Is it a savings bank? Is it a theatre?

For John and me – and anybody else living on a restricted budget – one of the benefits of living in Spain is the cheap entertainment.  We have a wonderful theatre in town (Teatro Vico) and tickets for performances there don’t exactly break the bank, however we have two other theatres in Jumilla where entry is free.

Teatro Vico

 As part of their mandate, Spanish savings banks provide social, charitable and cultural services.  Both CAM and CajaMurcia in Jumilla have exhibition halls where art and photographic exhibitions can be held, and they both have small theatres for concerts, drama and dance displays as well as many other events.

Last night we went to see a video presentation in CajaMurcia’s theatre, which is above their main Jumilla branch. They have an exhibition room there too, so beforehand we looked at the display of posters for this year’s Cabalgate Infantíl, which children from local schools had designed. The children’s procession takes place during Jumilla’s Fiesta de la Vendimia  in August, so naturally wine featured in many of the posters, but Bob Esponja also seemed to be a popular theme!

The video presentation was scheduled to start at 20.00, so being optimistic we wandered into the theatre at that time.  It looked promising, as we could see that everything had been set up and a few other people were already in there, however Jumillanos aren’t exactly noted for their punctuality.  The señor in charge kept looking at his watch, and we heard a few words being muttered about not everybody being there, and “puntualidad” was also mentioned.

Eventually the show began at 20.15, which is impressive by Jumilla’s standards.  The video showed scenes from Jumilla’s Fiesta de la Vendimia going back to the early 80s and finishing with last year’s celebrations.  There were plenty of laughs from the audience and a few sarcastic comments as people recognised the participants, which added to the atmosphere.  We recognised at least three people taking part in earlier years’ festivities.

Each video clip showed a procession with adults and children carrying baskets of grapes, a group treading the grapes (all looking remarkably similar to each other), lots of people kissing each other as they presented bouquets of flowers, glimpses of traditional dancers, plus the revellers getting covered in red wine during the Gran Cabalgata del Vino at the end of the fiesta.

Soaked in red wine

If you are coming to Spain for a holiday, or if you plan to move here permanently, I recommend finding out where your nearest savings bank is.  We have seen some fascinating exhibitions since we moved to Jumilla, and enjoyed some amazing concerts, and it hasn’t cost us a cent!

Be Sociable, Share!

Author: Sue Walker

Author of "Retiring the Olé Way". See my blogs at www.spainuncovered.uk, http://blogs.angloinfo.com/jumilla-journal/ and http://over60andoverhere.blogspot.com.es/

One thought on “Is it a savings bank? Is it a theatre?”

  1. Thanks for this great piece! Having spent many a night in Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo, and their environs, I realize I missed an opportunity!
    I will attempt to partake on my next sojourn…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.