Alaquàs, in Valencian, spelled in Spanish, is a town and municipality in the Horta Oest comarca in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Etymology The town's name is of Arabic origin, coming from Al-Aquas (الأقواس), meaning "the Arches", believed to be a reference to a bridge of Moorish origin near the town.
Heritage Castell-Palau d'Alaquàs Església de l'Assumpció Església de la Mare de Déu de l'Olivar
Economy In 2008, Alaquàs was mainly employed in industry (45% of those) and services (53%). Agriculture, with just over 2% of those employed, is a residual sector. In the same year, there were 134 hectares of irrigated land, specifically dedicated to citrus (99 ha) and herbaceous crops (35 ha).
Specialization in bricks and jars gave way to the wood (furniture) industry, metal products manufacture and the food industry. The industrial land occupies about 160 ha, divided between El Bovalar (32 ha; west), Els Mollons and other isolated enclaves. The sectoral distribution of companies was: 59% in the industrial sector, 24% in business services, 9% in consumer services, 3% in agri-food and the remaining 5% in other services.
Local politics Alaquàs is located in l'Horta, an area known as the red belt () due to its tendency to vote for left wing parties.El denominado 'cinturón rojo' se afloja más en favor del PP, que gana en Xirivella y Burjassot, Las Provincias, 23 May 2011 The Communist Party of Spain won most seats at the 1979 local election and remained strong in the area until the 1990s when they declined, losing their last seat at the 1995 elections. The People's Party received the most votes for the first time at the 2011 local elections.
Summary of council seats won 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 United Left (IU) 8* 6* 8 3 4 1 1 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 7 10 8 11 9 11 15 13 10 9 11 10 Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 6 People's Party (PP) 5# 3# 3 7 8 6 8 10 5 5 6 Valencian Union (UV) 1 2 1 1 Workers' Party - Communist Unity (PTE-UC) 1 Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 1 Coalició Compromís (Compromís) 1 † 1 3 2 2 Podemos (CET) 2 1 Citizens (C's) 1 2 Vox (Vox) 3 Total number of seats 21
Source:
*Results for the Communist Party of Spain. In 1986 they joined with other parties to form the current United Left.
#In 1983, the People's Alliance (AP), Democratic Popular Party (PDP), Liberal Union (UL) and Valencian Union (UV) formed a four party electoral alliance. The electoral alliance ended in 1986 and the AP and UV contested the 1987 local elections separately. In 1989 the AP merged with the PDP and UL to form the current People's Party.
†Results for the Valencian People's Union, who later formed the Valencian Nationalist Bloc (BNV).
Climate
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities Alaquàs is twinned with:
Cremona, Italy Lanjarón, Province of Granada, Spain
Culture Festivals Village festivals (held from the end of August to the beginning of September), which include, among others, the Correfocs, Moros i Cristians and El Cant de la Carxofa. Falles (held on March). Alaquàs has 11 commissions and its own prizes. Festa del Porrat (Celebrated in spring in honor of Sant Francesc de Paula)
International events Festival de Rock d'Alaquàs, also known as FRA.
Bordering towns North: AldayaWest: AldayaEast: XirivellaSouth: Torrent, Picanya See also List of municipalities in Valencia
Notes
References
External links Alaquàs council website