The old commercial Xàbia: the Penya l'Escaldà recovers forgotten and lost shops

In the midst of the Bonfires of Sant Joan festivities, amidst fireworks, music, and joy, there's a corner of Xàbia where time stands still. It's on Mare de Déu d'Agost Street, where the l'Escaldà penya (penya) has its meeting house; this meeting house is a small but valuable ethnological museum. But outside, on the street and around its meeting center, a photography exhibition has been installed that allows the viewer, the local resident who observes it, to travel back to the old Xàbia, to the commercial Xàbia that once was.

Neighbors viewing the Penya l'Escaldà exhibition in Xàbia. Old shops, lost shops.

The exhibition is a tender and nostalgic look at those businesses that defined an era and shaped the daily lives of several generations.

Under the unofficial but symbolic title: 'The lost shops of Xàbia and some that resist', the group has recovered forgotten or unknown images. bakeries, butcher shops, tailors, fabric shops, florists, gift shops, barbershops, etc. Businesses that not only sold products, but also trust and closeness.

Part of the Penya l'Escaldà Xàbia exhibition. Old shops, lost shops

Many of these establishments no longer exist. They have disappeared over the years, overtaken by large retailers. But the release of these images, found in family albums, has jogged memories. Mari Marí, one of the members of the penya, compiled the images with other members and gave them to Enric Martínez, president of the Cirne Foundation.

Components of the Penya l'Escaldà Xàbia selecting photos for the exhibition

He treated them with care, enlarged them, and suggested adding a caption to each one, identifying the business, its location, and, to the extent possible, its history. The result: a street-level display, open to all, where every resident can stop and comment on the memory that comes to mind.

Exhibition of the Penya l'Escaldà Xàbia. Old shops, lost shops

Of the more than 40 traditional businesses featured in the exhibition, only a dozen are active, and some of them in different locations: Rosendo, Santacreu Bakery, Colón Bookstore, La Rulla Footwear, Diego Pastry Shop, and Grau Fabrics, the latter two in different locations.

Old barbershop in Xàbia. Photo of the Penya l'Escaldà Xàbia exhibition. Old shops, lost shops

Every year, the Penya l'Escaldà surprises with a piece or story from yesteryear, and this time it has done so with a window into the past. The exhibition pays tribute to small businesses, those that are disappearing but that mark the Xàbia that once was.