Twinning

• Lehrensteinsfeld, Germany

Municipal Term of Alguazas regarding the Region of Murcia.