Valencia Day was commemorated last Friday across all of the municipalities in the Valencia region including Torrevieja and Orihuela. Every year, October 9th is the date the region celebrates the same day in 1238 when King James I officially entered the city of Valencia, freeing it from Moorish rule.
In Torrevieja, the Valencia flag was raised in the Plaza de la Constitucion by the mayor, José Manuel Dolon, who said it was a great day for celebration, but made the point that after years of “looting and pillaging” by the previous Partido Popular regional government, he was happy that the new left of centre administration was full of people that would change things.
Over in Orihuela, the PP mayor, Emilio Bascuñana pulled no punches in asking the Valencian government to respect the wishes of the area, and that people should not be discriminated against for not speaking the regional Valenciano language, adding that school children should not be forced to “use a language that isn’t heard in the street”. Bascuñana added that the traditions and history of the Orihuela area should be respected, and that meant no negativity from Valencian authorities towards people that have “only learnt and speak Spanish/Castilian”.