Las Ciggarres: Smoke or fire


Last week we visited El Centro Cultural, Las Cigarreras. It is architecturally amazing, with many buildings within. It contains a theatre, a small cinema and a gallery. Moreover throughout the year they put on various events and exhibitions.
This photo shows one of the old warehouses that has been converted for the cultural centre

History


This photo taken by Catherine shows Silvia enjoying one of the pieces of art work
Las Cigarreras, which means cigar maker, used to be a cigarette factory, employing thousands of people over two hundred years. This means that it holds valuable significance for many citizens of Alicante. This means that when the production of tobacco moved to surrounding areas, something had to be done with the old factory. The history of tobacco in Spain dates back to the discovery of the America’s in 1492. But it had been a major part of Native American culture for many centuries before then. Production was important to most of Southern Spain including Seville.   
This was taken by Ksenia, showing our group

The factory was taken over by the city council and converted into the cultural centre we know today.


Socio-cultural significance

                
There are many buildings within the cultural centre, each containing a different contemporary exhibition.

                The centre is an important place for people in Alicante as it is valuable to many of their families histories. Therefore when the building was abandoned it was important to keep the significance around
. 

Tourism/ our view
                
It is out of the centre meaning that is difficult to find. Due to its location, it is not the easiest to get to by public transport. You can get any bus that stops at Plaza del Torres, such as the 8, 24, 3 and 1, then walk about 200-500 metres. It is a fairly easy walk meaning that it is accessible to all.
This photo shows the first building you come to at Las Ciggares, it is full of plants

It is open from 10:00-21:00 every Tuesday to Saturday and 10:14:00 on Sundays. This means that you can visit pretty much whenever making it a good place as you can take your time to wander around. It is also free, so that means that if you are looking for a cheap day/ afternoon out it is perfect for you. This means that we really enjoyed it due to our lack of money.

Many activities are put on every year to attract visitors from far and wide. Once you are inside one of the exhibition halls it is peaceful and calming, meaning that it is the perfect place to relax after a stressful week at work or university. Unfortunately, while we were there the theatre was not open, so we did not get a chance to experience one of the many shows that they put on every year. This means that if you want to go to one of their shows, you should research beforehand.


Bibliography

Photos by Ksenia, Silvia, Lina and Catherine

 Alicante City and Beach
http://www.alicanteturismo.com

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