|
 Gaucín
is a white village of about 1,200 inhabitants located at the edge of the Ronda
mountains, half an hour from the Mediterranean Coast.
The town is comparatively
well-off as it owns sizeable cork forests which annually contribute a large
portion of the Municipal budget. Budget surpluses are spent on infrastructure
improvements and parties.
Gaucín has its own municipal water system that supplies the town as well
as many rural properties. There is a complete sewer
system and sewage treatment plant.
A wide diversity of careers and lifestyles co-exist in Gaucín, beginning
with the peasant farmer who typically lives in the village and goes out every
day to his small hard scrabble land-holding --- sheep, goats, chickens, vegetables,
orchards. He probably supplements his income by working on construction.
Gaucín is so hilly that agribusiness is not viable; large farm machinery
cannot work the land.
Workers in Gaucín
include shopkeepers, hotel, bar and restaurant owners and their employees,
a Notary, lawyers, pharmacists, the electricity distribution company, builders,
Art in Gaucin, gas station, car repair shops. There are several doctors in the town,
one of whom is currently serving as Mayor, having won the election in 1999
by eight votes. There are retired and active foreigners; the largest plumbing
contractor is German, and one of the car repair mechanics is Romanian.
Since the 70´s foreigners
(from both abroad and elsewhere in Spain) have been acquiring property in
and around Gaucín for holiday use and permanent residency. Foreigners
own perhaps 100 of the village houses and about another 50 in the countryside.
There is a grade school
for about 200 students with approximately 15 foreign children in attendance,
a number that increases every year. The school has a reputation for teaching
the three R´s to all, and language and computer skills to many. A High
School is planned for the nearby town of Algatocin, but now those who wish
to continue their education must commute to Institutos in Ronda or Jimena,
or board at the State school in Málaga.
The talented Municipal
Band consists of about 20 young adults; in addition to playing at local fairs;
it also hires out to neighboring villages. A dance program for village girls
provides instruction in traditional flamenco dances of the region. They perform
at village fairs.
Sports facilities include
football and basketball teams, tennis court, mountain biking club, several
equestrian centers, and many active mountain walkers. There is a municipal swimming
pool, and excellent swimming
in the Río Genal, as well as easy access to the Mediterranean beaches
in Sabinillas.
Night life: There are
a number of bars, open at all hours. Several serve as breakfast places for
the workingman, others as all night singing clubs. There is a casino with
a transvestite band and a tavern which offers very good flamenco on the weekends.
Gaucin has several (two or three depending on whether they´re open or
not) animated discothèques,
a strong attraction for young people from many surrounding villages and hamlets
in the Ronda sierra. Quite a few marriages have resulted from encounters at
these boîtes.
Zoning restrictions currently limit the building height in the village to
three stories and require that all houses must be white and generally conform
to the Andalusian architectural style. In the countryside the minimum plot
size is 25,000 meters, although there are exceptions for properties with existing
structures. The real estate market ranges from the cheap and cheerful to the
millionaire estate. The tendency toward over development on the Coast has
made Gaucín an attractive alternative - Gaucín has basically
the identical climate, but without the overdevelopment.
|
|
|