Albacete, a surprise in the Manchego plain | Via change

Albacete is always in the middle, on the road to the coast or the center of the country. Always crossroads and not so many times destiny, beyond its famous September Fair, in which this city of 173,000 inhabitants bends its population. However, he has enough attractions to get off at his station at any time of the year and discover an unexpected city. His artisans, chefs and artists lend themselves here to configure a visit full of art, surprises and jarana through the largest city in Castilla-La Mancha, but, at the same time, the most eclectic and friendly. And now, in carnival, also bustling.

The New York of La Mancha

Navajas, Modernism, José Luis Rope and other icons of the city

The history and personality of Albacete are concentrated in two places: that of the cathedral and that of Altozano. Both condense the artisanal, commercial and cultural spirit of the city. In the first, next to the neo -Romanesque mole consecrated to San Juan Bautista, the Cuzzlery Museum, A unique modernist building with neo -Gothic details and green tiles that houses the history of the city’s economic engine, which moves 95 million euros a year and has its main showcase in this museum. In Europe there are only four more cities with a similar tradition, explains Mariana in Pascual, former director of the Museum and expert in the sector. For centuries, the razor was the weapon of the poor, Pascual’s account: “As they could not wear a sword, they carried a large razor in the back.” In addition, it has been a useful tool in all professions, from the farmer to Zapatero, although also of thief. Many have threatening inscriptions: “If this viper itch, do not look for remedy in the apothecary.”

Discovering the modernist Albacete is another of the incentives to travel the city. This style rooted here as a result of the industrial splendor that triggered the arrival of the railroad in 1855. Six minutes walk from the Cuzzlery Museum, you can cross the Lodares passage, A 1925 commercial gallery in the style of those of Milan or Paris, already scarce, observe Cabot house, famous for its vitrified blue dome. Next, in the Plaza del Altozano, the distinguished stands Gran Hotel (four -star), the work of Daniel Rubio, the same architect of the museum. His coqueto modernism allows imagining the characters of The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel set in Long Island (USA) in 1925, drinking and dancing. It is not surprising, then, that Azorín, the writer of the 98 generation, compared the city with New York.

The last master knife

There are still artisans like Juan Andrés Barbero60 years old, who manufacture razors as their grandparents did. His created 80 years ago the workshop where he works: “The razor serves for everything: to hunt or to collect mushrooms, but there are also those who use it to press the screw of the pin of their glasses,” describes Barbero. With him the family saga will be extinguished, because his children do not want to continue in the business. But there is still time to go through its store, next to the museum of the Cuzzlery, full of knives that elaborates with buffalo horn, of deer or giraffe bone.

In the Plaza del Altozano Homage in the form of statues is also paid to three icons of the city: to the Seller of Navajas, figure that proliferated next to the station to sell Albacete’s star product to travelers; to the Iberian past of the region, with a reproduction of the Bicha de Balazote, Mythological animal whose original retains the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid), and one of its illustrious children, the filmmaker José Luis Rope, portrayed as one of the men who grew up in the rates of It dawns that it is not little (1989), his most famous film. In this same place you can also visit the only anti -aircraft of the city that is preserved. You can visit free and have a museum of interpretation of historical memory.

Two minutes of walk separate the Plaza del Altozano from Circus theater (Isaac Peral, s/n), one of the most unique places in the city. It was inaugurated in 1887 and has a scenic mechanism that allows you to have space as a conventional theater or as a circus, with the track in the center. Every February is filled with acrobats and clowns around the world at the International Circus Festival.

A binge worthy of a shepherd

The Albacete gastronomy looks at the countryside, on the days of cold and snow in which the shepherds sought comfort and vigor next to the fire. That is why their recipes are as forceful as the names that describe them. He A joteersa stew that is cooked with pork liver, bread and paprika; he Atscaburrasa puree prepared from majada potato, desalted cod, hard egg and nuts that, despite its name, is silky and comforting the palate. There are those who say the name comes from the driver, driver! of the tuber to be crushed, which evokes the donkeys of the mud, and those who believe it is because it would fed up the most hungry donkey. You can try them with wines from the region in restaurants with local history and flavor such as the Serapio winery (Méndez Núñez, 8), opened in 1982, or our bar (Mayor Conangla, 102), with more than half a century.

Carnival of National Tourist Interest

Albacete celebrates with parades, contests, music and chirigotas el Carnaval From February 27 to March 5 and reserve several enclosures for the celebrations: the esplanade in front of the fairgrounds and in the Park of the Tree Fiesta and the Plaza del Altozano. Near the capital takes place two carnivals that have been declared of national tourist interest: that of Tarazona de la Mancha and that of Villarrobledo.

The Municipality of Tarazona de la Mancha, of 6,000 inhabitants, half an hour by car from Albacete, is filled with outer with parades and thematic parties, from March 1 to 9. And in Villarrobledo, Of 25,000 inhabitants and an hour of the capital, the buildings are disguised during the facades contest and the streets parade surprising cars in the extravagant vehicle competition.

All the stories in Abelardo Sánchez Park

From Albacete to Chicago through Benidorm

Albacete Verdea by the south with the Abelardo Sánchez Park, One of the main lungs of the city, metaphorically and literally, because on the map the enclosure evokes the shape of that vital organ. It is the third oldest park in the city after the Jardinillos Park, next to the fairgrounds, and the tree party, on the outskirts. On one of the sides is the Albacete Museum, which houses a wide collection of archaeological findings and works of art that summarizes the historical and cultural future of the region.

The building is unique and surprising. The construction, inaugurated in 1973, follows the precepts of the organic current initiated in Chicago by Frank Lloyd Wright, which proposed the design of architectures that were in harmony with their surroundings. The author of the museum is Antonio Escario, one of the main Spanish architects of the twentieth century, Albacete who has legacked the Spanish landscape as disparate works as the Vigo airport or the skyscraper of the Bali hotel in Benidorm.

Blanca Gamo, the director of the museum, feels especially proud of the collection of articulated Roman doll Madrid, and that of Tarragona have some more. The building also exhibits a good part of the work of the painter of Albacete Benjamín Palencia, That was the author of the Barraca logo, the traveling company of Federico García Lorca, and founder of the Vallecas School, which claimed the beauty and mystery of the Castilian landscapes in the painting.

The Manchego speech gambitos

Four albacete humorists are responsible for today many Spaniards know what it means to be a gambero or set up a Zapatiesta. During the 2000s, Joaquín Reyes, Ernesto Sevilla, Raúl Cimas and Pablo Chiapella They shaped the humor of all UNE generation with the softer, the rurality and the stereotype of the paleto in the television programs Chanante time y Nui boy, but they also introduced into the lexical language from the most colloquial of La Mancha. Thus, we learned that manchegos are not liant, but prawns; They do not put together a mess, but a Zapieta; They do not hit a blow, but a Costa; They are not hot, they are asotarraos, and they are not curious, but goismers. With this and little more, a C1 level is already achieved to chat friendly with any parishioner and, above all, not be a rabiseco, that is, a holk -sneakers, or at least one less.

Less than 10 minutes from the Albacete Museum is Children’s Museum of Castilla-La Mancha, an institution with which to discover how they studied and what our grandparents and great -grandparents played. There you can sit in a classroom in the mid-nineteenth century, when going to school was still a privilege in Castilla-La Mancha, or in one of Francoism, loaded with religious and political symbols, including a piggy bank of the Domund missions .

The Pioneers of the afternoon

After a day of parks and museums, it is worth knowing closely the way the Albacete have fun today: sit on a terrace and enjoy the afternoon. Albacete presumes to be the city that became fashionable to have a drink and a lid in the afternoon. The thing began in the 90s when the pubs and discos, with the cuckoo as the precursor, according to proclamation, began to serve tapas with the glasses in the afternoon. Gradually the formula curdled and extended through the region and other cities, such as Alicante and Murcia.

Any day from six or seven in the afternoon, the facades of to the areaas the area between Concepción and Tejares streets is known, illuminated and the terraces of their bars and pubs are filled with Albacete of all ages enjoying their drink and their lid. What better way to finish a route through the largest city in Castilla-La Mancha and assuming, with joy, one of the most popular habits among parishioners.

Brave and croquettes: the best in Spain are eaten here

When eating, there are several options recognized in competitions. It is possible to pay tribute to a restaurant with a Michelin star. Chef Juan Monteagudo offers in Abbol (Calderón de la Barca, 14) Two tasting menus, for 65 and 95 euros, which combine hunting and manchegas vegetables with French cuisine. In his letter is the best croquette in the world, according to the Madrid fusion contest of 2023. A few steps from there, Martinaanother multipremized restaurant. Javier G. Albuger, his chef, accumulates the prizes of best brave potatoes in Spain, according to the national contest one of brave. “A local potato worked as a ñoqui and a brave sauce with the acidic touch of Korean Kimchi,” describes Albuger. This year, its Manda WebosBased on eggs and crumbs, the third prize has been taken in the Madrid fusion tapas contest.

Video | Albacete in less than two minutes