Brief history of Socuéllamos.-
Socuéllamos is in the Ciudad Real province, very close to the Albacete province and not too far from the Cuenca province. It has a population of 13,800 and it's 2 hours south of Madrid.
- Most important people in Socuéllamos:
- Fernando de Mena, doctor of Phillip II;
- Roberto Parra, international runner;
- José Toribio, international cyclist.
In Socuéllamos there are remains of Prehistory. The river Záncara and the Guadiana go through Socuéllamos.
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UPDATE (October 14th 2013)
I am unable to do this in the Home section, so I'll do it here. I just wanted to tell you guys that, in almost a year, we've received over 3,000 visits, the main visitors being Spain and United States, but we also have visitors from France, Germany, UK and many other countries. We hope you come back often and, even better, join our Facebook group ("English time in Socuellamos, Facebook edition" or https://www.facebook.com/groups/168561906640513/), which is taking most of my time lately and that's why I haven't updated many of the sections. Thank you for visiting us and I hope you connect with "Socuellamins" and help each other improve your target languages.
Socuéllamos, wine
country.-
General information.-
The town of Socuéllamos
is located in the southern part of the south plateau of the peninsula, within
the natural region of La Mancha, in the northeastern part of the province of
Ciudad Real and at the basin of the Guadiana river. It has an area of 307.69
kilometers and it’s at an average height of 680 meters over the sea level. Due
to its area it ranks 17th out of the 98 municipalities in the
province. It borders with the municipalities of Pedro Muñoz (Ciudad Real) and
Mota del Cuervo (Cuenca) to the north; Las Mesas (Cuenca) and Villarrobledo
(Albacete) to the east; Alhambra (Ciudad Real) to the south; and Tomelloso
(Ciudad Real) to the west.
Weather .The weather in Socuéllamos is continental
Mediterranean, with cold winters and hot summers. During the winter nights,
with clear skies and no wind, frost is frequent. Rainfall goes from 400 to 600
milimeters a year, with great irregularities from season to season. Relative
air humidity is low. Sunlight hours go from 2,600 to 2,900 a year. Snow is
rare. Main winds come from the southeast and provide the most important
rains.Average maximum temperature is 30.5º and minimum -2.8º. Average
temperature is 13.4º.
Hydrography. Superficial waters in Socuéllamos belong to the sub
basin of the Záncara river, one of the main tributaries of the Guadiana river.
The other river is Córcoles, which gives its waters to the Záncara. Regarding
underground waters, Socuéllamos belongs to the 23rd aquiferous
system, one of the most important ones in the country.
Area. Total area: 91,676 acres. Urban area: 864 acres. Rural
area: 90,811 acres.
Gastronomy is simple,
like everything on this land, and it’s often seasoned with spicy peppers.
The most typical drinks,
dishes and pastries are: “zurra” ( water with sugar, wine, orange, peach and
lemon peel bits; from the right proportion of ingredients comes the excellence
of the drink);rice with “duz” (boiled rice in brown sugar water, adding orange
peel bits and sprinkling cinnamon); “torta de mosto”( made by mixing wheat
flour with oil, non-alcoholic wine,
sugar and beaten eggs and baked); “arrope”(boiled non-alcoholic wine with bits
of pumpkin, pepper, melon, carrot and other fruits, with the essence of anisette
stick); “mostillo” boiled non-alcoholic wine with wheat flour, chopped almonds
and essence of anisette); “migas ruleras” (bread crumbs in water, fried slowly
and preferably loose;they’re eaten with grapes); “gachas de arrope” (boiled
“arrope” and wheat flour); “potaje con rellenos” (chick pea stew, spinach and cod filled with bread crumbs and beaten
eggs); “pisto manchego” (fried pepper with tomato); among other dishes.
Wines from
Socuéllamos
The main agricultural
product in Socuéllamos is grape and within it the “Airén” variety. This type of
grape, due to tradition in the harvesting and elaboration, used to produce and
produces common white wines, between 12 and 14º, neutral, yellow, dry and with
low total acidity.
The current tendency
has changed, thanks to the introduction of new technologies in wine cellars and
farmers’ mentality to achieve a higher quality product and to move the
harvesting forward. This has brought about high quality wines, with an alcohol
content between 10.5 and 12º and a total tartaric acidity of more than 5.5º,
pale colored and excellent aromas, which produces harmonius, fresh wines,
greatly accepted in all markets.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY.-
Socuéllamos belongs to
the province of Ciudad Real. It has a population of 12,600 people.
It’s well connected by
road with all the towns that border it. It’s 163 kms. away from Madrid and 112
kms. Away from Ciudad Real. It also has a railway station Madrid-Levante.
Its shield is ordered
in the following manner: at the top there is a crown and the central area is
divided into 3 parts:to the right, the cross of Santiago over a blue
background, to the left, a golden tower over a green background and at the
bottom (in the centre) a cluster of grapes over a red background.
The date of its
foundation is unknown. There are documents on demarcation between the military
orders of Santiago and San Juan from Jerusalem, from circa 1237, where there
existed a population centre in the farmhouse of Auezgaiat, current House of the
Tower. Later there was another population centre in San Bartolomé. From these
two population centres Socuéllamos was founded in its current location.This
town had for a long time one the greatest missions. The third in the Order of
Santiago and ninth in Spain, being famous knight commanders, among many others,
the Count of Tendilla; D. Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico and Perú, his
sons Ignacio and Francisco, Army Generals; the Count Miranda in 1695; the
Prince Cardinal Arcbishop of Toledo in
1746 and the Prince D. Francisco de Paula in 1806.
It got money from road
tolls, public stands, tithe, fines,… with which it paid a percentage to the
Monastery of Uclés, to the king, the church and the attorney of the town.
There were also
foundations and chaplaincies, with their lands, apart from a monk monastery
founded by Fray Juan Bautista de la Concepción.
Most of these lands
were confiscated by the sale of church lands of Mendizabal and auctioned.
Its economy has been
based, from old times, on the growing of the grape,with a privilege granted by
the Catholic Kings that everyone who came to Socuellamos, built a house and
have some vineyards was exempt from paying taxes; they only had to pay the
tithe to God. Livestock was also very important with almost 30,000 sheep for a
while. There was a never a shortage of vegetables in the town.
Today there are
important companies for clothing, building, religious statues,… apart from a
wine cooperative, listed among the biggest in Spain.
As far as religion is
concerned, there are two parishes: Ntra. Sra. De la Asunción, founded at the
time of the misión, and San José, founded by the Cebrián Alarcón married couple
in 1969.
The patron saint (and
honorary mayor) of the town is the Cristo de la Vega and his holiday is
celebrated on the 10th of August. The other patron saint is Ntra.
Sra. De Loreto has her holiday on September 8th around her chapel.
On the 15th
of May, or previous Sunday, a “romería” (celebration in the countryside) is
celebrated in honour of San Isidro Labrador, in Titos, pic-nic area beside the
river Záncara, where there’s a chapel. Another two chapels are San Antonio and
San Cristobal; the rest were much older and have disappeared.
In this town there was
not an Inquisition Tribunal. There was a family tribunal, and all the accused
were first of all sent to the Monastery of Uclés and later to Cuenca, where
there is a folder with all the lawsuits against people from Socuéllamos. In
1519 the town rose against a battalion of Swiss soldiers, who had the
reputation of being vandals and steal things everywhere they went. They killed
twelve men and hurt many others. There are no news about the Independence war
and the Carlist wars.
Illustrious sons of
this town have been, besides D. Ignacio and Francisco de Mendoza (previously
mentioned):
Ø Fernando
de Mena, Phillip II’s doctor;
Ø
father
Pedro de la Plaza Nieva, prior of the Uclés Monastery (1624-1627) and chaplain
of the king until 1636, when he died;
Ø
father
Juan de la Magdalena, priest and historian (1694);
Ø
father
Francisco Jiménez, Commissioner of the Holy Office;
Ø
Mr
José de Homa y Haro, minister of the Royal Council of the Tax Office (1774);
Ø
Mr
Saturnino Medina Caballero, doctor, distinguished due to the help he gave
during the cholera epidemic in 1885.
The Wine Tower.-
On the 15th
of December, 2014 a new landmark was opened to the public in Socuéllamos: the
Wine Tower.It’s intended as a wine museum, where people will be able to learn
about the techniques used to make wine, all the varieties of grapes,the
commercial aspect,…through touchscreens, panels, videos and other modern
projection means.
The museum is divided
into two floors: on the ground floor is the first part of the permanent
exhibition, that has two very different zones; the first one is dedicated to
Socuéllamos and its history, in which the very knight commander Don Antonio de
Mendoz a narrates the historical
events in the town while on the floor we can see a projection of images which
helps us understand his explanation.
On the walls there are
informative panels that reinforce the story narrated, and in a showcase we can
see documents and archeological items.
The second zone is
totally dedicated to wine. Circular counters illustrate with texts and videos
the whole process of creating a wine, including the commercial aspect
(regional, national and international target markets).
The rest of floors are
dedicated to different aspects of wine, with games and different activities to
help you understand every aspect of it.
The balcony (36 metres
high) can be accessed by elevator or on foot (this second option allows you to
hear different popular sayings (recorded by people in Socuéllamos). Up there
you can look at 2 panels and 2 ipads with information on the different
locations and buildings that can be seen.
To sum up, the Wine
Tower is a great place to learn about all possible details of wine and its
process of creation and selling.
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