JimenaPulse
About Jimena de la Frontera, the province of Cadiz and Spain as a whole, focused on this small village in the mountainsArchive for LANGUAGE
PRONUNCIATION
Another regular reader has sent us some hints in Spanish pronunciation, which we will be offering as a small, regular series every Thursday morning. (Yes, we know it isn’t Thursday today, but couldn’t resist it…):
Lesson 1: Boy as N R = voy a cenar = I’m going to have dinner
GRAND SUCCESS!
By all accounts, the La Estrella fund raising fashion and jewellery show held on Friday was a grand success. Some €600 was raised by the gate receipts and some 250 raffle tickets were sold. These are still available at several places, including La Tasca, at only €1. The prize is a magnificent cesta de navidad (Christmas hamper) although no hamper could possibly contain so many goodies, which range from a grand selection of wines to hams, cold meats and even some items of clothing, all of which have been donated. Buy a couple of tickets and help La Estrella.
READERS COMMENTS
We got this e-mail:
“Hi Prospero, Your post on the “problems” at the health centre is really interesting. Personally I haven’t had any dealings with them so have no experience, but I’ve spoken to a few people who have. Let’s hope they see your invitation to voice their concerns through your blog as the fantastic oportunity it is. On a lighter note; I read this article this morning and it really made me smile. Steve.”
Our answer was: “Hey, Steve! Good one: I’ll ‘hang’ it (colgar = Spanish for upload).
Saw you in town the other day. We should have coffee next time. All the best, P”
Check out the article, it’s excellent.
HEALTH CARE IN JIMENA (4)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH CARE IN JIMENA (1952 – 2007)
by CURRINI
People helped each other, too, by passing on things they had learned from their family. Most of this knowledge had no scientific basis: for instance, you might get told to pass a large iron key across your mouth, in the morning for three days, to cure a cold sore. Or to grab a handful of cobwebs and put it in a poultice on a wound. Or to rub your eye with a fly to heal a sty.
There were two doctors in Jimena around 1954: Don José Montero and Don Juan Marina. The former lived and had his surgery across the street from el Pósito (‘depósito‘, i.e. storage rooms, where the Casa de la Cultura at the top of the village is today and that earlier became the village’s first discothèque). He also owned the summer cinema next to his house, where a market was later installed. Don José was asthmatic but he could be seen every day slowly walking up the streets carrying his little black bag, to visit his patients.The other doctor was Don Juan Marina Bocanegra, whose surgery and home was where the new Hotel is now. He was much younger than Don José and further advanced in his medicinal knowledge. He loved shooting and owned the town’s electricity (I remember having electric lights only at nights and never in the daytime). It was Don Juan who started ‘the Insurance’ but the service was so bad that one had in the end to succumb to cash payment. Among other things, the prescriptions never seemed to be covered by it.
There was also the local official partera (midwife), named Rosario, with her green eyes, her hair in a bun and a large black dog that was always looking out of the postigo (shutter or little window in a door). However, most of the women called in the neighbours who had always assisted at births even if they didn’t have a certificate to prove it.
Then there were the practicantes (‘nurses’). Don José Malagón and Don Miguel Cuenca would always be seen with their little shiny boxes that contained the dreaded syringes steeped in alcohol. They went from house to house all too often. The doctors and the practicantes all reeked of medicine and you could smell them coming a mile away.
Follow the story here next Tuesday, November 6th.
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HEALTH CARE IN JIMENA (3)
THE DEVELOPMENTOF HEALTH CARE IN JIMENA (1952 – 2007)
by CURRINI
All of us kids went through the usual illnesses: you know, paperas (mumps), sarampión (measles), escarlatina (scarlet fever), varicela (chicken pox), rubéola (German measles), anginas (tonsillitis), sarna (scabies), uñeros (whitlow) and such. And we had innumerable accidents, of course. All of these were cured at home because, among other things, there was no money at home and a visit to the doctor, who had to be paid, was only made out of absolute necessity. Very few people had el Seguro (‘the Insurance’) in those days, but I’ll talk about that later.
There was also an intermediate stage between medicine from the talega and proper medicine. This was the world of the curanderos and curanderas (healers). I don’t know anything about these things but as a child I had something on my nose they called dicipela (?), which would not disappear no matter how much cream you put on it, and it was getting worse. In the end my sister took me to an elderly lady who said some prayers over my head. But the good lady had to say these prayers for seven days, during which I must not get wet. As I said, I know nothing about it, but the thing gradually went away. There were people who specialized in curing the culebrinas (shingles) with prayers, although they also put on poultices with oil and gunpowder. In this area we can also include other specialists such as el hombre de los parches (‘the man with the patches’). I can see him now, well dressed in his jacket and hat. He was from Olvera and came to Jimena every week to his ‘surgery’. There were also el tío de los huesos (‘the bone guy’) in Montejaque, who mended broken bones, and the man in Arriate who cured mal de ojos (the evil eye).
Follow the story here on Tuesday, October 30th
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