Guidelines for submitting articles to Los Alcazares Today
Hello, and thank you for choosing Los Alcazares.Today to publicise your organisation’s info or event.
Los Alcazares Today is a website set up by Murcia Today specifically for residents of the urbanisation in Southwest Murcia, providing news and information on what’s happening in the local area, which is the largest English-speaking expat area in the Region of Murcia.
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July 6 Free guided tour of the village of El Niño de Mula
The pretty village is named after a miraculous vision which was reported in Mula in the 17th century
The rather unusual name of this village and outlying district of Mula (“The Boy of Mula”) dates back to the 17th century, when Mula and the surrounding area suffered a severe and extensive epidemic of bubonic plague which decimated the local population. The outbreak lingered, killing more than 2,000 people and three quarters of the adult population during a 2-year period.
The Franciscan Monk and historian Fray Pablo Manuel Ortega, who recounts that this area was owned by the Botía family, one of whom was Pedro Botía, a shepherd, who prayed for deliverance from this terrible plague. Both of his parents had died from the plague and on 21st September 1648, his prayers were answered: he was praying whilst tending his flock when he opened his eyes and saw before him a young boy.
He asked who the stranger was. "I am Jesus", he said, "Jesus of Balate, take my cross and follow me", and he disappeared. Immediately, episodes of plague in the area ceased and Pedro Botía decided to become a monk in the nearby monastery of La Encarnación.
By the end of the 17th century the little sanctuary had begun to attract a sizeable number of devotees, fuelled by the presence of Fray Pedro de Jesús, who was living in the Monastery of La Encarnación, and had become something of a local celebrity. Today there is an annual “romería” in September in which the figure of the child is accompanied by locals on a procession through the countryside to his sanctuary.
This free guided tour of the village is organized by the tourist office of Mula and begins at 19.30 in the car park next to the sanctuary (click for map). Registration is available online here and those joining are advised to bring plenty of drinking water.
For more upcoming events in the Region of Murcia go to the What’s on section of Murcia Today.