This Friday, the festivities began in the Toledan town of Miguel Esteban (4,800 inhabitants) with a program of events that will last until next Tuesday, September 10, and which aims to attract both residents and visitors.
–How has your government team prepared for these holidays, are they going all out?
-No, not at all. Miguel Esteban is a municipality that has had practically no debt for 40 years, where economic management is very important on a daily basis, we do what is within our reach. We have a budget for celebrations that include Christmas, carnivals, summer and parties, and when we do not organize something, it is because it has not arrived. The amount is around 200,000 euros for the whole year.
–The chupinazo arrived this Friday, but they come from a summer full of activities
-Indeed, we have been favorites since the weekend of August 17, we had the descent of the Virgen del Socorro to the church of San Andrés 15 days ago, the Los Charcones race, painting, theater, book presentations and concerts in the park.
–These festive days are eagerly awaited by the neighbors, what news do they have?
-On Friday, from ten o’clock at night, floral offering. The corporation with the queens who represent us in these festivities and those outgoing – one of the novelties is the recovery of the figure of the third lady of honor -, we approach the church of San Andrés we make our floral offering, mass and then we We move to the place where the fireworks are made. Then we will have a performance by a tribute band to Estopa, a free concert for all audiences.
–But the most anticipated is the Queen of La Manche competition, which is in its 54th edition.
-Without a doubt, and this year Pedro Muñoz and Los Ciruelos have decided to participate after several years of absence, which means that the event continues to attract the attention of the municipalities in the region. In fact, when I was elected mayor and I had to go to the different associations, all the mayors asked me about the Queen of La Mancha pageant as an event that they enjoyed attending. It is one of the most anticipated moments, it has been 54 years. It cannot go out of style, we must maintain it and try to attract more people every year.
–What is the meaning of this election and what does it bring to Miguel Esteban??
-It means a twinning between neighboring and less neighboring towns because some distant towns visit us like Ontur (Albacete), 200 kilometers away. This year there will be 35 municipalities from Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Albacete and Toledo. It is a recognition of the figure of the woman of La Mancha in our lives. We have carried out an event with more than 1,000 people, which attracts a great economic benefit not only for the commerce and hospitality of Miguel Esteban but for all the companies in the area. It is perhaps the greatest day.
–Popular paella, orchestras and bullfighting festivities play a leading role
-Yes, there will be a paella for the whole city in Socorro Park and then music. After the coronation of the Queen of La Mancha, we have an orchestra in the summer auditorium and on Sunday the 8th, the day of the Virgin of Socorro, the same thing. Monday the 9th is the day of the bulls with our bullfighting festival. There are three bullfighters, Canales Rivera, Aníbal Ruiz and a young man from the area, Héctor Recuero, from Villanueva de Alcardete. People come to these kinds of festivals, we can’t complain. At the end, we will have the musical performance of “Panther Show” on the summer track. The festivities will end on Tuesday with Family Day, although this year it is complicated because that day classes start at school and at the institute, it is not a holiday in Miguel Esteban, but we have two or three things prepared, one is the stew contest. This is also done in Socorro Park. The town hall provides some ingredients to prepare the stew and there are already 400 people registered. Then we will have a popular meal, a musical group in the park and the patron saint festivities will end with the virgin in a procession that will go up from San Andrés to the church of Socorro.
–You have already completed your first year as mayor, what is your assessment?
-It is an honor to be mayor of Miguel Esteban. I am happier than I thought. I have a good city in which all the people facilitate the work of the mayor. We do not have major insecurity problems or those that can be heard in other municipalities. We are a small, humble city and that is why economic control is essential, and I have a government team that makes it easy for me, they push the car and for that I am very grateful. Regarding investments, we have a multi-year plan, we know what we have to do in 2024, 2025, 2026 and in the months of 2027 that we are in the municipal government.
–What are these investments?
-Well, we plan to remodel the Plaza de los Mártires, where the town hall is located and where we will place sculptures in homage to our jota pujada; the work of covering the paddle tennis court; With the help of the Provincial Plan of the Provincial Council of Toledo, we will carry out an improvement in sanitation and we will also make a modification to the Miguel Esteban cemetery to enlarge the graves, a work that we will begin after these Socorro festivities. We ran for office with a fairly realistic program, we did not have large investments. Our goal is to serve the neighbors as best we can within the limits of our competences, sanitation, road maintenance, the aforementioned investments and some small modifications such as improving the roof of the nursery school and the medical center.
