We are in a garden paradise next to the city called La Punta that has historically been a transit area between Nazareth and Monteolivete, still unknown to many residents of the city. Still today, It does not have a clear urban planning, It still looks like an extensive portion of orchard attached to the urban area, On whose road stretches a row of houses and some businesses that surprise two curious people like us.. everyone knows each other, so they know we're not from here, but immediately we started a conversation with parishioners who told us how their land was expropriated and they saw the barracks in which they were born fall for the construction of the Logistics Activities Zone (SHALL) of the port. Now, besides, the presence of train tracks, of the V-15 highway and large infrastructures such as Mercavalencia or the treatment plant, have ended up cracking their communications and making the core as a whole invisible. Despite this, It is a proud neighborhood that assures that “life is very good here.”, like nowhere; there is tranquility, you can hear the birds”. And so, inside a city, Well, it's quite a luxury.. Let's get to know today this district that hides a concert hall underground managed in an assembly-based manner that lives happily on the margins and in anonymity (and that's how we're going to leave it), the historical roll count in Mercavalencia (has existed since the 12th century) where small farmers continue to come early in the morning to sell their freshly picked products, a bar and restaurant with more than fifty years of history, a store where everything necessary to work in the fields is sold, an experimental failure, a beautiful parish and many, a lot of garden.
Agronacher
— Font d'en Corts road, 186
Following the road we came across a somewhat dilapidated house.. At its entrance we are greeted by piled bags of dirt, shelves full of plants and seedlings, boxes full of who knows how many things needed for the fields. Here we can find absolutely everything that those who want to take care of a small urban garden need and, of course, also, agricultural professionals. In addition to seeds and seedlings at minimum prices, tools are also sold, hats and espadrilles to work, pesticides and more phytosanitary products. We are surprised to know that people from half the world have come here to buy: from Germany or Guinea they have taken containers full of different seeds and there are people who have filled suitcases to take them to America. And it is that, The Valencian tomato from Perelló is very famous, just like him necklace cocoa, which is bought a lot in Romania, they tell us. Its owners explain that the summer season begins in February, This is when we can start planting the eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelons, melons or peppers. We can prepare for winter starting in October, when the countryside calls for cabbages, broccoli, chard and spinach or kale. Yes indeed, If we go for Agronacher, it is better to have a clear idea of what we want to buy., Well, here they have everything except infinite patience for indecisive beginners.
Critóbal Bar
— Jesus Morante Borrás, 144
Surrounded by abandoned farmhouses, on a road dotted with houses with old mobila wood doors and latticed balconies, whose owners sit at the doors, gaiato in hand, Bar Cristóbal is located. Now they are Juani and Alfonso, children of Christopher, who run it, after having mastered the business for more than half a century. The bar was located across the street when the brothers were little and moved to its current location about thirty years ago., where Juani takes care of the kitchen almost with his eyes closed, and Alfonso serves the countrymen who occupy the same tables every day. For lunch, garlic and pepper, meatballs with tomato, calluses, squid or fresh sepia. to eat, Valencian spoon dishes. It is evident that for Alfonso the bar is his life and he confesses that he does not want to work anymore, but be in your bar, sharing the days with his people: workers, retired, people from the town. Every day is an anecdote with these kind and simple people who greet each other with affection and say goodbye with a “vinga, more tomorrow!”.
Jesús Morante Borràs-Caminot fails
— Jesús Morante Borràs, 134
The La Punta fault is special, one of these failures that opt for experimentation in many ways. Until twelve years ago it was a minor fault, isolated and with few members (about sixty) who did not receive prizes or attention. Its members decided to change course and make it experimental, innovate every year in the approach to the theme, construction materials and staging. Since then they have won awards and their name resonates in the Fallas world with the creations of artists such as Alberto Ferrer or Ricard Balanzá. The road has not been easy, its president tells us, Carlos Sanz. But an area as small as this is what has, that the neighbors go all out, They began to donate what they could in their famous you gathered and the companies of La Punta to support the falla. The result has been a failure that gives life to the district, that proposes dinners and meals on the street to promote Brotherhood that is already breathing; a failure that constantly innovates, which is planted in the middle of the garden and which this year proposes a Faller Major, against the current of traditional faults.
Parish of the Immaculate Conception
— La Punta path to the sea, 29
This old hermitage was converted into a Parish in 1903 through the town of La Punta, who provided materials and labor following the design of the architect of the Colón Market, Francisco Mora Berenguer. Baroque inspired, The parish has a delightful altarpiece doorway with decorative plaster elements and a dome that has been recently rebuilt.. A few years ago, in the name of development (to make way for the train tracks that split La Punta in two), The parish was separated from its town by a bridge that passes over the tracks, making access difficult, especially for the elderly population. Despite this, There are many families involved in the reconstruction and enhancement of a parish that suffers considerable deterioration over the years and abandonment.. Even so, The set is beautiful and, besides, Today we find it decorated with white and blue flags hung by the Festes de la Mare de Deu de La Punta. The priest, Carlos Galan, He tells us that many neighboring families have been involved in the festivities., who crossed the footbridge that extends over the tracks with the Virgin on their backs and celebrated a campaign mass in the orchard; neighbors and neighbors who, together with his parish priest, They do not want to leave the parish outside the town and are committed to giving luster to its historical and social value.. Some semi-freedom prisoners from Picassent prison sleep here., For example.
Restaurante Martinot
— Race of the River, 11
On the facade of a simple house we read: Bar Restaurante Martinot. It is one of those houses that surprise, because inside it is huge: They tell us that it has capacity for two hundred and fifty people between the rooms., the terrace (covered and uncovered) and the children's area, which makes it ideal for celebrations. The restaurant was founded more than fifty years ago and has been home to three generations who have passed the reins, from grandparents to parents and from parents to children. The whole family has always respected the old traditional Valencian recipes in which they have so much experience., and to those who continue to give him all the love in the world. But let's get down to business: here the specialty is rice and paellas, garlic and pepper, the meats, fish and seafood. We have to make a special mention for lunches: with cocoas, olives, tomato salad and sandwich, although they also make torrà on Saturdays and Sundays, For those who prefer good grilled meat. No frills, This is a traditional Valencian restaurant., with traditional dishes and decoration, close to the garden and with all the charm of Valencian tradition.
Murals against the port
The Horta platform is future Not in the ZAL levantó en 2018 an event called Sensemurs. Meeting of Muralists for the Horta as part of its campaign to fight against the insatiable hunger for expansion of the port of Valencia at the expense of La Punta. Does it sound familiar to you? With nuances, history repeats itself today, the port wanting to grow without attending to any other criterion than the economic one. The fact is that they then brought together a good team of renowned urban artists like Aryz, Borondo, Escif, Hyuro, Barbie, Sr. Groundhog, Lichen, Anaïs Florin or Elías Taño to decorate some verticals of the battered district with murals that called for the protection of its natural environment and its social fabric. Some of them, like the mythical “There are lettuces” by Escif, They continue where they left them and are another attraction to visit this small corner of the city mistreated by the administration again and again..
