A call from a neighbor warns that vehicles dragged by the water have smashed the main gate of the headquarters. Last Tuesday, October 29, DANA devastated the town of Algemesí (Valencia), where Valencian Napoleonic Associationthe place where the legacy of a historical period resides, of which they create recreations every year, in addition to serving as a means of cultural dissemination.
The mud covered shields, swords, costumes and other objects preserved in the premises of the non-profit association born two decades ago linked to the Napoleonic era, but which today represents more than twenty different themes, from the Roman and Iberian period until at the beginning of the 20th century. .
The founder and captain of the Valencian Napoleonic Association – and who is its president – is Joaquín Blasco. As he explains to ABC, “they are the pioneers of the pageant community”, but “this disaster has affected us greatly and it will take us time to recover“. He says the water reached three feet inside the warehouse where equipment like flags, armor and accessories are stored and that many of those items “are completely unusable,” including the camp, clothing of great value and the library. “This situation has greatly affected the minds of our partners,” he laments.
He explains that among the chaos and desolation of the first hours, he received an alert from a neighbor telling him that the door was open thanks to the force of the water and that several dragged vehicles had punctured it. They tried to get there when possible but access was completely impossible and they needed the collaboration of a group of people to be able to enter and close the door.
The first days later, thanks to the cleaning work of members, volunteers and neighbors, they managed to access different rooms of the headquarters to check the condition of the furniture and equipment, visibly affected by the floods. Thus, they have suspended all their activities planned for the coming months until further notice.
According to Blasco, in the town of Algemesiof approximately 28,000 inhabitants, 100% of the urban area was affected. “Even though it took several days for foreign aid to arrive, the rapid response of the municipality and the involvement of neighbors were essential in dealing with the disaster,” he says. Thus, they then received help from EMU officers, the Army Sapper Battalion and fire units from various locations.
Thus, as if it were a military operation, the days called “Save the seat”during which dozens of members organized into cleaning tasks were present to clean the area and identify which material was damaged and which had the possibility of being recovered. “If there is something positive in this, it is the appreciation of the solidarity of many people who have helped us, both through their personal efforts and through their donations”, celebrates the “captain”, who highlights value the volunteers of “Generation Zeta”, undoubtedly “the most involved of all”.
In recent weeks they have posted photos of people who came to help them in Algemesí, such as the historical leisure group ARH Recoats, the Festeros de Cartagineses and Romanos de Cartagena, the operators of the Terra Natura park in Benidorm, as well as volunteers from Humares (Guadalajara) and UME agents from Salamanca, Astorga and the Canary Islands.
Due to the significant material losses caused by DANA at the headquarters, the Valencian Napoleonic Association launched a donation campaign through the crowdfunding GoFundMe, the money raised will be used to recover some of the damaged or completely destroyed equipment, including the historical camp, period costumes and the library.
