Gibraleón is a medium-size town located in the province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. This town belongs to the region “Comarca metropolitana de Huelva”. It is an area of 328 km2 and has a population of 12,508 inhabitants. Gibraleón is 16.4 kilometres from the provincial capital of Huelva and 97.6 kilometres from Seville, where there is an international airport. Additionally, it is near fantastic beaches that belong to the “Costa de la Luz”, such as Punta Umbría, Islantilla, or Matalascañas. It is also very near Portugal, only 54 kilometres, where you can visit Lisbon and the famous Algarve.
With regard to weather, there is an average temperature of 18°C and the climate is Mediterranean Oceanic with Atlantic influences.
As for sights, Gibraleón owns an Islamic castle which dates from the IX century. Additionally, there is a church called “Iglesia del Carmen” which combines Gothic and Mudejar styles and was built in 1331; and another church called “Iglesia de Santiago Mayor” in Renaissance style.
This town has a good road infrastructure, since there is a close motorway that connects Gibraleón to Huelva, Sevilla or Portugal. Besides, there are also direct buses and trains to these capital cities, which are connected by bus and by rail directly to Madrid and other important cities. As stated above, the nearest international airport is Seville. There is a port in Huelva, where ferries go to Canary Islands, Morocco and Cádiz among other destinations.
Regarding festivities, the most popular is “San Roque”, who is the patron saint of Gibraleón. It is celebrated in the third week of August together with the National Painting Contest. “San Isidro Labrador” is another important festivity in this town, which is celebrated in May and is well-known because Gibraleón’s inhabitants throw some food to the visitors. Other important festivities are Easter, celebrated in March or April and includes five brotherhoods; Carnival, where people wear costumes and is celebrated in February; and “La feria de San Lucas”, which takes place in October and includes craftwork, livestock, agro-alimentary industry, flamenco fashion sector and horse riding.
Paying attention to industrial production, Gibraleón depends mainly on the primary sector, since agriculture is an economic engine in this region due to its warm climate. The main crops are vine, olive tree, sunflower and citrus fruits.
The gastronomy in Gibraleón is very rich and varied, going from savoury dishes (rabbit with “salmorejo” and roast pork heads) to sweet dishes (pumpkin jelly, marzipan, cider sweets and “hornazos”). Of course, there is also plenty of tapas to be found everywhere in bars around the city. Like other regions of Huelva, there is multitude of high quality seafood and fish dishes in Gibraleón due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, its olive oil and its grape-juice are very recognised.
