Orihuela Costa has a surplus of living accommodation, villas, houses and apartments. Included in this number are restaurants, bars, supermarkets and commercial centres.
But unfortunately the one very important item that is sadly missing in Orihuela Costa is that of CULTURE! There is no library, theatre, concert hall, auditorium or cinema.
Residents of the area have to travel to Orihuela city, Torrevieja, San Fulgencio, Pilar de la Horadada, Murcia, Alicante or Elche to experience any form of culture.
One of the facilities that is most demanded is a library which residents say would not only be for the purpose of lending out books. It could be used as a meeting point for the residents of Orihuela Costa and an area for additional study by its schoolchildren.
There could be a comfortable corner, perhaps with small cafe facilities, where residents could browse through the daily newspapers, catch up with friends after returning their books and choosing new ones. It would be advantageous to have books and perhaps the daily newspapers in Spanish, English, German, Swedish languages etc., in an attempt to attract as many of our residents as possible to use this facility.
It would help to develop a sense of community in Orihuela Costa which could only be built around a cultural centre and which would help to unite and join all residents of Orihuela Costa together.
One further useful service would be the availability of computers and internet access, perhaps for a small fee.
Free Wi-Fi could also be installed to enable residents to bring and use their own laptops while enjoying their morning coffee and toast purchased at the cafe. Once a week a story teller could be organized (I am sure there are many residents who would be more than happy to take on this role for free) to read stories to the children in Spanish and perhaps on other languages. This would encourage our young residents to take an interest at a very early age in the Spanish language and also see the library as fun place to visit.
A lot of residents, even from neighbouring towns such as Torrevieja or Pilar de la Horadada, have taken up writing upon retiring. These new hidden talents could see the establishment of ‘writer’s circles’ the members of which could be invited to read excerpts from their books or recite their poems. Such activities bring and bind residents together – this would help to mould and to integrate our community.
There would be no reason why the building could not be multi-functional, maybe including a theatre which could also be used as a concert hall and cinema. The only music that can be heard in Orihuela-Costa at the moment is when a band plays in a local bar.
There are many cultural events taking place in Orihuela city on a regular basis, some of which could quite easily take place in Orihuela-Costa if the appropriate premises were available. Various types of musical evenings could be organised, any-thing from classical to jazz. The building would also provide a home for the many theatrical societies that trawl the area looking for suitable venues.
Film evenings could be organised, some of a cultural or educational nature showing areas in and around Orihuela Town and Orihuela-Costa or featuring the many different areas of Spain. Cinema films could be shown in Spanish (to encourage people to learn the language) and perhaps in other languages with subtitles. These types of cultural functions encourage the residents to mingle and would help to unite the community.
Orihuela Town Hall like to take the credit for Orihuela-Costa’s beautiful beaches and never fail to shout about how many blue flags they have yet again been awarded, but the area is not only about beaches.
Orihuela Costa’s residents definitely draw the short straw where culture and entertainment is concerned. It is about time that the area had the opportunity to show off and be proud of a new library, concert hall or cinema, facilities that the Orihuela Costa and its residents urgently need.
Caption: If it’s culture you want you need to travel out of the Orihuela Costa
