Juan Antonio Roche, a professor of Sociology of Culture and Art at the University of Alicante, grew up in the San Gabriel district, a working-class and popular neighborhood. Born in Alicante in 1906, he witnessed its evolution through the first half of the 20th century and helped shape its cultural identity by the 1920s. In its latest celebrations, Roche’s legacy is invoked to illustrate how culture has long been a central pillar of San Gabriel. Historical memories note that two films were shot in the Palmeral, Sorolla painted its shadows, and from the 1950s onward the area became a hub for three music orchestras, two theater groups, and two cinemas. Today, residents call for stronger protection of the park and of Serra del Porquet, while paleontological research suggests the area’s public spaces could host an interpretation center that explains its rich past. The neighborhood also serves as a cultural home to artists like painters Daniel Escolano and translators Cristina Fenollar and Aarón Cobos, among others.
“San Gabriel is a modest neighborhood that grew around three factories—fertilizer, metal fabrication, and aluminum—yet it has a vibrant cultural life,” Roche explains. Cultural activity there emerged through family commitment, generosity, and a belief that culture belongs to every generation, not just the affluent districts. He recalls that in the midcentury era, San Gabriel supported two classical music orchestras under leaders such as José Alcaraz and Antonio Guijarro, a dance troupe, two theater groups, and two movie houses, Bahía and Salones Babel, that brought cinema to local families.
Filmmaking in the area contributed to a sense of place, with the Palmeral frequently serving as a scenic backdrop. A photograph from the period captures the spirit of the time: the Hero of Cascorro was filmed in the San Gabriel Palmeral in 1928, a moment preserved in the local memory. The neighborhood fostered generations of artists and performers, including actor Cristina Fenollar, who later earned recognition with the Narcís Award (2020) and the Estruch Award (2022). Musicians and performers such as Aarón Cobos, who performed in productions like A Chorus Line, also emerged from this cultural ecosystem. Other notable names include circus performer Miguel Manzano, Camila Manzano, and David Consuegra. In classical music, voices like Mª José Rocamora of the Orfeó Valencià and Navarro Reverter, and instrumentalists such as Laura Pastor, a violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Barcelona and the Community Orchestra of Valencia, highlight the district’s contribution to national culture. The ADDA Simfònica cellist Pedro Bonilla, the violin professor Vicente Anton from OFUA, pianist Joseph Fructuoso, and drummer and founder Alfonso Linares of the band Mediterráneo are all associated with the San Gabriel milieu. The surrealist painter Daniel Escolano, whose works are housed at the Municipal University of Alicante (MUA), stands out, as does the artist Angel Baeza and Francisco Sempere, with numerous Palmeral pieces dating from the 1940s.
Racing Club San Gabriel’s orchestra, conducted by Maestro José Alcaraz, is another landmark legacy, illustrating how music connected the neighborhood to broader Valencian culture. The park once known as Carmen’s Garden served as a backdrop for at least two films, Cascorro’s Hero by Emilio Bautista in 1929, which portrayed a landscape reminiscent of Cuba, and The Cursed Island of Molokai by Luis Lucia in 1959. Sorolla’s brush captured much of the Elche palm grove in the park, because its owners were friends of the Valencian painter. The park remains a cultural and historical centerpiece for Alicante, and residents hope the Generalitat Valenciana will declare the area a monumental site within the city’s patrimony.
Roche notes that the neighborhood association also advocates designating Serra del Porquet as a municipal natural area to protect its ecological and paleontological assets. The deposits include ichthyofossil footprints and fossil remains dating back millions of years, offering educational value to visitors through an interpretation center. He also proposes a street named after Daniel Escolano and a commemorative plaque at his residence, along with a cultural center and library aimed at revitalizing how the neighborhood engages with the arts.
In sum, San Gabriel stands as a living testament to the idea that culture thrives when communities invest in their own artistic and historical inheritance. It remains a neighborhood where painters, translators, musicians, actors, and scholars find inspiration, while generations of families continue to celebrate and preserve a rich, shared past that continues to shape the present and the future of Alicante.