The writings on the walls.

'The veiled women, a flash of old Al-Andalus'. This quote from Chiclana-born writer Fernando Quiñones is poetic but inaccurate (the traditional local female coverings are Castilian in origin)

As we walk around Vejer, we can't help noticing the commemorative tiles which tell us about noteworthy people and events. Some of these are quirky, others poetic - together they add a new dimension to our enjoyment of the town. Here are some of them, translated into English.

This plaque celebrates a local photographer, Silverio, who worked on La Plazuela:

'"In this place, a photographer, everyone's friend, great-hearted and full of goodness, with his camera always at the ready and a smile for everybody, gave all the years of his life to Vejer." Always with you, Silverio; Vejer Town Council, June 1998'.

Also on the Plazuela:


'Vejer! if you had been a woman, I would have fallen in love with you. Veiled lady in the bright light; the mill playing its divine game of being the wind which is its being. The air asks for a destination and the wind cries 'Vejer!' 

José María Pemán y Pemartín, (8 May 1897,  - 19 July 1981, Cadiz) was a  journalist, poet, novelist, essayist, and right-wing intellectual. He was one of the few prominent intellectuals to support Francisco Franco and the Falangist movement.

The big tavern of the Plazuela.

 

Arco de la Segur: 'In memory of Juan Relinque, the courageous official of Vejer, who at the beginning of the 16th century endured innumerable persecutions, imprisonment and insults to defend before the courts of Granada the human rights of his neighbours and their communal land against the power of the feudal overlords.'

Juan Relinque was a lawyer who fought successfully on behalf of the people of Vejer when the Dukes of Medina Sidonia appropriated the Hazas de Suerte, communally held agricultural land.

Callejón Oscuro: 'To Lal-la Zuhra, a Vejer woman of the 15th century, the wife of Sidi Ali ben Rasid, the founder of Xauen. Vejer Town Council 1985'

Zuhra's name was originally Fernandez, changed to accommodate her husband's Muslim faith. The couple settled in Chefchaouen in the Rif mountains, now Vejer's twin town. They had two children, Mawlay Ibrahim and Sitta al-Horra. Both became prominent citizens, but Sitta was a most remarkable woman, skilled in the arts of politics and war.

Plaza de España: 'The town of Vejer de la Frontera, gained from the Moors by King Fernando III, the Saint, in the year 1250 and reconquered by Alphonso X, the Wise in 1262. Being Mayor of this town, Don Alonzo Pérez de Guzmán 'The Good' in the year 1292 rode out from here for Tarifa to defend that town.'

Vejer was only with difficulty taken back from the Moors, as were the other coastal towns of the area. Guzman, the first Duke of Medina Sidonia, is said to have sacrificed his eldest son to prevent a Moorish occupation of Tarifa.

  

 

Mayorazgo steps: 'Vejer Town Council. This street, from where the Bull Running formerly began, was restored and reopened, along with its walls and towers,by the workers of the community. July 1983.'

For twenty five years after about 1975, the Town Council, headed by Antonio Morillo, worked tirelessly to restore the town's patrimony, particularly its ancient walls and buildings.

 

Tower of Sancho: 'Homage from Venezuela to Colonel Joaquin Sabas Moreno de Mendoza the founder of Angostura, now Bolivar City in Venezuela. 1764-1974.'

Joaquin Sabas was connected to Vejer on his mother's side. He was responsible for putting in place the legalities in respect of the foundation of Caracas, whose bicentenary was celebrated in 1974. 

Calle Trafalgar: 'Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 - 2005

Of the town of Vejer de la Frontera, the memory of the men and women of these coasts who gave succor to the victims of this battle.

 "...I must say that no neighbourhood ever attended with such solicitude to the help of the wounded, making no distinction between their own people and the enemy, taking all under the umbrella of their charity.' Benito Pérez Galdós, 'Trafalgar.'

  

 Plazuela Juan Bueno: This series of images outside the Pastelería Galvan depicts the production of bread and the wisdom of buying it from the above named establishment.

 

Congratulating the residents of this area for their enthusiastic participation in Carnival.

 

 One of the 14 stations of the Cross, representing Christ's journey to Calvary and an important part of Semana Santa observances.

'Here is the door of Don Puyazo. A woman from Vejer captured him and accompanied him on his passage through life. Vejer 22 August 1990.'

 The picture suggests that the deceased gentleman was involved in La Corrida - bullfighting. His house, alas, is now very run-down.

 

Juan Bueno, the 'Cobijada' square: 'A monument to the woman of Vejer.

'Veiled lady, your captive face is cloaked in freedom.

Local council of women, March 8th 2007.'

 

Santiago: 'The Corner of Manuel Romero '"Campanita''. (By general consent, 30.03 2001) Vejer 11 March 2001.

In Vejer, back in 1884, a group was formed by two brothers, distinguished carnival performers, Manuel Romero 'Campanita' and Pablo Romero. The group was called Molineros, (Millers), a typically vejeriego act representing the men who worked in the town's many mills. (Thanks to Adrián Brenes Ureba for this information.)