Industrial heritage of Andalucia - former San Joaquin sugar factory Maro

Hey there, history lovers
Did you know that a long time ago, the Costa del Sol was called the Sugar Coast? There were about 40 sugar mills all around Malaga's coastal towns.

San Joaquin from north

Back then, instead of the houses and golf courses we see today, those areas were covered with sugar cane plantations.

agricultural lands in surroundings

The Arabs introduced sugar cane to this region way back in the 9th century. It became a huge industry and was the main way people made money here until just over 50 years ago.

view towards Sierra de la Almijara

You can still find some old sugar mills and factories where they used to turn the cane into juice. They even made alcohol from it!

passage

One of the last factories still working in Europe is called Nuestra Señora del Carmen. It's been up and running since 1720 in a place called Frigiliana, and it's been owned by Sociedad de la Torre S.A. since 1930.

still preserved part of the roof

The old sugar cane factory I'm talking about, Azucarera-Alcoholera de San Joaquín, was built in 1880 together with the Acueducto del Águila (Eagle Aqueduct), which brought water through the adjacent ravine.

Acueducto del Águila

It belonged to a big landowner named Joaquín Pérez del Pulgar y Ruiz de Molina. He inherited about two million square meters of land in Maro from his mother, Soledad Ruiz de Molina y Cañaveral.

southern preserved facade

Originaly, this place had the factory, 24 houses for workers, a big office house, an aqueduct called Aguila, and a lot of land to grow sugar cane.

complex from the south

Joaquín Pérez took a loan of 500,000 ptas. from the Bank of Spain to cover the costs. Sadly, he passed away in 1883 and left the property to his four sons. They couldn't handle the expenses, so in 1893, the bank took over.

main gate

In 1902, the bank sold the factory and sugar cane farms to a man named Rafael de Chaves y Manso, who was married to Joaquín Pérez del Pulgar's daughter, María del Carmen Pérez del Pulgar y Blake.

guardhouse roof from inside

When Rafael passed away in 1903, the land and factory went to his wife and kids. Their second son, Joaquín Chaves Pérez del Pulgar, took over most of the properties. He teamed up with a French guy, Luis Rigal Brun, and they started a company called "Azucarera Alcoholera de San Joaquín."

view to the north

But in 1930, the Banco Hipotecario de España became the factory's owner again. They sold everything to the Sociedad Azucarera Larios in the same year.

view to the south

Over time, this society owned all the sugar factories in Malaga city, the eastern coast of Malaga, and Motril. They had 14 sugar factories and over 10,000 hectares of sugar cane farms. But all this stopped in 1976 when they sold the last factory, because cane sugar was no longer profitable.

preserved roof in one of the workers' houses

Today, that place with the amazing views of the Almijara mountain range and the sea, and one day, it could be turned into something, like maybe a hotel or homes for people to live in.

central area

For local people and visitors alike, it is a constant reminder of the industrial and agricultural heritage of the Costa del Sol region of southern Spain.

detail of the wall

old oak tree

overview from the noth

I hope the article was interesting for you and I look forward to the next one