One of the most curious stories told by the journalist Francisco Espadas, correspondent for LA VERDAD in Alhama de Murcia, in the book ‘¡Viva Santa Eulalia’ (2023), is the recovery of the key to the castle of Aledo, which disappeared years ago in a motoring concentration. At the end of the last century, some 500 people took to Aledo as part of the activities organized by the Custom Alhama motorcycle club, of which Espadas is a founding member in 1989 and president almost since its foundation.
The participants in the concentration of custom motorcycles Los Mayos de Alhama visited the walled town and its Tower of Tribute. “Everything went according to plan,” he says. But a few years later, “I met a guy from Jaén who claimed to have the key to the Aledo castle on his property, which surprised me,” reveals the journalist. “This man told me that on that visit he took the old key to the door, that the then mayor never said anything about it, so I was surprised.” «Since then I had in my head the idea of recovering that old key. This past year I got it, in Villacarrillo (Jaén). During the return trip, my mind developed that story like a story, the same one that I capture in the book. How it was stolen, recovered and returned to Aledo». This past Sunday, at the book presentation in Aledo, Espadas handed over the key to the mayor, Javier Andreo.
The publication includes, in addition to the story about the disappearance and discovery of the key, entitled ‘The key to the Dragon Tower’, with an illustration by José María Cánovas Vera, a list of the Autos de Reyes de Aledo from 2011 to today, with photo galleries and texts of each year.
This volume is actually an album made up of 140 color pages, with texts published in LA VERDAD about the pilgrimages that are celebrated in Totana with the image of its patron saint, Santa Eulalia de Mérida, from 2011 to 2023. «Each pilgrimage -he recalls- I had it dated in photographs and what I do is take a tour with about 400 full-color photos with the best snapshots I captured at the time ».
Eulalian Way
Espadas made the Eulaliense Way on a motorcycle in 2019, an itinerary for pilgrims between Totana and Mérida organized by the La Santa Foundation, stamping the pilgrim’s card in each town. “Several motorized friends accompanied me, that story also documented.” And he recovers the life and history of Tío Juan Rita, the trovero from Aledo who lived in Totana, with different photos of the last 20 years of his life. Rita, an icon for Spanish cuadrilleros, passed away at the age of 107. Another chapter is dedicated to the life of Pedro Cánovas and his family, nicknamed ‘El Santero’, since he dedicated his life, he still lives, to work in the totanero sanctuary of Sierra Espuña.
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