Tourism Urrácal – Almería

In 1504 Urrácal received the title of town for its adhesion to the conquest of the kingdom of Granada in the campaign undertaken by the Catholic Monarchs, which ended in Almería in 1489, and the rest in 1492, with the conquest of Granada. In the campaign against the Moriscos, some of those captured on the hill of Purchena were donated by Don Juan de Austria to the artillerymen of the royal army.

With an original urban organization, typical Arab for its settlement and looking in a staggered way the various elevations on which the population sits. The nerve center of the town is the Plaza de la Constitución, where the church and the old Town Hall are located. The almost 50 streets of the town are ramified by the skirts of the mountain, giving the impression of a crowded and variegated town.

In spite of its twisted and steep streets, some of difficult access, the aspect is original, unique, surprising and magical. The white of the facades, the balconies of the forge, the narrowness of the streets, the steep slopes and the majesty of the church make us think of a flourishing past. According to the Distribution Book, “… some houses, there were 129 in total, had vines in the door and sheds, of which there are some, as well as covered steps”.
If at the beginning of the century the population was of 938 inhabitants, in the year 1952 it had already descended to 710 hab .; at present the depopulation is quite pronounced, happening through the 328 inhabitants of the year 1991 and increasing to the 345 of the present time. There are about 200 buildings dedicated to single-family homes and another 20 to other uses, in addition to some farmhouses in disseminated and the Agua Amarga annex to five km. of the town, that got to have 200 inhabitants, 40 houses.

Emigration has experienced fluctuations throughout the century; if at the beginning of the fifties it was not significant, then it increased negatively, mainly towards Macael, Olula del Río, Catalonia, France and Germany, stabilizing the population in recent years. A mixed school attends to the teaching of the youngest ones, and from the second cycle of Primary they attend the classes of the Purchena School, using the school transport.
In his time of economic splendor, Urrácal stood out for the quantity of planted olive trees, the good quality cereals, the soft soap factory, which took advantage of the surpluses and turbid of the oil mills, and the “traffic of canvases and cannabis that buy raw and they whiten annually from 14 to 15 thousand varas of said fabrics “.
In more recent times came to have two printers, “The Economy” (purchased in 1925 to Francisco Galera de Tabernas by the brothers Jiménez) and “The Accuracy” (when separated from the previous company José Jiménez).
The latter has been working with numerous employees until 1985, editing printed materials for all of Spain, as well as brochures and books that can still be found in many libraries in Almeria and other provinces.

Gastronomy represents the culture of a people. It is influenced by the climate, the economy, the natural resources of the place, the seasons of the year and the religious festivities.

In Urracal you can taste a wide variety of sausages (morcillas, chorizo, salchichón). The tasty bread crumbs, the cooked black pudding, rice with rabbit and garlic tortilla.

The Burning of Judas

On the evening of Holy Saturday, the young people from Urra meet to go pick up dry weeds to prepare “the burning of Judas” on Resurrection Sunday. Cut a poplar, remove all the branches and move it to the center of the town square, where if we go any day of the year, we will see a chest, a sign that there “plant” the poplar on Saturday of Glory.

During the evening, they go “dressing” of rockets and weeds the stick. They make a doll, made with several very long sticks, which is covered with old rags, esparto and other objects, where rockets and firecrackers are placed to make it more spectacular when burned. This doll is placed in the poplar cup and represents “Judas”. At midnight, just after leaving Resurrección mass, it is tradition to go to see a small rocket fire and then encourage and / or help raise the stick. Difficult task, dangerous, attractive the more for the visitor and his villagers. Once the stick is up, applause and joy break. Afterwards, the boys make a hut around the pole, with the branches that they previously removed, and there they will remain all night guarding the stick, until on Sunday morning, after the Eucharistic celebration and the procession through the streets of the town of the Risen Christ, the young people who participate in the elaboration of the “Judas”, spend their hats for the people who wait to see the show, the person who donates the most money, is the one who takes all the firewood used for this event (! securing firewood for the coming winter!). Finally, the branches of the hut are removed and the “Judas” is burned.

Centennial tradition.