The Calp City Council will award the Jaume Pastor i Fluixà Prize on October 9 to the Fundació Comunitat Valenciana MARQ and Marq Museo Arqueológico Alicante for their contribution to the recovery and conservation of the Banys de la Reina and the Pobla medieval dIfac archaeological sites. The full council will approve this on Tuesday.
The MARQ has collaborated with the Architecture Department of the Diputación de Alicante to develop and fund the Banys de la Reina Master Plan. This roadmap will valorize one of the most significant Roman Hispania archaeology complexes and, in several phases, implement actions to transform the site into a visitor friendly archaeological park.
Since 2005 MARQ also conducts summer excavation campaigns at the Pobla medieval dIfac, the ancient Christian settlement perched on the slope of the Penon de Ifach, predating the current town of Calp. The work carried out by MARQ in these campaigns has yielded valuable information about the past and the ancestors of the people of Calp.
The municipal council will also recognize several local entities and individuals in different categories. The Citizen Merit will honor Juan Santos for his service as Justice of Peace up to last May after more than 25 years at the Peace Court, first as a substitute judge and since 2011 as the principal judge. In Tourism Merit, Jaume Masó is recognized for more than 50 years in the tourism sector, including over 20 as commercial director of Unitursa. From that position he helped open new tourism markets for Calp and contributed to the towns growth in visitors. He is a leading ambassador for Calp, promoting the local brand worldwide and demonstrating a strong commercial ethos and client focus.
In Sports Merit, Jozef Metelka, a Slovak cyclist who trains and resides in Calp most of the year, will be acknowledged for winning three Paralympic medals in Rio and three in Tokyo. He is also a 15 time world champion. In Business Merit, Pepa Pérez is recognized for being a landmark name in Calp beauty culture. The first beauty salon in Calp opened in 1968 under her leadership and years later Pepa Pérez Esthétic Center established its current home on Constitution Square, offering cutting edge treatments, equipment and products that have served Calp residents and visitors for decades. The salon has hosted generations of locals and has become a symbol of professional excellence and service.
The Cultural Merit prize will be awarded to Marga López. A native of Novelda, she arrived in Calp in 1983 to teach at Azorín School. After a period teaching early childhood education she became a Valencian language teacher for the secondary stage, holding the only Valencian language credential in that level. She helped found Natura Serpis at the start of the 1980s and retired in 2011 after shaping many generations of Calp residents.
The Youth Prize will go to Silke Ribes. She is currently a student at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, having trained with renowned instructors. In 2020 she received a Curtis Summerfest grant in Philadelphia, a prestigious program from the Curtis Institute of Music in the United States. She has earned several awards while still early in her career.
The Coral Ribbon will be presented to the Cofradía Virgen de los Dolores. Since the 1990s it has become a tradition for the youths of the annual Fiesta Commission to carry the image of the Dolorosa during the Good Friday processions. This custom underscores the commitment of the commissions, who spend weeks rehearsing to carry the statue alongside other Holy Week brotherhoods and fraternities in Calp. Over the years the groups have counted with captains such as Rafa García, Rogelio Ramírez, Juan Santos, and Miguel Ángel Sala.