AN EXHAUSTIVE history of Bacares has been published by a Catalan man who has spent every summer of his life in the Almerian town. Ivan Gorrido Jorquera has written a weighty 898-page tome entitled ‘The General History of the Villa de Bacares’.
Jorquera’s passion isn’t entirely random. His parents, grandparents, great and great-great-grandparents hail from the town.
It is the third book he has published and Jorquera knows his history. He is a member of the Catalan Society of Genetics and Heraldry and an expert on European royal lineages.
Though thicker than a Russian novel, his latest effort includes 200 old photographs and is as much a visual as a literary tour of Bacares’ history.
As that history is intimately linked to its neighbours, the book also offers a fascinating glimpse into the past of the wider Almanzora Valley and the Filabres mountains.
Gergal and Velefique, for instance, were once included in the Bacares comarca back in the sixteenth century.
Meanwhile in 1917, while the world waged war, Seron and Bacares fought in the courts over ownership of Las Menas and Rascador.
Jorquera tackles the building of Bacares’ two Moorish castles, its iron smelting industry, and religious traditions.
The book is published by GBG Editora, which has specialised in titles exploring Almeria’s history for 30 years. It can be purchased at the Picasso Library in Almeria and from other book stores.
