Good evening! We are Luis Miguel, Jennifer and José María and you are listening to the podcast fifth episode belonging to the IES Mediterráneo Podcast Project. In this week recording, we are going to have a look at La Caleta and the Azucarera Guadalfeo sugar factory.

After this short introduction, we start.

 La Caleta and La Guardia are two areas separated by the sugar factory. At the same time, these areas are separated from Salobreña by the tomatoes and sugar cane fields which surround the western side of Salobreña.

La Caleta is a place where people used to live in ancient times (now it is not so common). These people mostly worked in the sugar factory, called Azucarera Guadalfeo, or in fishing.

The Virgin of Carmen is the patron saint of La Caleta and La Guardia. This is celebrated on 16 July with activities such as the sea procession which leaves from El Lavadero. In El Lavadero we find a path between the sea and the cliff called El Caletón, a place where fishermen go.

Around two kilometres away from La Caleta, we find the tower of the Cambrón. This is an old watchtower, and it was built by the Nazaríes and it was soon rebuilt by the Catholics.

We have already reached the end of this brief history of La Caleta. Now, I’m going to ask my classmates to join us. They are going to talk about the history of the Azucarera Guadalfeo.

(Luismy)- Very good morning Jose María and Jennifer!

(Jennifer) - Good morning Luis Miguel!                                                 

(José María)- Good morning!

(Luismy)- José María, could you explain to us the history of the factory?

(José María)- Of course. The Guadalfeo sugar factory, formerly known as sugar factory of Nuestra Señora del Rosarío, used to work with sugar, although later it started to work with fish farms and a cane distillery. It was built between 1860 and 1861 by Joaquín Agrela on the lands of the old ’cortijo of Eusebio Molino’, although it was Moreno's idea. Agrela, helped by his children, brought some mills from England in 1860 and after serious difficulties in the tests during 1861 they managed to start up the first industrial installation in the spring of 1861.

Since 2004, the cane sugar production has not produced benefits because the owners of the fields sold their lands for the construction of urbanizations and hotels.

(Luismy)- What were the consequences of the building of the factory?

(Jennifer) - The major consequence was the increase in cane plantations. An industry was created and it created job posts and wealth, and even more after the island of Cuba was lost. Later, the Agrela family founded a bank house that took their name, and that fact remarkably contributed to the development of the sugar bowl and other granadinas industries. Some tickets were even made with their name.

(Luismy)- Did the factory have any reforms as a building?

(José María)- Yes, between 1928 and 1931 an important modernization in the mills was carried out. From 1953 a section for the beetroot production was joined. It was the first factory in the world introducing a continuous bagasse diffusion; made by the company Of Smet from Belgium in 1965. With this system, it could work at the same time with canes of sugar or beetroot and considerably diminish the losses of bagasse sugar.

(Luismy)- What is the reason for the name change of  today?

(Jennifer) - In 1975 the joint-stock company OLIE S.A. was established and a year later the factory changes its name for the present one of AZUCARERA GUADALFEO S.A. and acquires the manufacturing facilities of the Sugar Society of Salobreña factory. In the year 1994, 40% holdings of Montero S.A., located in Lobres, were acquired increasing the capacity of alcohol manufacture.

(Luismy) – What are the main differences between this factory and those in Europe?

(José María)- Guadalfeo is the only factory in all Europe that removes sugar from the cane sugar since the other sugar factories of Europe use the beet, which is whiter and less sweet. However, brown sugar can’t be removed since it is exclusive of the sugar cane.

(Luismy) – What type of sugar is provided?

(Jennifer) – Until recently, our main activity was the cane use and the carbonated sugar manufacture, with a daily capacity of 1,400 milling of METRICTON of cane. At the moment, the annual sugar production is limited by the amount of cane that is grown in the coast zones of the provinces of Málaga and Granada.

(Luismy) –  Well, we have to bring this conversation to an end. We hope you have enjoyed it and learned about the history of La Caleta. Dear listener this has been all for this week.

Bye, bye and have a good day!

Thanks for listening!

ACTIVITIES

1. Listen to the previous podcast file and decide whether these statements are true or false:

a) La Caleta is a common place to live nowadays.

b) People in La Caleta only live there because of the sugar factory.

c) The sugar factory was first influenced by American mills.

d) The most important reform took place in 1953.

e) The sugar factory takes sugar from all Andalusian provinces.
 

2.  Create a glossary with all the words you have listened to in relation to business.

3. Can you name another agricultural product of this region?

PÁGINA DE INICIO