The Grup Carta de Poblament remembers the 699th anniversary of the birth of Benidorm

Benidorm has celebrated the representation of the 699th anniversary of the granting of its Town Charter, one more year at Plaça de Sant Jaume and with the help of the Grup Carta de Poblament, integrated into the Associació de Penyes 'Verge del Sofratge'.

At 9:00 p.m. the performance began, based on a story by Pasqual Almiñana, present in the staging, which made visible how Admiral Bernat de Sarrià gave Benidorm a charter seven centuries ago.

The performance was attended by the mayor, Toni Pérez, as well as the councillors of Festivals, Culture, and Historical Heritage, Mariló Cebreros, Jaime Jesús Pérez and Ana Pellicer, along with other councillors and the regional deputies José Ramón González de Zárate and Mario Villar.

On behalf of the Penyes Association, many of its members, some of them actors, its president, Jaume Cortes, and the president of the Grup Carta de Poblament, Mari Luz Navarro. The peñistas also received the support of the Senior and Child queens, Valentina Almodóbar and Laia Zamora, their ladies; and the Commission of the Patronal Major Feasts chaired by Mª Dolores Cano.

After the performance, Esperanza Rostoll, the presenter for many years, acted as an organizer. The teacher positioned herself in favour of the defence of “our language”, used in the representation, and valued the work of the Grup Carta de Poblament which “has as its mission the dissemination of the founding act of Benidorm”.

Rostoll also remembered the painter Ribes Sogorg, author of the painting that serves as the background for the stage or the music, written by Pere Agulló. In addition, she emphasized the cultural activities that accompany the anniversary, such as the concert, the exhibition or the performance of a traditional comic farce.

Esperanza Rostoll ended her speech by remembering the verse of the poet Vicent Andrés Estellés, whose first centenary this year commemorates, 'Assumiràs la veu d'un poble', which states that 'No ser res si no s'és poble' to continue delving deeper in the conservation of what makes Benidorm Benidorm.
After the maintainer, Jaume Cortés addressed those present and reminded them that the performance has been taking place for 32 years and, in public, he asked Mari Luz Navarro to be able to join the Grup Carta de Poblament next year. Cortés ended his speech by remembering that it would be then that the seventieth anniversary of the historical event would take place.

The last to speak was Toni Pérez who defended that the story “be close to the people” because if not “we can lose it.” Thus, he cited the archaeological actions and subsequent restoration of the Castell that have demonstrated the role that this emblematic building played in times past and from there, he reiterated that concerning our history and heritage, if there is the opportunity to recover them, “our obligation and responsibility to do it".

The mayor cited Pere Maria Orts i Bosch, his position regarding what he called “the essence” of Benidorm “which should not be lost”, so that “we can share it with the generations to come” and, from there, he added Perez, “the importance of the legacy of Bernat de Sarrià”.

Toni Pérez advocated “to unite” so that next year “the 700th anniversary will be a turning point in this celebration.” That, from there, “we continue adding” in the conservation “of the essence of this town and its history”, and that those who “lay slabs on our heritage are a memory of the past” because now, what the City Council does with “ "The historical, architectural and cultural heritage is to preserve it and enhance its value."

The mayor ended his speech by recognizing the work by the Grup Carta de Poblament during all these years and reiterated “the full support of the City Council” that he presides over in the future.