Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Spanish municipality in the

Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, th ...

, Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia.

History

The present site of Vilagarcía has been occupied since prehistoric times.

Petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

depicting circular or

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

shapes can be found in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Bamio and can be dated to

B.C.E. Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

The castros of Alobre, Carril, Agudín and Lobeira, in addition to archaeological findings such as

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

coins, seem to indicate a continuous settlement in the area.Turism Information of Vilagarcía de Arousa
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Geography

Location

Vilagarcía de Arousa is located in the region (comarca) of

O Salnés O Salnés is a ''comarca'' in the Galician Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia ...

at the southernmost part of the

ría de Arousa The ''Ría de Arousa'' is a ria, a saline estuary, that forms a firth situated on Galicia, Spain. It is one of the five ''Rías Baixas''. The Ría de Arousa estuary is the largest of the estuaries of Galicia. It is part of the Rias Baixas and is ...

Ría de Arousa The ''Ría de Arousa'' is a ria, a saline estuary, that forms a firth situated on Galicia, Spain. It is one of the five ''Rías Baixas''. The Ría de Arousa estuary is the largest of the estuaries of Galicia. It is part of the Rias Baixas and is ...

forming a big sea inlet (

ría A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...

). It borders to the North with

Catoira Catoira is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, located in the province of Pontevedra. Catoira is famous for its ruins of the Torres do Oeste (Towers of the West). Demography Local festivals The most important celebrations include: *the Viking ...

, to the East with

Caldas de Reis Caldas de Reis is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the north of the province of Pontevedra. History In Ptolemy's Tables, the town Caldas de Reis (in Galician language) appears as ''Aquae calidae'' ( grc, Ὕδατα Θερμά, meaning hot ...

and to South with

Vilanova de Arousa Vilanova de Arousa is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, ...

. It is located 45 km South of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

Subdivisions

As it is traditional in Galicia, the city is subdivided in a number of parroquias, namely: # Arealonga (Santa Eulalia de Afora); # Bamio (San Xinés); # Carril (Santiago); # Cea (San Pedro); # Cornazo (San Pedro); # Fontecarmoa (San Pedro); # Rubiáns (Santa María); # Sobradelo (San Salvador); # Sobrán (San Martín de Afora); # Solobeira (San Félix); # Vilagarcía (Santa Eulalia e A Nosa Señora de la Junquera); # Carril (Santiago de Afuera).

Port

The port of Villagarcía de Arosa, with its 566,874 square meters approximately, is one of the most important components of the economy of this municipality and the region. Although its activity dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, its origin is to be found in Carril, thanks to its intense trade relations "forced not only companies to have commercial representation in the estuary, but also their governments were forced to open diplomatic offices in Carril. The then booming town first and then Vilagarcía had consulates of Great Britain, Portugal, Germany, France, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic". Nowadays it is a significant point of export and import of goods, fishing and leisure activities.

Festivals

* Festivals of Santa Rita. * Festival of the San Roque. * Festival of the ''Ameixa'' of Carril.

San Roque and the ''Festa da auga''

The Patron Saint festival of Vilagarcía de Arousa takes place during 10 days around 16 August, the day of

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

(San Roque). On that day two celebrations take place consecutively. The first one, of religious nature, starts with a mass and the procession of the image of the saint from the parish church (Iglesia de Santa Eulalia) to St. Roch's Chapel. Thousands of people accompany the image during its way, which is carried out moving to the beat of the ''Triunfo''

paso doble Pasodoble (Spanish language, Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military ...

. Subsequently, the second celebration takes place, what is called ''Festa da Auga'' ("''the water festival"''). Thousands of people from all ages go through the streets shouting for water (''"¡agua!"''). The neighbors respond to their prayers by throwing water from the windows with buckets, hoses, etc. The goal is to get everybody wet. In addition, the city firefighters cooperate by drenching the participants from the firetrucks. The celebration does not end until the beginning of the evening. A certain area, comprising the main streets of the city, is designated as ''"the wet area"'', where getting wet is well received. Usually between 20,000 and 30,000 people take part in the ''Water festival''.

Notable people

* Laura Alonso Padín, operatic soprano *

Manuel Bernárdez Manuel Bernárdez (13 August 1867 – 1942) was a Galician-born Uruguayan diplomat, poet, journalist, and editor. Life and Family Bernárdez was the son of Juan Ramón Bernardez and Dolores Filgueira. When he was six, they left Vilagarcía ...

, Uruguayan diplomat and writer *

Gustavo César Gustavo César Veloso (born January 29, 1980 in Vilagarcía de Arousa) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2003 : 1st Overall Prémio Grande Porto ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Kla ...

, cyclist * Antón Paz Blanco, sailor, winner of a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

class *

Pepe Rubianes José Rubianes Alegret, better known as Pepe Rubianes (2 September 1947 – 1 March 2009) was a Galician actor and theater director, born in Galicia and brought up in Catalonia, specializing in mime, imitation and monologues. He was known for h ...

, actor *

Manuel Jiménez Abalo Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

Daniel Abalo Paulos Daniel "Dani" Abalo Paulos (; born 29 September 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He began his career at Celta, playing almost exclusively in the Segunda División, and won the Bulgarian league titl ...

Pablo Coira Pablo Coira Lojo (born 18 October 1979) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a right back. Football career After starting playing professional football with local SD Compostela, in Segunda División, Coira joined Galicia giants ...

, José Fontán,

Luis César Sampedro Luis Ángel César Sampedro (born 3 May 1966), known as Luis César, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, currently a manager. Playing career Born in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Province of Pontevedra, Luis César played for ...

and

María Paz Vilas Mari Paz Vilas Dono (born 1 February 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a forward for Primera División club Levante Las Planas. She is graduated with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. Career Vilas started her senior career at local team ...

, football players

Twin towns – sister cities

Vilagarcía de Arousa is twinned with: *

Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...

, Portugal

References

External links

Official Vilagarcía de Arousa website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilagarcia De Arousa Municipalities in the Province of Pontevedra Populated coastal places in Spain