Are we talking about high altitude mountains?
Well, around Hervás, we can exceed 1800 meters in altitude, up to the highest point. And in La Garganta too. In fact, La Garganta is one of the highest towns in the entire province of Cáceres. The province of Cáceres has 224 municipalities, the second highest being La Garganta, with approximately 1100 meters of altitude.
Let’s talk about Baños de Montemayor, where he was president of the Chamber. This municipality is especially iconic for its Roman baths
Indeed. I was president of the Chamber from 2011 until just three months ago. I have been mayor for 14 years, and this is a municipality totally focused on tourism. We live mainly from tourism. Tourism has always been linked to health, because we have water, in this case a Roman bath spa, with sulfurous waters already discovered by the Romans, and we are exploring that. And this means that many people come here all year round in search of health. We sell health tourism. And obviously, in the last ten years or so, we’ve also been promoting ourselves as a natural destination. This is exactly where the magical autumn takes place, in this natural destination. What we offer is: come to Baños, relax your body in the spa and relax your mind in forest bathing and mountain walks in Baños de Montemayor and the Ambroz Valley. We are a destination, above all, for health — both physical and mental.
Taking into account your experience as mayor, what is daily life like in these municipalities very far from Madrid, far from the major urban centers in Extremadura, such as Cáceres, Badajoz or Mérida? We talk a lot about the cost of interiority in Portugal. Do you feel there a lot too? Is life difficult in these municipalities in the Ambroz Valley?
Less and less, less and less. It is true that there was, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, a large exodus to Madrid, which caused the towns to begin to empty. But most of all, new technologies are bringing people back. Many people work now onlinethey don’t need to be in big cities and prefer to look for less crowded areas. Areas with a rich environment, with fresh air and starry skies. It’s majestic to go out on the balcony and see the starry sky that we have in our areas precisely because of the absence of crowds. Therefore, more and more young people choose to stay in their cities. We have also implemented policies to try to ensure that they are maintained. And I believe that, fortunately, we are in a technological era that can benefit us, taking into account that road communications are also improving. It is true that, in small towns with 700 inhabitants, there may not be a large cinema, a large theater or a large shopping center. But we are talking about roads that allow you to reach another city that has them in just 20 minutes, or even less, 10 minutes. I’m sure that, in a big city, a person who leaves home and goes to a shopping center just to pick up their car and getting there takes longer than those 10 to 15 minutes. And we don’t have parking problems, we don’t have communication problems, so maybe we don’t have access in our municipality, but in terms of time, we can see a play, a film or a shopping center faster than someone who lives in the city. So, we sell quality of life, and more and more young people are having access to it.