Alaquàs (; es, Alacuás) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

Horta Oest Horta Oest (, es, Huerta Oeste) was a Comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca in the Provinces of Spain, province of Valencia (province), Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. Municipalities

*Alaquàs *Aldaia *Manises *Mislata *Patern ...

''comarca'' in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

Etymology

The town's name is of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

origin, coming from ''al-aquas'' (الأقواس), meaning "the arches", believed to be a reference to a bridge of Moorish origin near the town.

Heritage

* Castillo-palacio de Alaquàs * Iglesia de la Asunción * Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Olivar, also known as ''Església de la Mare de Déu de l'Olivar''.

Economy

In 2008, Alaquàs was mainly employed in industry (45% of those) and services (53%). Agriculture, with just over 2% of those employed, is a residual sector. In the same year, there were 134 hectares of irrigated land, specifically dedicated to citrus (99 ha) and herbaceous crops (35 ha). Specialization in bricks and jars gave way to the wood (furniture) industry, metal products manufacture and the food industry. The industrial land occupies about 160 ha, divided between El Bovalar (32 ha; west), Els Mollons and other isolated enclaves. The sectoral distribution of companies was: 59% in the industrial sector, 24% in business services, 9% in consumer services, 3% in agri-food and the remaining 5% in other services.

Local politics

Alaquàs is located in ''l'Horta'', an area known as the red belt ( ca-valencia, cinturó roig, link=no) due to its tendency to vote for left wing parties. The Communist Party of Spain won most seats at the 1979 local election and remained strong in the area until the 1990s when they declined, losing their last seat at the 1995 elections. The People's Party received the most votes for the first time at the 2011 local elections.

Summary of council seats won

Source: ^*Results for the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

. In 1986 they joined with other parties to form the current United Left. ^#In 1983, the People's Alliance (AP), Democratic Popular Party (PDP), Liberal Union (UL) and Valencian Union (UV) formed a four party electoral alliance. The electoral alliance ended in 1986 and the AP and UV contested the 1987 local elections separately. In 1989 the AP merged with the PDP and UL to form the current People's Party. ^†Results for the Valencian People's Union, who later formed the Valencian Nationalist Bloc (BNV).

Climate

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Alaquàs is twinned with: *

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

, Italy *

Lanjarón Lanjarón is a municipality and town in the Alpujarras area in the province of Granada in Andalusia, Spain. Lanjarón has a ruined castle and chalybeate baths. This spa town is most famous, however, for its eponymous bottled water company, the ...

Province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical ...

, Spain

Culture

Festivals

*Village festivals (Held from the end of August to the beginning of September), which include, among others, the ''Correfocs'', ''Moros y cristianos'' and ''El Canto de la Carxofa''. * Fallas (Held on March). Alaquàs has 11 commissions and its own prizes. *Fiesta del Porrat (Celebrated in spring in honor of San Francisco de Paula)

International events

* Festival de Rock de Alaquàs, also known as ''FRA''.

Bordering towns

References

External links

Alaquàs council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaquas Municipalities in the Province of Valencia Horta Oest