Vilalba is a municipality in Galicia (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

), in the province of Lugo, on the left bank of the river Ladra, one of the headstreams of the Miño.

Pilgrim route

Vilalba is located on the old pilgrim route from western Europe to

Santiago de Compostella 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. ...

, which enters from

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

and Abadin to the east and crosses using the old Bridge of Martiñán in the parish of Goiriz, leaving on the west side of the town towards Baamonde,

Guitiriz Guitiriz () is a City Council known for its destination spa, spa of mineral water in the Terra Chá Region, Lugo, Province of Lugo in North-western Spain. Parishes ''(also known as: "Parroquias")'' # Becín # Buriz # Labrada # Lagostelle # ...

and León.

Journalistic tradition

During the 20th century Vilalba had a rich journalistic tradition that began in 1902 with the ''Ideal Villalbés'', a newspaper handwritten by the poet and journalist Antonio García Hermida. This was continued, in a more professional form, by the ''El Eco de Villalba'' (1908) under Manuel Mato Vizoso and Novo Freire. After this were ''El Ratón'' (1910), ''El Vigía Villalbés'' (1913), ''Azul y Blanco'' (1914), ''Villalba y su comarca'' (1915), ''Galicia pintoresca'' (1916), and ''El Heraldo de Villalba'' (1916), which consecrated García Hermida as a professional journalist. The proliferation of written press does not end there, but continued with the first newspaper written entirely in Galician in the town, ''A Xustiza'' (1918). Soon there were also ''Aurora'' (1918), ''El Gato'' (1919), ''La Voz Villalbesa'' (1921), ''El Progreso Villalbés'' (1922) founded by Enríquez Chanot, ''El Villalbés'' (1925), ''El Villalbés de Buenos Aires'' (1927), and ''La Unión Ciudadana'' (1929). In the years of the II Republic was edited a politically active newspaper, the ''Faro Villalbés'' (1932). One of their more significant columnists was Carmiña Prieto Rouco, author of the ''Himno da Terra Cha''. In the years of the

Francoist State Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

only two newspapers saw the light, both of which dealt mainly with sports: ''Stadium'' (1949) and ''El Castillo'' (1950). The next new newspaper did not appear until 1983, the short-lived ''

A Voz de Vilalba ''A Voz de Vilalba'' was a newspaper published in Vilalba, Spain between 1983 and 1986. During these years, twenty-seven numbers and some special numbers were published, and the average edition was five hundred copies. Some of their subscribers were ...

''.

The tree

The town is unusual in having given its name to a local tree, the ''Pravia'', which is a white maple located near the town's

Parador A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually located ...

(a fortress converted into a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

). Usually the ''Pravia'' turns to a stage to celebrate Christmas and represent the traditional

Nativity scene In the Christianity, Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian language, Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christ ...

(''Belenismo'').

Administrative units

The following table lists the

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

(''parroquias'') of Vilalba, with their estimated 2019 populations:. The relevant data is found by selecting from "Criterio ''Geográfico''": Galicia > Lugo > Vilalba, and setting "Criterio ''Tipo de entidad" to "Sólo entidades colectivas".

Notable Galicians born in Vilalba

Cristina Castaño Cristina Castaño Gómez (born 30 October 1978) is a Spanish actress best known for her role as Judith Becker in hit series La que se avecina. Biography Castaño was born on 30 October 1978 in Vilalba ( Lugo). She made a name for herself in ...

, actress *

Ramón Chao Ramón Luís Chao Rego (21 July 1935 – 20 May 2018) was a Spanish journalist and writer. He won the Premio de Virtuosismo for Piano in 1955. The same year he moved to Paris, France to study music with Nadia Boulanger and Lazare Lévy. In 1960 ...

, journalist, writer, and father of singer

Manu Chao Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his mus ...

Manuel Fraga Iribarne Manuel Fraga Iribarne (; 23 November 1922 – 15 January 2012) was a Spanish professor and politician in Francoist Spain, who was also the founder of the People's Party. Fraga was Minister of Information and Tourism between 1962 and 1969, Ambas ...

, Minister in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and President of the Galician Parliament between (1990-2005) by the

Galician People's Party The Galician People's Party ( gl, Partido Popular Galego, gl, Partido Popular Gallego, PPG) was a Galician political party in the first years of the Spanish democracy. History It was founded in July 1976 as a result of the union of the Democr ...

Antonio María Rouco Varela Antonio María Rouco Varela (born 20 August 1936) is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a prominent member of its conservative wing. He served as Archbishop of Madrid from 1994 to 2014. He was made a cardinal in 1998. Cardinal ...

, prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Gallery

Image:TorreVilalba.JPG, Tower of Andrade Image:IgrexaStaMariaVilalba.JPG, St. Mary's Church Image:MuinhoVilalbaOsPasos.jpg, Os Pasos Mill Image:PonteSaa Vilalba.JPG, Saa Bridge

Notes

References

External links

A Voz de Vilalba

Bibliografía Chairega
Municipalities in the Province of Lugo {{Galicia-geo-stub