Lebrija

Infobox City | official_name = Lebrija | Demonym = Lebrijano/ Lebrijana

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| map_caption = Location of Lebrija within the Province of Seville
subdivision_type = Province | subdivision_name = Seville | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Mari Fernández (PSOE) | elevation (AMSL = 37 m
area_magnitude = 1 E9 | area_total_km2 = 372 | area_land_km2 = 372 | area_water_km2 = 0.00 | population_as_of = 2005 | population_note =
population_total = 24866 | population_density_km2 = 66.8 | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | latitude = 36º 55' N| longitude = 6º 04' W | postcode = 41740
website = http://www.lebrija.com/ | footnotes = |

Lebrija is a city in the province of Sevilla, Andalusia (Spain), near the left bank of the Guadalquivir river, and on the eastern edge of the marshes known as Las Marismas.

According to a 2005 population census, it has 24,866 inhabitants, and has an area surface of 372km², 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 Cadiz.

The main productive activity is agriculture, with beet, cotton, wheat and various fruits its main products. Winemaking activities are also remarkable with Manzanilla and other finos too. Lebrija is also known for its pottery and earthenware heritage, including "búcaros". 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 foundation 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 in the shores of the Lacus Ligustinus, a large inner lake surrounded by the Guadalquivir River and its tributaries and coastal sand bars to the South. The lake later became infilled with deposited sediment, and gradually giving way to the current Guadalviquir marshy lowlands or "Marismas".

Lebrija is also the "Nabrissa" or "Nebrissa", surnamed "Veneria", of the Romans; by Silius Italicus. According to local historian José Bellido, the word "veneria", (Latin: "that which venerates (worships)") makes reference to the mythical foundation of Lebrija by the god Dionysus (Bacchus): "Where special veneration is given to Bacchus, there where the swift satyres and the menades, at night celebrate the mysteries of that god, with their heads covered up with a deer skin". [BELLIDO AHUMADA, José (1971): "La Patria de Nebrija (noticia histórica)". ISBN 84-398-3421-7]

"Nebrishah" was a strong and populous place during the period of Moorish domination (from 711); it was taken by King St Ferdinand in 1249, but again lost, and became finally subject to the Castilian crown only under Alfonso the Wise in 1264.Lebrija was the birthplace of Elio Antonio de Lebrija (1444-1522), also known as "Antonius Nebrissensis", one of the most important leaders in the revival of learning in Spain, author of the first grammar of a Romance language, the tutor of Queen Isabella, and a collaborator with Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros in the preparation of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible.

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 Azorín.During the Spanish Second Republic, Lebrija was always a Frente Popular stronghold, as it has been an Anarchist one in the previous century. A process of Agrarian reform was started with some collectivisation of farms [Ley de Arrendamientos Colectivos de 1931] and expropriation of land from absentee landlords. This was put to an end with the army rebellion, which lead to the Spanish Civil War and ultimately to the Francoist 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 expectatives. As a result, a regime of "communitary work", guaranteeing a minimum salary during a few months every year, was established. [http://www.ugr.es/~pwlac/G16_08JoseLuis_Solana_Ruiz.html "Las clases socialesen Andalucía. Un recorrido sociohistórico", article by José Luis Solana Ruiz published in "Gazeta de Antropología" n. 16, 2000. University of Granada, Spain]

Shortly after Francisco Franco's death, on 6 of January 1976, around one hundred "jornaleros" locked themselves up in the parsh 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 exilees..." [http://ruralescristianos.org/SEPARATA.htm "Jornalero y campesino en Andalucía", "Revista Militante" published by the "Movimiento Rural Cristiano"]

Historic Buildings

The area still 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: Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque [ [http://www.bajoguadalquivir.org/portal/municipios/lebrija.htm Lebrija ] ] , dating from the 14^th century to the 16^th, and containing some early specimens of the carving of Alonso Cano (1601-1667). The campanile tower was inspired on the Giralda, of the Cathedral of Sevilla, and it is commonly known as "La Giraldilla" ("little Giralda"). Santa María de la Oliva was originally a mosque that was reclaimed as a Christian temple in 1249, following the Reconquista. Part of the church retains its original mosque elements and resembles a smaller version of the Mezquita in Córdoba.

The "Casa de la Cultura" (House of Culture) was built in the 18th century in Andalusian Baroque style. Originally it was used as a wheat silo for the Archbishop of Seville and housing for the local Catholic chapter. The Diezmos and tributes paid by the town people to the church were kept here. In 1982, the Socialist Party in charge of Lebrija City Council at the time bought the property and its restoration began. It was reopened in 1986 as the House of Culture, 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 Assylum ("Asilo de San Andrés").

Popular Festivities

"Cruces de Mayo"

The "Cruces de Mayo" ("Holy Crosses of May") is the most typical and popular festivity in Lebrija. It is held during the first two weekends of May every year. It is a community activity for what each neighboorhood "raise 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".

Annual Fair

The local annual fair is dedicated to the patron saint of Lebrija, Our Lady of The Castle, and held around her nameday, on 12 September.

"Júas"

The festivity of the "Júas" (Andalusian dialect 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 fireworls display, thus marking the ending of the festivity.

Holy Week

As in Seville and other Andalusian cities, towns and villages, several hermandades march in procession, carrying "pasos", lifelike wood or plaster sculptures of individual scenes of the Passion of Jesus Christ or images of the Virgin Mary. One of the most important hermandades is "Veracruz".

"Caracolá"

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

Famous people from Lebrija

*Elio Antonio de Lebrija, Andalusian grammarian who wrote the first grammar of the Spanish language, was born in this town.
*Juan Díaz de Solís, navigator and explorer who reached and named the Rio de la Plata Estuary.
*Juan Bernabé (1947-1972), dramatist and theatre director
*Juan Peña "El Lebrijano", flamenco singer.
*Juan Ramón López Caro, former manager of Real Madrid Football Club, of the Spanish La Liga
*Benito Zambrano, contemporary filmmaker

Image Gallery

References

External links

*languageicon|es|Spanish [http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadistica/sima/htm/sm41053.htm Statistiscal data about Lebrija]
*languageicon|es|Spanish [http://www.lebrija.com/ Lebrija.com website]
*languageicon|es|Spanish [http://www.pueblos-espana.org/andalucia/sevilla/lebrija/ Lebrija in "Pueblos de España" website]
*languageicon|es|Spanish [http://www.lebrijadigital.com/home/index.php Lebrija Digital]
*languageicon|es|Spanish [http://www.personal.us.es/jcordero/LEBRIJA/pagina1.htm "Painting and Sculpture in Lebrija"] , by Juan Cordero Ruiz, Emeritus Professor of University of Seville