Check out the hula hooping preliminary rounds filmed live at the world famous SINALOA BAR &GRILL, at the following link :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyV5e-luEOw&feature=related

Speaking of the incredible SINALOA , Chef Angelo Carbone, recognized in the Spanish press as one the best ,for his pastas and gourmet Italian cuisine , will be working with the Sinaloa during July and August . El Pais´ restaurant critic rated Chef Angelo´s food as some of the best they had sampled in the last 20 years .

Sinaloa , with the collaboration of Chef Carbone have created a Summer menu of outstanding quality and variety to be presented in a casual atmosphere and as always at a reasonable price .

I still feel that Sinaloa offers the best steaks and grilled meats in the area and at a more reasonable price than can be found anywhere else .

Below is the article about Chef Angelo as it appeared in El Pais, Spain´s most important newspaper;

Magníficas gambas y calamares picantes, con un punto de ajo, peladas y apenas tocadas por un punto de calor, y soportadas por una original ensalada de rúcola frita, preparación que confiere a las amargas hojas el punto crujiente y aceitoso que conviene a los mariscos, todo suavidad en sus carnes.

Así las preparan en este restaurante, italiano de principio a fin, y en que nos muestran una panoplia de posibilidades entre las que se cuentan especialidades del norte de aquel país, como los tortellinis elevados de categoría con el perfume profundo de la trufa blanca; del sur, con la suave preparación de las verduras -en especial la berenjena- al uso siciliano de la caponata; o centrales, como los tagliatelle de la Emilia Romagna, aquí acompañados de un surtido de setas donde se percibe la profundidad del Boletus edulis.

El origen del propietario, Ángelo, es sardo, pero su experiencia en media Europa le ha hecho acreedor de un profundo conocimiento no solo de la gastronomía de las islas, sino de toda la península vecina, en especial de los quesos y su vertiente culinaria, ingrediente del que usa en casi todos los platos, dándonos a conocer las posibilidades que encierran más allá de combinarlos con el pan y el vino.

Poco conocida por nosotros esa cocina, y desconocido en buena parte el cocinero y el local por su ubicación en una zona de la ciudad con pocas expectativas culinarias, es interesante descubrir que existen al lado de casa sólidas y muy sabrosas alternativas a la pizza y los spaghettis con tomate, que de forma tan ligera asumimos como fórmulas representativas de aquella forma de comer.

 

 

The old Flamenco Hotel has rented out their beach front bar and pool and is now known as MALIBU . The new management previously had the PIZZERIA ARCANO .Malibu is off to a great start so stop by for a visit .There is no charge for the beach beds , unlike the other beach bars, and nothing on the menu is more than 10 Euros . Malibu also offers accomodation at a reasonable 60 Euros per night for a double with breakfast . The clientele is a nice mix of nationalities , the waitresses speak a variety of languages and the pricing is friendly to most people´s budgets .

 

 

MOJACAR , Long known for being unique , seems to be defying the current economic crisis. Prices for property are once again on the rise. Attributed by some to wealthy Madrileños taking advantage of global economic woes to re claim the area once again as Brits and other non-Spanish flee the area due to harsh economic times .xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .

May 15 saw one of the biggest demonstrations against Mojacar´s municipal government in recent years . Between 200 - 300 protesters marched through the pueblo´s streets in an attempt to convince the Mayoress that many residents are not in favor of her plan to disrupt the village tranquility with yet another unnecessary building project .Obviously the local planners chose not to appreciate Joni Mitchell´s lyrics about¨ taking paradise to put in a parking lot¨ . It has become customary in small town politics for the incumbent politicians during their last year in office to take advantage of matching funds from central government to initate various public works projects .Often for no other reason than to gain acess to the funds .Frequently the contracts for these projects are awarded to political supporters ,( cronies )as a reward for their support and the reciprocity for the awarding of the contract is payment of what is euphemistically referred to as ¨commissiones¨.

Below are some pictures of the demonstration , amongst the demonstrators were former local politicians ,and some political aspirants who found this an oppurtunity to show their solidarity with the protesters .

Mojacar Se Mueve , a non political citizen action group should be congratulated for their efforts on behalf of the Pueblo by resisting the plan to put in another poorly designed parking facility and putting forth that the village be re-zoned pedestrian with no vehicle traffic. According to Lenox Napier , the last demonstration of this size was to protest the demolition of the Fuente .If they want to spend some money why not install the surf machine , university campus and hospital I proposed years ago ,assuring Mojacar a magnet for year round tourism and plenty of jobs .

In Joni´s words ;

ORIGINAL LYRICS
© 1966-69 Siquomb Publishing Co. BMI

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,
With a pink hotel, a boutique,
And a swinging hot spot.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum.
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Hey, farmer, farmer, put away that D.D.T., now!
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees, please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Late last night I heard the screen door slam.
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Any copyrighted material on these pages is used in "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and after the melee , diego and ignacio celebrating the victory of democratic process .

 

 

 

 

Pictures above , two of the Miss Super Waitress contestants .

Another Sinaloa birthday celebration !!!!!!!!!!!

There was an interesting take on the global economic crisis recently .A group of economists prognosticating what effect the U.S elections might have, the length of time , etc,when one person came up with the idea that ¨the whole thing could right itself tomorow, noone really knows as we´ve never been in this situation before. Sounds good to me.

After a court case that lasted nearly two years a Mojacar mother and child were reunited . Joann Simpson and her son Xabi will be together again after a judge in Vera ruled that the eight year old should be returned to the custody of the mother after being taken by her ex nearly two years ago ..Many of those those privy to the case couldnt understand how the child and mother could have been seperated for so long pending the decision .

 

And the winer of the Euromillions prize from Mojacar is,.........................................................most assuredly .not me. Lots of speculation as to who it might be and who you hope it isn´t. Do we want another corrupt politician to be able to buy all the votes in the next election ¿ Is it as most Mojaqeros believe a town Hall functionary from the urban planning ? Today , some are suggesting it might be Super Diego a local Gestor with offices on the beach . If it seems strange noone has stepped forward yet , might it be because the winning ticket is worth at least 20 % more to someone wishing to launder their ill-gotten gains (politician, drug dealer etc) than the facevalue that the lottery will actually pay and the ticket is being offered to the highest bidder ?

Below is a box of soap .The image on the box is that of JESUS ´CHUY¨ MALVERDE, the Patron Saint of outlaws, ,more specifically those engaged in drug trafficking . Malverde has the reputation of being a Robin Hood- like character from the early 1900 s and has captured the imagination of rappers, fashion designers and a lot of the street culture in America. In California , Malverde memorabilia can be used as evidence to imply your intent to possess drugs for sale and other illegal activity. GOD BLESS ÉM

 

 

 

NOW THAT WE HAVE A NEW TOWN HALL , WILL WE GET THE WAVE MACHINE , HOSPITAL AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUS THE TOWN NEEDS ?

What´s happening here? Can the Town Fathers not see beyond the end of their own bank balances? Common knowledge has it that business has beeen o n the downturn here for several years.Mojacar in Winter was about as busy as an iceberg. A machine to generate surfable waves on the seafront costs less than a million €uros , a satellite campus of a university only requires providing a piece of land on a long lease as would a hospital , and any or all of these would help to fill the glut of vacant holiday lets during the time of the year when most are empty. A town in England apparently saw an increase of appproximarely 30% in property values when a wave machine was installed and another is under construction now near Barcelona .

MOJACAR SE MUEVE sez :

We thank you in advance for your time and would like to introduce ourselves. We are a social and cultural association from the Mojácar area named “Mojácar se Mueve”.
We aim to work on various different aspects dealt with within the Town Hall which are much forgotten or completely abandoned, such as; culture, youth, sport, racial integration and a very long etc.

The purpose of this email is to make citizens of Mojácar aware of the complete lack of interest our politicians have in the aforementioned matters. One clear example is that our Town Councillor, who is in charge of youth, sport and health, has no idea what a youth club is!
Also in the village itself there is not a single children’s park, we have over 100 children under the age of 15 in this part of our town.

The worst thing about this is that the councillors know of this problem and are very aware yes but not at all concerned with solving these terrible problems. The fact is they do not take these matters seriously and actually joke about them, and appear to have no immediate or even long term intention of taking any of these points into hand.

We are not going to enter into a debate about why our politicians don’t do things or even seem to care about our town (some of us not born here are of the opinion that they don’t actually love their town) we would like to make a stand, make some noise, and make everybody aware of two events that have occurred in the last couple of months. We are completely disgusted by the answers received by our local representatives in the town hall, some rightfully voted in and others who have paid their way in.

These are:
 
YOUTH CLUB:

After presenting a document proposing ideas for a youth club at the Youth Councillors office we await 3 weeks and hear nothing. We then call to find that the document has not even been read, we ask if he could possibly do so and call us back. A week later we return the call, as we have still not received a reply, to once again be told that it has not been read. After a month and a half of calling and visits to his office (which he is never in) he finally says over the phone “well what is it you want?” “What is a youth club and what is it for?” “My kids haven’t got one and don’t have time for anything else after school and playing with friends!” “Can you guarantee me that the BOTELLON (drinking in the streets) will stop if we have one of these things?” Followed by him saying that “there is no place for this sort of thing and that it’s not of importance” then he proceeds to hanging up on us very rudely!

CHILDRENS PARK:

We made a petition and collected 600 signatures, from mostly parents and kids from the village, asking for a solution to this situation as it’s an unbelievable fact. We took this with the 600 signatures to the Councillor in charge of this subject. He listened to us and spoke to the other councillors about our petition and the answer we received after the meeting was: The only project for a park will be finished in 2 years time; well this is exactly the same response we got 2 years ago from the previous government!!
Those of us involved in the association and all of the other residents of Mojácar wonder if we are going to stand for this and have them, literally, laughing at our 600 signatures and our plead for some basic and necessary services our town urgently lacks.
These are the people who before the elections listen, promise, smile, talk.
The same people who now don’t smile or listen or anything they promised apart from letting deteriorate, even more, this beautiful town we all choose to live in.
We attach  the 2 petitions completely ignored by our politicians.
For these reasons we are in action and informing our local media, of the internal disaster that exists in our government to this day. This is their job and they are paid to do this, we pay them to do their job not just raffle out the councillor’s areas of work as they please without any interest for their work, their towns benefit or more importantly its people.

If you have interest in making this public or would like to speak to us for more details on the subjects we are concerned with, please contact us at the following email or telephone:

mosquitotattoo@hotmail.com              Phone:629944374 / 629089949

 

 

This photo of Mojacar ,from the collection of Alan and Gil Stewart ,shows the Village as it was in 1962 . A collection of photos depicting the area´s evolution is on display in the lobby of the Hotel Mojacar Playa , just behind the El Arbol market on the Paseo .Close inspection of the picture shows the dominant structures in the Village are the church on one side ,and the now SINALOA FANNY´S on the other side

With the New Year here and the obligatory resolutions made, some local joggers have found that adhering to those resolutions can be rewarding in more ways than just shedding a few pounds. In the past couple of weeks several hundred kilos of hashish have been discovered by early morning athletes patrolling Mojacar ´s beaches .

 

For more insight into the goings on in Mojacar ,read Lenox Napier´s Entertainer Online.

 

 

Out with the Old ,contributed by LENOX NAPIER

Mojácar was founded over six thousand years ago or more as a Copper Age community. The exact site was around the foot of the hill known to us today as ‘Old Mojácar’. According to Juan Grima, a local historian who recently gave a talk on the history of the town at the ‘Castillo’, Mojácar changed its site over the aeons from the original location, to up the Sierra Cabrera (protection from pirates) and later to an area above La Paratá, then back to the ‘Old Mojácar’ mount where it was first named, by the Romans, as ‘Mons Sacra’. Later on the name and the location changed, to where it presently lies, with Mons Sacra moving via the Arab ‘Muxacra’ to the current version Mojácar. History, you might say, is embedded in every rock, every stone.
Actually, not so much as one would like. While the old ‘Sacred Mountain’ has never been properly excavated, most of the remains from prehistoric times, when uncovered, have been destroyed as fast as possible. The archaeologists, if alerted from Granada University, can take an agonizingly long time to perform a dig and so, my friends, it’s better to brush the dirt back over it with a bulldozer.
In more modern times, there are equally few remains of the Moorish town which was sacked by the Christian forces in 1488 or, for that matter, of the town that followed. The sixteenth century castle, described as ‘inmutable’ or ‘unknockdownable’ in a 1928 Spanish encyclopaedia, had disappeared entirely by the late nineteen fifties. Other buildings were purposely dismantled by their owners to sell off the doors, rejas, wood beams and so on, before their departure in search of work and a better future during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Mojácar was a place of ruins by 1960.
As we know, tourism brought it back from the brink: residential tourism to begin with, later followed by what the mayoress unfortunately described enthusiastically on television last month as ‘cheap, cheap, cheap hotels’.

Destruction

However, the race to make money often means destroying the old to replace it with a modern tee-shirt shop or perhaps a humourous ashtray emporium. In Mojacar, the old Arco de Luciana was demolished about ten years ago (in actual fact, it was just a tunnel under a bedroom next to La Sartén where generations of customers emptied their bladders). We still use this destruction for political reasons. More importantly, the town’s fountain was ‘remodelled’ back in 1987 to general indignation; the ‘Castillo’ was turned into a bunker around the same time (and several thousand-year-old graves were quickly cemented over); the Plaza Parterre – a dull empty square behind the church, was re-vamped by the last town hall (using every form of architecture known to science in its outing); the Plaza Nueva was systematically knocked down in favour of un-typical architecture over the years since 1968; the beautiful theatre went in around 1975 in exchange for some serious tee-shirteries; and of the six ‘ermitas’ - small churches that were built in the fervent times of the seventeenth century – apart from one which is now incorporated into a private house – the final surviving one is, as I write, falling down in the main square.
The Ermita is in private hands and has no protection on it whatsoever. It could be gone by Christmas, I imagine, and the site will soon be taken by another bar, or a tattoo parlour or a pottery shop.
The town hall, aghast at the thought of being considered as yet another Philistine, has ordered the owners of the Ermita to repair it to its former glory by the end of the year. Perhaps we’re turning the corner after all…
There is little remaining of Mojácar’s origins, beyond the narrow streets and the harsh sunlight. The ‘Moorish Gate’ down below the ‘El Torreón’, built in fact in the seventeen hundreds, also has no protection. It could be knocked down by the owner today if he wanted.
The Palacio de Chamberí on the beach is now remembered as an uneasy frontage to a large box-like hotel, while three arrestingly hideous versions of it languish nearby as apartment blocks. Then there is the grove of trees cut down by our ‘ecologist’ mayor three years ago. Other recent improvements include the giant electric pylons marching across the riverbed and the famous view from the Mojácar mirador.  From the same viewpoint we can also observe the smudge of grimy smog from the giant power station in nearby Carboneras that hovers over the sea every afternoon: a cloud that, of course, hovers equally over the town and countryside. The Endesa plant is the highest producer of CO2 gas in Andalucía, producing at 3.2 million tons per annum (to rise to 3.6 million tons by 2009) almost double the second highest producer, another Endesa plant in Cadiz. Then there is the neon, the noddy-homes, the scruffy and unnecessary beach-furnishings and the potholes.
Juan Grima, noting the destruction and the disinterest, said that the town church will be a supermarket in twenty years.
Curiously, as the town is killed, there is no concern: only complacency.   

 

The Tax Office has a website where you can log on to find information regarding properties, their buildability and a wealth of relevant information , before you buy a property or just to be better informed . A friend checked the status of a parcel on the Mojacar Playa and discovered that the building site next to his land is actually zoned to be a public Plaza not the thirty plus obnoxious nearly -completed apartments that now obstruct his views.

catastro.meh.es is the website , it also offers aerial fotos and maps .

Also on a legalistic note,

Most paper- pushing in Spain is channeled through a GESTOR . In this area , there are several who will guide you through the bureaucratic maze that exists . Unfortunately , some are better than others and a wrong choice can be costly. It appears that these people are not required to maintain errors and ommissions insurance so you are afforded very little in the way of legal relief if one of them should misfile your tax return or interpret a title deed , work contract or purchase agreement incorrectly. A recent horror story cites an instance of a gentleman who had paid a gestora to file the paperwork to shutdown one of his companies 10 years ago.He recently received a tax bill for 15000 € , as the paperwork hadnt been filed correctly. A suggestion is speak to Michael Davies , an English speaking local attorney who can help you or point you in the direction of somone who can . He maintains offices in the Parque Comercial in Mojacar and in Almeria .

 

And now back to more current events !!!!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......

This photo illustrates not only local architecture, old and new ,but as well, how differently (old and new) administrations interpret the zoning regulations.To the left of the historic HERMITA is the building that after an administration power swing had the top floor condemned to comply with local height norms,the structure on the right,considerably taller is representative of more recent interpretation of the same norms.Be sure to visit this unsightly site ,you can sit in the square , drink a coffee , nod knowingly and comment how much money is to made in small town politics and sure enough ,in the time it takes to say ¨who got the backhander on this one ¨?,the building has grown skyward another meter .The growth spurts are most rapid on the weekends , perhaps so as to not embarass those from the Town Hall and Police on their way to and from their coffee breaks .

The Hotel Mojacar Playa near the El Arbol Supermarket on Mojacar ´s seafront will be offering their super holiday breaks again this season .They also have on display in their lobby a collection of historical photographs of Mojacar

 

 

 

CALENDAR
Markets
Monday Huercal Overa
Tuesday Almeria.Albox
Wednesday ,Mojacar
Thursday :Carboneras
Friday:Garrucha ,Turre
Saturday:Vera,Agilas
Sunday:Mojacar´s now legendary ¨rastro¨at the Art center in Mojacar

EXHIBITIONS:
Hotel Mojacar Playa;an exhibition of historical photos of Mojacar and surrounds by Juan Artero Flores
Jolly Lemon:Paintings by Mojacar artist Alan Bishop.Alans work can also be found at the Sunday rastro n the village.
Delfos:paintings by Coronado and Juan Guirado
Puntazo; local artists
Sinaloa Bar& Grill- poster art of jim Phillips

ENTERTAINMENT AND MUSIC :
Aku Aku: Friday night concerts under the stars,Mojacar´s most popular Sunday lunch
SINALOA BAR & GRILL ,WHERE THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE COME TOGETHER ,,FUN ,MUSIC AND HULA HOOPS, live music ,big screen sport in bar,california and hawaiian appetizers,happy hour 6-7
Delfos: Flamenco Tableau (phone for showtimes and dates),poetry readings and jam session Sundays
Heladeria Alberto´s:Patrizia and her Dancing Poodles

Loro Azul:accoustic reggae, nice vibe
Meson Torres Sopalmo:Orquesta de Victor Saturday nights from 9:00 Dancing to Rumbas,Sambas, and a variety of ballroom arrangements.

 

 

Sinaloa Bar & Grill (Garrucha ,EVERY DAY day is Argentinian steak night ,grilled entrecote with choice of freshly made soup or salad and a bottle of wine only 25 € for 2 persons, such a deal , , live music weekends considered by most to offer the best food in the area .phone for details and reservations , a must in high season ,649214397

And, yes, you heard it or read it here first .PATRICIA AND HER DANCING POODLES are back at HELADERIA ALBERTOS

SOMETHING NEW IS COMING TO GARRUCHA

HELP BEAUTIFY MOJACAR , BRING YOUR DAUGHTERS !

 

SOME OF RECENT VISITORS

 

 

 

 

 

Money doesn't bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.
* Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
* Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
* Misers aren't much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.
* Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.
* The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
* When you see the handwriting on the wall, you can bet you're in a public restroom.
* Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
* The real reason you can't take it with you is that it goes before you do.
* Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.
* Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.
* A closed mouth gathers no feet.
* A man (or woman) who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.

* A modern pioneer is a woman who can get through a rainy Saturday with a television on the blink.
The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.

Got a question or complaint ?

Mojacar Town Hall 950 615009
Hasta la vista, baby