El Puerto de Santa María

Template:Spanish city El Puerto de Santa María (Spanish for "The port/harbour of Saint Mary", locally known as just El Puerto) is a city located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 82,306, of which 50,000 live in the urban center, and the remainder in the surrounding areas.

The town of El Puerto de Santa Maria is 10 km north east of Cadiz across the bay of Cadiz and is best known for its ferry El Vaporcito which has been in operation for 76 years carrying passengers to and from Cadiz to El Puerto.

History

According to the legend told in the Odyssey of Homer, after the Trojan War a Greek official named Menestheus escaped with his troops through the Straits of Gibraltar and reached the Guadalete River. They established themselves here and called that port Menestheus's port.

In 711, Arab (Moors) from the North of Africa invaded southern Spain. They renamed the place Alcante or Alcanatif which means Port of Salt, due to the old salt industry of Phoenicians and Romans.

In 1260, Alfonso X of Castile conquered the city from the Moors and renamed it Santa María del Puerto. He organized the land distribution and conceded a charter under the Crown of Castile. In his Cantigas de Santa Maria CSM 367, Alfonso sings that he was miraculously healed of swollen legs after visiting his church of Santa Maria do Porto.

Christopher Columbus's second expedition to the Americas set sail from El Puerto de Santa María. His pilot, Juan de la Cosa drew his world map (the first including the coast of New World) in El Puerto in 1500.

Columbus visited El Puerto in 1480 and received encouragement for his travel plans. He also met Juan de la Cosa who issued the first world map in 1500.

El Puerto was the residence of several wealthy cargadores, merchants who operated Spain's trade with the Americas.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the winter port of the royal galleys

In the nineteenth century the city became the General Headquarters for the French Army during the War of Independence (Peninsular War) under the reign of Jose Bonaparte (1801-1812).

The town is seeped in history, museums and monuments. It is also within easy reach of the historical cities of Seville and Cádiz.

Demographics

Template:Demography 7col Source: INE (Spain)

Geography

El Puerto de Santa María is located on the Atlantic coast of the Bay of Cádiz, near the municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, Rota, Puerto Real, and Cádiz. It is popular for its beaches, which are the town's principal tourist attraction. Well known beaches include Vistahermosa, Valdelagrana, and La Puntilla. Like many other southern cities, there are many smaller towns encompassed by the municipality. There is also a major port, known as Puerto Sherry. A large amount of land has been devoted to the Bay of Cádiz Nature Reserve.

Economy

The most important economic activity is tourism, mainly because of the beaches, as well as the bullfights held at the arena during the summer. The town also hosts large groups of motorcyclists during the Jerez Motorcycle Grand Prix. There is commercial development in the center and periphery, and a highly developed wine industry.

Fiestas and festivals

Andalusians love colour, noise, crowds and pageant, dressing up and generally partying and have many opportunities to do so at the local fiestas, which are held annually. Listed are a few of the main fiestas in the area:

Spring Carnival: Cadiz is the home of Carnival with fancy dress and parades in the streets usually ending on the Tuesday 47 days before Easter.

Semana Santa: Holy Week the week that leads up to Easter Sunday is a wonderful time to enjoy the area with it’s street parades and long lines of penitents and big crowds. In El Puerto de Santa Maria there are daily parades from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Campeonato de España ( Motorbikes Races): A weekend fiesta of music and dance in April World Championships of Motorcycling.

Feria del Vino Fino (Spring's fair):El Puerto de Santa Maria’s local week of fiesta, dancing sherry drinking and sevillana dancing this is usually in the middle of May. This is the principal festival is the Feria de Primavera (Spring Fair), held between the fifth and sixth week after Holy Week. In recent years, it has coincided with May 1.

Romeria del Rocio: Festive pilgrimage of up to one million people to the village of Rocio in Almonte, Huelva usually around the third week of May.

Hogueras de San Juan: Midsummer bonfires and fireworks on the beaches in most areas of Cádiz on the 23 June.

Dia de la Virgen del Carmen: The patron Saint of El Puerto de Santa Maria and all fishermen is the Virgen Del Carmen and on the 16 July her imagine is taken from the local Church and carried into the sea on board on a fishing boat and then paraded around the town. A general day of festivities.

Tourism

El Puerto has a famous bullring which dates back to 1880 with space for 15,000 spectators. Bullfighting is still enjoyed during the Feria season during the month of August, and during the Feria de la Primavera (Spring Fair) in early May. This Feria is dedicated to sherry wine and 180,000 half bottles are drunk in 4 days. There are several bodegas (wineries) in the town centre, all of which can be visited by the public. The most famous bodegas in El Puerto are Osborne and Terry both of which export sherry and brandy worldwide. In the cellars of El Puerto, the dry, pale sherry known as Fino is produced using the traditional method called solera. This method produces Fino, the sweet Muscatel, Amontillado and the older Oloroso.

El Puerto is an excellent place to sample local tapas and seafood, for which it is famous. Food is an important reason why El Puerto de Santa Maria attracts hundreds of tourists. The Bay of Cádiz is famous for its fresh seafood and that, teamed with the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables leads to excellent restaurant menus. Most tourists head for the Rivera del Marisco where you can by seafood in paper cones to take away or eat at the tables. There are a wide variety of eateries all located with walking distance in the town centre.

El Puerto has escaped the mass tourism of the Costa del Sol and remains unspoilt, natural and very picturesque. During the summer months the town bursts with life. Most of the town is on the north bank of the Rio Guadelete, where bars and restaurants line the palm-covered streets. Entertainment is lively in the summer in the town centre and in Vistahermosa everything starts very late and goes on well into the early hours, hence the famous Spanish siesta.

The climate is one of El Puerto’s best features with endless days of sunshine. Even during the winter months, temperatures rarely fall below 20 degrees. With more than three thousand hours of sunshine, fine sandy beaches and blue seas, El Puerto de Santa Maria on the Costa de la Luz (the Coast of Light) is a popular holiday location. For nature lovers, El Puerto de Santa Maria is situated in the middle of the Parque natural Bahia de Cádiz There are two square kilometres of pine forest which form one part of the three ecosystems in the area. An endangered species of chameleon along with other reptiles and birds of immense variety can be found in the forest. Andalusia’s wildlife is the most varied in Europe, with fauna and flora in protected areas. The area boasts of two Natural parks, the Sierra de Grazalema and El Coto Donaña, both within driving distance and well worth a visit.