Oran Street and the emigration to Argelia. El Poble Nou de Benitatxell and Oran, an Argelian city, have had a great siblinghood due to the emigration of the pobleros. When they went to prune this African city, the workers, experts in vineyard pruning, were highly appreciated for their knowledge in pruning, and year after year, they did so and returned on All Saints’ Day.
The workers carried their own working equipment, including the pruning shears, that had a great cutting capacity. They were called garcietas. Curiously, the workers paid their clothes once they came back with the salary they got for the pruning.
The trips to Argelia finished in 1955, because of the colonial independence war against France, that finally succeeded in 1956.
The last trip to Argelia, due to the political circumstances, had more personal and economical danger, as it usually had, so it was forbidden to take money out from Argelia. As a consequence, the Argelian authorities took the money away from a poblero after he did his job. As a result of this emigration, there were problems in collecting the vine shoots in the indicated month. So, a group of friends dedicated themselves to collect the vine shoots from the village as quickly as they could. These group of friends were known as the Cuadrilla del Sarment and were the founders of the local festival in honor to Saint Pancras. On the other hand, some of the village families who emigrated to Argelia used the money earned in this place to build a house in Oran Street, nowadays called Valencia Avenue.
