Cádiz | San Martín del Tesorillo

is recognised for its oranges

Founded just over a century ago, San Martín Del Tesorillo is the youngest municipality of the province. It is located in the valley of the River Guadiaro and is famous for its orange groves. The town is uniquely located between Los Alcornocales Natural Park and the Sotogrande Marina in Cádiz whilst bordering the province of Malaga. The town’s original name, Tesorillo, means treasure and the Arabs named the river ‘wad auro’, the River of Gold, due to the infinite amount of silver coins or denarius (Roman treasure) they found at its mouth. River Guadiaro lived up to the name and is considered one of the main draws of the town and its rich waters fertilize the land. Spanish businessman and industrialist, Martín Larios Herreros, the first Marqués de Larios, bought the Guadiaro valley that was given many years later to the Industrial and Agricultural Society of Guadiaro, forming the Agricultural Colony of Tesorillo. In honour of their father, the Marqués sons changed the name of the town to San Martín Del Tesorillo in 1879, forever marking the town’s future and its plentiful environment.

The town was founded as an independent municipality of Jimena de la Frontera on 2 October 2018. The municipality has around 2,600 inhabitants and is recognised for its oranges and its location in a spectacular tourist enclave: between the unspoilt nature of Los Alcornocales Natural Park, local golf courses, polo fields and the nautical attraction of Sotogrande.

TROPICAL CÁDIZ

Sugarcane plantations laid the foundation of San Martín del Tesorillo, and after spending several decades as a potential producer of rice, it currently grows oranges, mangoes and avocados. The River Guadiaro and its tributaries, the Hozgarganta and the Genal, irrigate and fertilize the land, while a warm and mild climate, ideal for the most exotic fruits, does the rest. The town exports to Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Holland, Belgium, Lithuania, Austria, and France and by plane to Canada, Singapore and Japan, among other countries.

THE RIVER OF GOLD The Guadiaro’s main role is to fertilize the land but locals and tourists also use the river for canoeing. Canoeing routes start from the Hozgarganta and end at the mouth of the river next to the Sotogrande Marina. There is also the traditional Carrera del Corpus, (the Corpus Race), a 7 kilometre race through the countryside held a week before the Corpus Christi Festival. At the end of the summer the Xtreme Nature obstacle course is also held. It is around 8 kilometres and attracts more and more participants each year.

FESTIVALS The Corpus Christi Festival is celebrated on the eight Sunday after Easter and is the town’s main festival. The carnival is a great festive tradition and has in recent years become an explosion of ingenuity, beauty and colour.