San Roque Borough

Written by Carlos Jordan & Photos Sr. J. Arribas

SAN ROQUE, THE GIBRALTAR AREA’S HISTORICAL CENTRE

AUTHENTIC HISTORY, CULTURE & GASTRONOMY

Undoubtedly, San Roque is one of the most interesting towns in the Gibraltar Area, due to its unique historical background and its well-kept Andalusian architecture. At first the town was known as “Gibraltar in the Fields of San Roque”, due to the fact most of the Spanish inhabitants who left the Rock in 1704 during the British invasion settled here. In 1706 King Phillip V of Spain made San Roque the official “City of Gibraltar in Exile”.    

The whitewashed old quarter of town was declared a Collection of listed historical buildings in 1975. Old San Roque is full of notable monuments and museums, as well as Andalusian picturesque streets and typical squares. All the relics, records and iconography the Spanish Gibraltarians retrieved from Gibraltar are kept here, such as many statues in the Church. Another strong tradition is local gastronomy, the city is famous for its excellent tapa bars, where you can sample the most delicious local dishes.

In 1704, during the Peninsula War Gibraltar was taken by a powerful British and Dutch fleet commanded by Admiral Rooke. The Spanish Gibraltarians refused to stay under British rule, leaving the fortress to seek shelter at the old chapel of Saint Roque (the infamous Exodus from Gibraltar). The inhabitants, led by the City Council members, took the belongings they could carry with them, as well as relics such as the Standard of Gibraltar, the Royal Warrant and many religious images. The relics are linked to the fact the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon had granted Gibtraltar the title of “Very Noble and Most Loyal City” in 1502 for having conquered the fortress, an extremely difficult feat. In addition, their daughter, Juana la Loca (Joan the Mad) is said to have embroidered the coat of arms on the Standard. One of the best ways of admiring these statues is to visit the town during Easter week when thousands of local inhabitants and tourists get together to admire the beauty of the priceless iconography and immerse themselves in this compelling festivity. The zenith of the cavalcade is the Good Friday Magna Processions, a unique and spectacular mixture of the manifestation of popular Catholic faith and thousand-year-old pagan beliefs.

The procession on Good Friday depicts the Twelve Stations of the Cross. The cavalcade features fourteen different elaborate and ornamental floats with 15th, 16th and 17th Century images. The thrones are carried around the steep, winding cobbled streets of the old quarter of the city by hundreds of male and female bearers, who are proud members of the numerous Brotherhoods and Guilds. There is nothing quite like experiencing Holy Week in San Roque as it is the quintessence of Andalusian Holy Weeks and includes the Christ of a Holy Death Statue sculptured by Luis Ortega Bru, Spain’s most outstanding 20th Century religious sculptor who was born in San Roque. San Roque‘s Holy Week has already been awarded with the prestigious Andalusian National Tourist Interest declaration and are certainly the most relevant Holy Week processions in the Gibraltar Area and among the most important in the province of Cadiz.

The history of the city of San Roque has a turbulent beginning. The town was founded officially in 1706, two years after the Exodus. Ever since it has been known as the Spanish City of Gibraltar in Exile and shares the same coat of arms as the British Colony. From that time on, Spain laid siege on the Rock and this led to a strong military presence in the town due to the question of sovereignty and Spanish colonial interests in Morocco causing its expansion and development.

The old quarter of the San Roque is a collection of listed historical buildings and monuments. The ancestral homes in the old part of the city are typically Andalusian whitewashed terraced houses adorned with wrought iron bars on windows and woodwork and numerous patios brightened up with flowers and plants.