Los Pepones

Los Pepones is a village within themunicipalityofVelez-Malaga, in theprovince ofMalaga,. Pepones is located in the westof the town To access the village you must take the provincial road MA-3112,which connects El Borge with Velez-Malaga, and then follow the signs at thecrossing of KM.6.

The village consists of more than 30 houses, which areinhabited mainly by people from the area, although there is a joining ofneighbors from surrounding municipalities. The nerve center is the church, andaround it are the majority of the houses.

It differs also in another urban area west of the citycenter, known by the people of Pepones as “The Cottage high” or “Cortijo de Patarra”; it housed a dozenhomes and some individual factories.

Los Pepones is located very close to theAlmachar River,at an altitude of 150 m above sea level at its central area. It is located inthe Jibaros and surrounded by mountains, including the Cerro Patarra (475m).

History

“Los Pepones” was named after a landowner, Manuel S. Pepones,who supported these landsAlmachar River. A Muslim doctorfrom the nearby town of Iznate suggested that this area is really whereSpanish-Jewish philosopher Maimonides was born, in his view as the birth ofsuch a thinker (reflected in several chronic) occurred at the “Atalaya Low”,which was known to a destroyed tower located 1.5 km southwest of the nucleus Peponesero.

However, this doctrinal-historical view has not been madeofficial in any historical source. Regarding the Atalaya Baja, as mentionedabove, there is logistical and archaeological evidence, such as large amountsof eroded river stones and debris of bricks and tiles, from which one can seethe old fortresses of Iznate, Benthomiz, Fortaleza de Velez, Fortress Zalia,Comares, the old Castle, and the Tower Atalaya Santopitar and several lookouttowers between Torre del Mar and Torrox Costa.

Since these remains are the second defensive belt ofAxarquia, they interconnected in a visual way the points mentioned above.

Business

The economy of Los Pepones focuses on the primary sector(agriculture subtropical) being the main products: avocados, mangoes, andalmond, olives, and vines (the latter in extinction).

The per capita income of the people Pepones has increasedsubstantially in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of subcultures andthe extinction of other crops with lower profitability.

However, it is estimated that the per capita income of LosPepones (around €11,000 per year) is still below the average municipal income(€12,953.39), and, therefore, below the average of the community of Andalusiansas a whole.

The unemployment rate in Los Pepones is around 25%, with anarea of the municipality with a greater amount of unemployment (the municipalauthority has to ensure 22%), which is also above average forAndalusia(which has a rate of 19%) and above the Spanish average (whose unemploymentrate is less than 10%).

The dependence of the people in Los Pepones ensures thecommunity has not received any development policy by institutions, while theyhave contributed money to the upkeep of the City Council.

All this has recently born an independent and criticalattitude to the municipality in a matter of public opinion, but that opinionhas not been proven in any political formation.