News from Andalucia, and the Costa del Sol
In association with
MARCH 15th - MARCH 21st
ESTEPONA MUSIC-FEST
Estepona's Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos will be staging the Europavision 2001 Festival between May 9 and 12. Over 2000 candidates are expected to participate, that work must be unpublished, not selected for Eurovision 2001 and be no more than three minutes duration. A budget of 25 million pesetas has been allocated to the event that will be broadcast on the Internet and the winner has the chance of winning a recording contract with MRM Records. Closing date for entries is April 20.
100 MILLION FOR ESTEPONA
One million square metre of land at Santa Maria in Estepona near the boundary with Casares will be site for a new luxury development call Doña Lucia Golf. The plans envisage 1,770 luxury homes, a golf course, a hotel complex, an apartment hotel plus commercial buildings. The budget is 60,000 million pesetas and Estepona Town Hall stands to benefit to the sum of 100 million pesetas from the granting of building licences.
FORTY NEW WIND PARK PROJECTS
New economic incentives for the production of power from renewable energy sources has caused a huge upswing in the number of wind park projects now designed for the province of Málaga.
Currently there are no official planning regulations set up to control the construction of such facilities. Ecologists are concerned by the impact such windmills make to the landscape, the noise they generate and their impact on bird life in the area. This debate is now also being seen in the province of Málaga ahead of the new construction of 40 new wind parks capable of generating 116 megawatts - enough power to supply 700,000 homes with power for a year.
NEW COMMISSIONER FOR FUENGIROLA
Fuengirola's Mayor Esperanza Oña, Government representative, Carlos Rubio, along with the Police Chief of Eastern ANDALUCIA, Victor Olmo, were present at the swearing in of Fuengirola's new National Police Commissioner, José Antonio Navarro.
Sr. Rubio admitted that security in the town had deteriorated. He said that while the Government was not planning to increase the number of officers, the situation could be improved. The Mayoress voiced her concern at the recent spate of petty theft.
The new
48 year old commissioner, who is a law graduate, had ruing his career been
head of the Brigade for Citizen's Security in La Coruña. He was also
chief of Valencia's Anti Robbery Mobile Unit.
PRINCE ON THE PISTE
The Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón visited the ski station at Sierra Nevada last weekend. He was accompanied by several friends and is thought to have taken advantage of the floodlights to practice skiing at night.
BUSY EASTER
Local hotel reservations for Easter are filling fast. The tourism authorities say that hotels are already 90 per cent full between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday and that the figure for the Sierra Nevada is already 95 per cent occupied.
AMBITIOUS PORT PROJECT
Puerto Sol has presented an ambitious project to redevelop the Puerto deportivo in Fuengirola. The 8,241 million pesetas development will include nautical, commercial and recreational zones. The project is now before the Coastal Authority, which is studying its legality. The plans also include 24,642 square metres of much needed parking areas.
2,100 HOMES FOR LA CALA
The Unicaja finance company is to promote the building of 2,100 homes on a 720,000 square metre site at La Cala.
The total is made up of 150 detached houses, 600 semi-detached and 1,350 apartments. The homes will be built to the north of the N-340 between El Limonar and the road to the Campo de Golf. Apart from the homes, Unicaja will be ceding to Mijas Town Hall 400 square metres of land for various uses.
FOREIGNERS DAY IN ESTEPONA
Estepona town Hall will be celebrating a 'Dia del Residente Extranjero' in the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos on Sunday 1 April. The idea is to represent the various nationalities residing in the municipality through their various cultures, cuisine and music.
The day will start at noon with an inauguration ceremony. Then at 13.30 there will be a procession of dogs rescued by Adana, followed at 14.00 by a performance by the Hot Toddy Jazz Band. At 15.00 a fashion show will be held by Cudeca, followed by Bolivian music.
Later in the afternoon at 16.00 there will be a performance of flamenco by the group Los Valaores. The afternoon will close at 17.30 with dancing groups from Colombia, the Orient, Scotland and other regions.
LUXURY HOTEL FOR MIJAS
Radisson, one of the four major hotel chains in the world, will be opening a luxury hotel in Mijas Golf in January of next year.
The hotel will be the company's first to be opened in Spain and will cover 11,25O square metres. The complex will comprise of 95 apartments made of one, two or three bedrooms with kitchen and large living room.
The hotel will also have interior and exterior swimming pools, a sauna, Turkish bath, health centre and a gymnasium. There will be conference suites, bars and restaurants plus large gardens with magnificent views.
PRIVATE OWNERS
Each of the apartments will have a private owner who will have the right to enjoy the facilities of the hotel for eight weeks a year. The owner will also have a guaranteed income of six per cent from lettings.
MTV GOES BUNGIE JUMPING IN RONDA
To the astonishment of the residents of Ronda, the North American TV channel MTV backed by the Málaga Film Commission, recently descended on their town. MTV brought with them six young people from the States to promote a bungie jumping competition. It involved leaping from a 100-ton crane into the Tajo Gorge, which divides the town.
In spite of the bad weather conditions about 30 people attended, and a few intrepid locals took part in the competition by launching themselves into space in front of a battery of cameras.
The competition proved to be a stunt for the US documentary 'Road Rules' based on the sextet travelling together around the world. However, it was good publicity for Ronda as the show, which has been running for five years, draws viewing figures of 30 million.
RAINS BOOST RESERVOIRS
The recent rains across ANDALUCIA have brought healthy increases in regional reservoir levels. Seventeen reservoirs across the region are now at capacity and many have allowed excess water out of their sluice gates.
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY
Six out of every 10 companies in ANDALUCIA are family run and they generate 95 per cent of employment in the region, according to figures just released by the Málaga chamber of commerce. These firms also account for 65 per cent of the gross regional product and for 60 per cent of the region's trade. The chamber of commerce says these figures justify the need for the creation of the Family Business Institute, a new body which is planned to be set up with a year in Málaga, and which will be the first of its type in ANDALUCIA.
'MIGA' FOR GUINNESS
Torrox town council hopes to break the world record for the cooking of 'migas' in a single pan during the forthcoming King's Cup basketball championship, which will be held at the José Maria Martin Carpena sports hall in Málaga between March 15-18. The attempt to enter the Guinness book of records will take place on March 17 at midday, when people will also be able to taste the dish for which Torrox is famous.