Doña Yesita – El Palacete – Cuevas de Almanzora

Not everyone suffered the same fate when the silver fever broke out in Cuevas del Almanzora after finding rich deposits of silver galena in the mid-19th century. Some made a great fortune, but others, whom no one remembers anymore, sought ruin.

Those who invested in the five rich mines of the Jaroso ravine called Carmen, Ánimas, Esperanza, Estrella and Observación multiplied their money by 1,000 in just a few years. But not all found silver and lead. Doña Yesita’s family found nothing but gypsum, sulphates and calcites when they excavated on their land.

What a disappointment! There was too much of that in the region already. That’s where the name came from, her nickname rather, since every inhabitant of Cuevas del Almanzora cannot be considered from the town until his neighbours give him a nickname.

Doña Yesita was a hard worker and conscientious since she was a child, like all her brothers, her parents, and her uncles. The plaster did not bring much money, but it was always needed. And the more construction, masonry, and plaster demanded by the growth of the area, the more plaster people bought from Doña Yesita’s family.

“One of lime and one of sand, they make a good mix” said her grandfather who also worked in construction.

And when the mining boom ended, the houses were still standing, and they needed repairs, and plastering, and plaster and more plaster. So they did not become rich all of a sudden, but little by little, with the help of a trowel and bags of plaster, they had little to envy the largest landowners in the town.

Doña Yesita married a good man from the neighbouring town of Macael, from where marbles of such purity are extracted, that they have been catalogued as “white gold”.

The hard-working and supportive spirit of this family permeated the area. His descendants always tried to ensure that the wealth from their quarries reverted to the good of their land and its people.

And to top it off, one of those grandchildren of grandchildren, captivated by the crystalline magic of gypsum, discovered the largest Geode in the world, or almost, and you would never guess where.

Well, in Pulpí, here next door.