Multi-cultural rural urbanisation in print
PILAR de la Horadada paid homage to 50 residents in Pinar de Campoverde at the launch of a new book about the rural urbanisation on Monday.
More than 400 people attended at a marquee erected especially for the occasion.
The title of the 276-page book, which is in English as well as Spanish and Valencian, refers to Campoverde as the ‘environmental lung’ of the municipality.
It has been published by the town hall with a subsidy from the provincial government for projects that promote the Valencian language.
Councillor for culture Dario Quesada started the proceedings by highlighting the value of the urbanisation and the town hall’s support for projects which preserve the municipality’s history.
Author María García presented more than 50 images from the content of the book, which was started when the urbanisation was created in the late 1960s by the company Caja Territorial de Madrid, which no longer exists.
Its development created employment in construction at first and later in services, she explained, and the first residents of ‘El Pinar’ as it was known, included journalists, sportspeople, actors and
singers. She also described how the houses had evolved with different numbers of floors and elevations.
The urbanisation continued to grow until eventually the town hall officially took charge of its management in 1992, and has made significant improvements in recent years, said Sra García.
The author also emphasised the importance of culture in its various forms, such as the Letitia Hirst Library, associations that get involved with volunteering and charity work, and the many activities and celebrations that have taken place there over the last half century.
Campoverde’s uniqueness and importance to the municipality
is thanks to its diverse population of 45 different nationalities, which have contributed various glimmers of their cultures, and its charming natural surroundings, she added. The councillor and mayor José María Pérez handed out awards to thank 50 residents for their contributions to the book, either by providing information or helping to translate it into Valencian and English.
The English translation was overseen by Lorraine Scheitner and the Valencian version by Antonio Ortega Giménez.
At the end of the ceremony, free copies of the book were handed out to everyone who had attended.