Fuente Álamo pedanías, Las Palas.

Introduction to Las Palas, Fuente Álamo, Murcia.

Las Palas is a pedanía of Fuente Álamo, lying to the south-west of the municipality .

It´s name is derived from the abundant "palas" (prickly pears) in the area, which fulfilled a multitude of purposes, as hedging, to keep animals and unwelcome visitors, out, as corrals to keep animals in, and also have a property which absorbs urine, making them an excellent place in which to dispose of surplus bodily fluids!

At one time the locality was known as the  "camino de los molinos del campo" ("country mills road") due to the numerous abandoned flour mills nearby, especially on the road between Las Palas and Fuente Álamo.

Roman Las Palas.

The Cartagena Campo was very important to the Romans during their years of occupation from 209BC to around the end of the second century AD, both as a source for crop production, but also as a resource for natural minerals and resources. The Romans utilised existing trade routes which ran along the Mediterranean coasts, stamping their own authority by building roads along the most important.

Amongst these was the road which later became the Camino Real, linking Cartagena, Lorca and Jaén.

Along this route settlements sprang up, in the areas known as Campo Nubla, La Manchica, Finca Almendros, Cabezo de la Cebolla, Fuentes del Mingrano, La Pinilla, El Raal and Rambla de la Orilla.

El Raal, by the Fuente Álamo road, was also subsequently occupied by Moorish settlers, a large number of pieces of Roman and Islamic ceramics, as well as structural and decorative elements of buildings found in this location.

Las Palas after the Romans.

Following the departure of the Romans, Cartagena was occupied by a succession of Goths and Visigoths, before assuming some sort of stability under the Moorish occupation in the mid 8th century, which lasted until the occupancy of Christian sovereigns in the 13th century.

As Murcia passed from Moorish control to Christian in 1243, an agreement was reached which permitted the moors, who formed the majority of occupants farming the land, to stay in situ, although many were later evicted following an uprising against Alfonso X in 1266.

Although attempts were made to entice Christian settlers,  the area suffered from de-population in the 15th century.

Mediaeval records are patchy, but mention is made in documents from 1463 and 1532 of the well at Pozo del Tío Andreo, which was used as a border marker between Cartagena and Lorca.

 At this point the land and well were owned by the Council of Lorca, being used to provide  water for livestock.

This well still exists in the town of Las Palas today.

During the 16th century concessions were offered as part of the repopulation initiative to try and bring in settlers.

The area and the nearby pasture at Campo Nubla, allied with the large number of natural freshwater wells and springs in the hills nearby made them an important area for pastoral grazing, creating important land concessions which were given to various individuals from Lorca and Librilla to till and work the land, constructing irrigation ditches and growing crops.

Eventually the town grew up alongside the well.

Next to the Rambla de La Azohía, on the road to Tallante, there are still the remains of a 16^th-century fortified tower which was built to protect the recently repopulated lands from possible pirate attacks and guarantee their newfound prosperity.

By this point, the Moors had been expelled from Spain altogether, and Berber Pirates from Africa had become a real menace, attacking the Murcian coastline to steal crops and villagers for sale in the African slave markets, so watchtowers were an essential part of life in areas near to the coast.

Although Fuente Álamo attained the status of "villa" in 1700, Las Palas still belonged to Lorca and Cartagena, and was administratively divided in two when the two cities defined their borders using the Pozo del Tío Andreo in 1788.

In 1787 there were about 340 inhabitants, but the next few years saw a severe drought followed by outbreaks of typhoid fever and malaria, in the face of which many of the inhabitants fled to country houses in the farmlands in an attempt to avoid the deadly diseases.

When the municipality of Fuente Álamo became independent in 1820, Las Palas was included within its borders, and in 1836 had 105 registered inhabitants according to the municipal taxpayers roll.

During the 20^th century the population and resources of the town both grew.

In 1917 the "fiesta del árbol" was held, with the first performance by the town band, under the baton of Jesús Lorca, a composer of light operas ("zarzuelas"). In 1929 there were two schools catering for the children of the town and the neighbouring countryside, and after the Civil War a theatre was inaugurated.

In 1953 a bus route linked Las Palas to Murcia.

Today Las Palas is essentially a farming community, although the crops have changed from dry field crops such as olives and almonds to livestock, with chickens and pigs important sources of revenue. Irrigated farming techniques have also enabled agriculturalists to add new crops to their production, potatoes, broccoli, melons and lettuces all being important export crops.

Apart from agriculture, there is little to provide employment, but there is work in nearby towns such as Mazarrón and Fuente Álamo.

Las Palas has several shops, a supermarket, bakery, estate agents, bank, small weekly market , bars and restaurants and a medical consultorio.

Centro Cultural Las Palas.

The Centro Cultural de Las Palas is a two-storey building which has been refurbished to give easier access to all citizens. Included are a kitchen, toilets, a storeroom, a lounge and a café.

There is also a fairground area, football pitch and an open-air swimming-pool, with changing rooms and an adjoining garden area.

Address: Casa de la Cultura, c/ Mayor, s/n

30334 Las Palas (Fuente Álamo)

Tel: 968 159 210

Parroquia San Pedro Apostól, Las Palas

The Church is dedicated to Saint Peter, although it is the image of the Virgen de la Purísima who welcomes visitors to the church externally.

The church is  a simple building, with a brickwork fachada, setting off the belltower which contains a bell donated to the village by General Bastarreche, whose image is in the Plaza Bastarreche in Cartagena.

Inside the church lacks  a Camarín, the raised alcove in which the image of the patron normally resides, so in Las Palas, he looks out over the church directly from the Altar Mayor. The sculptures are all new, having been purchased by the residents following the destruction of the originals during the Civil War. The existing Saint Peter dates from 4th August 1940.

Fiestas in Las Palas.

The patron saint of Las Palas is San Pedro Apóstol, and the fiestas in his honour are celebrated on 29^th June. All types of cultural and leisure activities are held in the ten days around the key date, and the village is festooned with decorations for this period.

Where is Las Palas, Fuente Álamo, Murcia

Click for map, Las Palas, Fuente Álamo , Murcia

Buying property in Las Palas.

During the boom years, Las Palas was extremely popular with ex-pats, due to the presence of the Old Farmhouses estate Agency in the village. Ex-pats are attracted by the many country properties which are in abundance around the area, many having been reformed. The area is just a few minutes from the coast and the beaches of Mazarrón, yet still essentially Spanish, with a sizeable ex-pat population nearby in the Mazarrón municipality.

The area tends to attract those who like the security of being near to an English area, but don´t want to be in it and are still seeking rural Spain.

Infrastructure is good, the San Javier airport about a 40 minute drive, although once the new Corvera International Airport opens in 2012, this will be reduced to 20 minutes.

Hypermarket shopping is available in Cartagena ( 30 minutes) or Supermarkets in Fuente Älamo or Mazarrón.