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Spain.
This
municipality’s territory lies in the southern Oreganal mountain range,
from which it stretches into the River Genal valley, and on the east extends
into the Parque Natural de la Sierra de las Nieves (Sierra de las Nieves Nature
Park), the location of the Parauta Spanish fir forest. It is a very varied
territory, in which areas of rocks and sparse plant cover, alternate with
others with abundant vegetation (chestnut trees, live oak groves, pine and
olive trees). In addition, there is the area of exceptional ecological interest
that is included in the Sierra de las Nieves. For more information about property
for sale in Spain in or near Parauta please contact us.
According to some historians Parauta was formed by the joining of two villages, Parauta proper and Benahazín, which was located near Cartajima and for reasons that have not been explained added its territory to Parauta and ceased to exist as a village. Due to the scarcity of historical documentation about the village’s origin, everything about it is conjecture. Some of it has a solid base-such as the theory that the village was founded by the Arabs, which is hardly open to question when one looks at the street plan of the locality-and some of it more tenuous, such as the assertion that this village was the birthplace of the Muladí chieftain Omar Ben Hafsun, who gave the Caliphate of Cordoba so many headaches in the tenth century. This theory is considered increasingly unlikely. Otherwise, it is reasonable to believe that the history of Parauta must have been tightly linked to that of the closest villages, as there is no chronicle of any kind of any special event that occurred in this locality.
Fiestas
The village’s fiestas in honour of the Virgen del Rosario (Virgin of
the Rosary) are held from 15 to 20 August and are made up of diverse activities
in which not only the resident villagers participate but also many Parauteños
who, generally for employment reasons, do not live in the village and take
advantage of these days to visit with their friends and relatives.
Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Parauta begins
on Palm Sunday with the traditional palms parade. On Holy Thursday Jesús
Nazareno (Jesus of Nazareth) and the Virgen de la Soledad (Virgin of Solitude)
travel through the streets. They go by separate routes and “meet”
in the Plaza de Parauta, and on Good Friday the same Virgin again is borne
in a procession, but this time behind the Entierro (Burial). Fireworks are
lit on the night of Holy Saturday and hunters fire their guns to announce
Easter Sunday, the day that a “huerto” (bower) is installed on
the edge of the village and in which is placed an image of the Child Jesus.
At noon the Virgen del Rosario comes to meet the Child, while six rag- doll
figures called Judases are burned.
Food
Among Parauta’s culinary specialties, which are very similar
to those of other villages in the region, are olla (a stew containing chickpeas
and sausage), sopa de tomate (tomato soup), sopa hervida (a hot soup made
of bread, peppers, onions and tomatoes) and gazpacho (a cold soup). They are
unusual in that all the vegetables used in them come from the private kitchen
gardens in the village, guaranteeing freshness and quality.
How to get there:
From any point on the Costa del Sol go to San Pedro de Alcántara
via the AP-7 (N-340) and there take the A-376 road towards Ronda.
About 10 kilometres short of that city, turn onto the A-519, which leads to
Parauta.
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Plaza del Calvario, 30 (29421). Telephone: 952 181 028;
Fax: 952 181 000.
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