Lebrija

Lebrija
Municipality
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	41740
Website	Official website

Lebrija (Spanish pronunciation:

According to a 2008 population census, it has 26,046 inhabitants, and has an area surface of 372 km², making it one of the biggest municipalities in the province. The nearest municipalities are El Cuervo and Las Cabezas de San Juan, in Seville and Trebujena and the city of Jerez de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz.

The main productive activity is agriculture, with

. The farmers of this area were the first to cultivate corn brought over from the Americas.

History

There has been human presence in the area since the Bronze Age, although the founding of Lebrija, possibly did not take place till the Phoenicians arrival, who baptised the settlement as Lepriptza, then to be renamed Nebrissa, during Tartessian times.

Originally, it was a port on the shores of the

, a large inner lake surrounded by the Guadalquivir River and its tributaries and coastal sand bars to the South. The lake later filled with sediment, and gradually gave way to the current Guadalviquir marshy lowlands or, in Spanish, las Marismas.

Lebrija is also the Nabrissa or Nebrissa, surnamed Veneria, of the

Nebrishah was a strong and populous place during the period of Moorish domination (from 711); it was taken by King

Lebrija was the birthplace of

Lebrija was granted city status by letters patent in 1924.

History of the Jornalero movement

In 1903, the first general strike was recorded and documented by Spanish writer

. During the victory.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lebrija, together with Jerez and Morón de la Frontera, became a focus of Jornalero protests (peasants without land) due to their poor living condition and expectations. As a result, a regime of "community work", guaranteeing a minimum salary during a few months every year, was established.^[5] Shortly after Francisco Franco's death, on 6 January 1976, around one hundred jornaleros locked themselves up in the parish church to express their political demands, only to be removed by the Civil Guard, but not before they have voiced their consigns using the church tower loudspeakers several times:

"We want the miscultivated fields and lands to be given to jornaleros and small owners. We want subsidies for the unemployed all year round. We want collective agreements for the whole sector and a right to retirement at 60. We want trade union liberty and freedom for all political prisoners and exiles..."^[6]

Main sights

The area has remnants of its Muslim past among its old buildings. Its chief buildings are a ruined Moorish castle and the parish church, Santa María de la Oliva, one of the finest churches in the province of Seville that combines a variety of styles: Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque,^[7] dating from the 14th century to the 16th, and containing some early specimens of the carving of Alonso Cano (1601–1667).^[2]

The

, and it is commonly known as "La Giraldilla" (little Giralda).

The Casa de la Cultura (Cultural Center) was built in the 18th century in Andalusian Baroque style. Originally, it was used as a wheat

in charge of Lebrija City Council at the time bought the property and its restoration began. It was reopened in 1986 as the "Casa de la Cultura", a place dedicated to learning, exhibits, and all sorts of cultural expressions, including dance and music.

The Covent and Church of San Francisco (1585) has always been associated to the

Franciscan Order

. It is located in the Plaza Manuela Murube (also known popularly as El Pilar), one of the most beautiful and artistic corners of Lebrija. In the same square are located the Old Hospital of Mercy (Hospital de la Misericordia) and Saint Andrew's Asylum (Asilo de San Andrés).

Culture

The Cruces de Mayo (Holy Crosses of May) is the most well-known and popular festivity in Lebrija. It is held during the first two weekends of May every year. It is a community activity where each neighborhood raises a cross, either using a permanent buttercross site or building them from scratch using flowers, forged iron or wood. These places around the town are then used for dancing and singing, particularly a local form of Sevillanas, known as Sevillanas corraleras.

The local annual fair is dedicated to the

, on 12 September.

The festivity of the Júas (

pronunciation of the name Judas) takes place on Saint John's Eve. Local people get together and make lifesize rag dolls, representing celebrities and local politicians. These rag dolls are left outside of houses so they can be admired by others. At midnight they are set alight, together with a fireworks display, thus ending the festivity.

As in

. Two of the most important hermandades are Los Dolores or El Castillo.

Lebrija is a flamenco centre and the Caracolá, one of the major flamenco festivals in Spain is held there every year in July.

People

Grammatica Nebrissensis, by Antonio de Nebrija

.

• grammarian
  who wrote the first grammar of the Spanish language, was born in this town.
• Rio de la Plata Estuary
  .
• dramatist
  and theatre director
• Juan Peña "El Lebrijano", flamenco
  singer.
• Real Madrid Football Club, of the Spanish La Liga
• David Peña Dorantes, flamenco composer and pianist
• Benito Zambrano, contemporary filmmaker

References

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Lebrija in Pueblos de España website (in Spanish)
• Painting and Sculpture in Lebrija, by Juan Cordero Ruiz, Emeritus Professor of University of Seville (in Spanish)