The life of most Murcians begins in El Palmar, the home of tennis player Carlos Alcaraz. In the Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital in Murcia, an average of 19 inhabitants of the Region are born every day. And it is that the recent history of the Murcian district goes hand in hand with the development of the hospital complex of reference in the Murcian geography, which has been open since 1975. More than 6,000 professionals who have this town as their second home work there.
In addition to being the health city of the Region, El Palmar has become in recent years a pole of university attraction after the creation of the Health Sciences Campus of the University of Murcia next to La Arrixaca. A new boost in the future of this area in the west of the municipality of Murcia, where some 2,000 students are currently studying. A figure that will be close to 3,000 when the transfer of all Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Dentistry courses is completed.
Segregation aspiration
Despite being a health and university city, in El Palmar they retain the feeling of a town. In the most populated district of Murcia there are 24,173 inhabitants -12,262 men and 11,911 women-, according to data from the latest municipal census. If it had its own town hall, El Palmar would be among the 15 municipalities with the most inhabitants in the Region of Murcia.
Although the people of Palma feel “very Murcian”, there is still a latent concern about the segregation of the Murcia City Council that arose more than twenty years ago. To achieve this goal, the Association for the City Council of El Palmar was created. The citizen movement managed to collect 8,259 signatures from neighbors who supported the initiative, but the City Council did not consider all of them valid and, after presenting two appeals to the Superior Court of Justice of Murcia, the judge endorsed the plenary decision with his sentence.
This is how the claims of independence vanished in 2017, but this does not mean that the claim has been deactivated, they say from the association. If the journey of segregation were finally successful, it would not be the first time that El Palmar has been an independent municipality. It already happened in two historical periods: 1821-1823 and 1836-1854, according to Antonio Botías, official chronicler of Murcia.
Game of dominoes at the El Palmar Senior Center. /
Transport is another of the pending issues in the town, where the residents define themselves as “simple, friendly and welcoming people.” Six kilometers separate it from the center of the capital of Segura, which has attracted many inhabitants of the city and other nearby towns to establish their residence in El Palmar, becoming a dormitory town and demonstrating the affable character of the people of Palma. Today the tram does not arrive, but in 1907 the town was the object of one of the first routes of the old means of transport, which upon its arrival in Palma’s territory led the great technological advance of the century, since it went from being thrown with animals to run on electricity, as published by Botías.
Two Michelin stars
El Palmar is a land of contrasts. While Los Rosales is the poorest neighborhood in the municipality of Murcia -it has the lowest per capita income- according to the INE, a few meters away you can taste a menu with 2 Michelin stars. Cabaña Buenavista, by chef Pablo González, was the first restaurant in the Region of Murcia to obtain this recognition that rewards gastronomic excellence worldwide.
The same happens with its status as a vegetable garden, which makes it compatible with the large mountainous area of its municipal district, where the highest peak in Murcia is located: the Carrascoy summit, at 1,065 meters above sea level. In the area there is also La Asomada, an Islamic fortress that crowns the port of La Cadena.
Flagship product
In El Palmar the coveted brandy Constitución is made. The distillery that the Bernal family opened was a great economic engine for the entire Region of Murcia. Liquors with more than 130 years of history are stored in the barrels of the small underground cellar.
John Bernal
illustrious neighbor
The young and humble stonemason Juan Bernal began by opening a small shop in El Palmar after marrying Ana María Gallego Luján. He was the promoter of the famous Distilleries Bernal saga.
History
The origin of El Palmar dates back to the 15th century, with Don Juan de Verástegui, who was then the alderman of Murcia. Hence, it is also known as Place of Don Juan. As for the name, most historians agree that it is so called because of the existence of many palm trees and palm hearts. Historical milestones stand out, such as the two periods in which the town had its own town hall -first between 1821 and 1823 and then between 1836 and 1854-, and the arrival of the first tram with an electric system in 1907.
must visit
The Bernal Theater has marked the cultural rhythm of El Palmar for decades. The inauguration of the building in 1910 was a great social phenomenon at the time. It had an open-air patio connected to the seating area that served as a cafeteria when there was a show.
The origin of El Palmar dates back to the 15th century, with Don Juan de Verástegui, who was then alderman of Murcia. Hence, it is also known as Place of Don Juan, as it appears on the website of the National Institute of Statistics (INE). As for the name, most historians agree that it was due to the existence of many palm trees and palm hearts.
The Bernal Saga
The history of El Palmar is linked to the Bernal family since the end of the 19th century. The stonecutter Juan Bernal marked the beginning of a saga of great businessmen who contributed to the development of the entire Region. He built, among others, the famous Bernal distillery, a sausage factory and the Bernal Theater, one of the emblematic buildings that remain in El Palmar, next to the Casino, the building where the Mayor’s Office is and the old San Vicente Ferrer school.
“everyone knows each other”
In the town of tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, the children continue to run down the street while the older ones play petanque and dominoes. They preserve the village life in which “everyone knows each other” and that does not prevent tradition and innovation from going hand in hand. An example of this is the coexistence of the customs that keep the El Lugarico orchard rock and the auroros alive with the leading scientific developments that are carried out in the Murcian Institute of Biosanitary Research or the tattoos that the artist Ganga impregnates all over the world. in the shoes of famous footballers and hip hop stars. Contrasts that mark the essence of El Palmar.
Young people have a lot of sports on offer, but leisure is in Murcia
The young people of El Palmar have many options to practice extracurricular, sports and cultural activities, but they do not find many alternatives to make leisure plans on weekends. Among the municipal facilities, two sports centers stand out -one of them with a soccer field, municipal swimming pool and paddle tennis courts- and the sports pavilion, where the Colibrí rhythmic gymnastics club, the La Paz badminton team and the futsal team train. There is also a table tennis team and a young ballet called Dinamur, which carry out their activity in the Cultural Center of the Murcian district -located in the old Casino- and in the Young Space known as ‘los Colorines’ for the diversity of shades of its facade.
In the private sphere, the Murcia Country Club stands out -which they call Tiro de Pichón-, where Carlos Alcaraz’s father has his tennis school and his brother works as a monitor. That was where Carlitos began to show that he would go very far.
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