The Town Hall and the Sociedad de Festeros name the medieval town crier José Luis Castells.

This user of the Projecte Trèvol has been a member of the Cruzados group since 1995

Ontinyent City Council, at the proposal of the Society of Festeros del Santísimo Cristo de la Agonía, has appointed  José Luis Castells Arques as the Town Crier of the Medieval Market. The mayor of Ontinyent, Jorge Rodríguez, accompanied by the councillor for Festivities, Àngels Muñoz, met in the Town Hall with the President of the Society of Festeros, Vicent Pla Vaello, and the town crier, who received the congratulations of the first councillor.

The mayor stressed that the nominee, a person with functional diversity, “will surely make an exciting and attractive speech for the public and the public in general”. For his part, Vicent Pla highlighted the “freshness, spontaneity, tenderness and love for the party” of the town crier. Both the Mayor and the President of Festeros posed as a relief “the long tradition of the integrating component as an inseparable part of the history and culture of our Moors and Christians of Ontinyent festivities“.

José Luis Castells’ Biography

Jose Luis was born in Ontinyent on May 19, 1971. He is a person with functional diversity who is a user of the Clover Project which is managed by the Vall d’Albaida Association of Municipalities since 2012. Before this date he worked for the company SUMITEX SL as a factory worker for 19 years. Once within the Clover Project, he joined the work program with support where he got in 2013 a job in the Vall d’Albaida Association of Municipalities, specifically in the paint shop and in 2015 a contract in the Family Cash supermarket located in Avenida del Textil in Ontinyent.

In addition to his working life, he has also taken some training courses according to his preferences and priorities, such as “data and document recording and processing operations” of 450 hours, “auxiliary operations of administrative and general services” of 440 hours and, in addition, some modules of the certificate of professionalism of bar and cafeteria services. Jose Luis has always been very active in the community life of his native Ontinyent. He is a member of the Martínez Valls Basketball Club where he participates and helps in all the activities they carry out every weekend. He has also been a member of the “Comparsa Cruzados” since 1995.

From the Society of Festeros has highlighted its participation in this group, “since their involvement and devotion to the festivities of Moors and Christians is more than commendable”. In 2010 he was named First Tro of honor of the comparsa. In this act we emphasize the emotion and joy for his part, as well as that of his family and other members. From the group, Jose Luis is considered a fundamental pillar of the same, “a veteran, committed, responsible and also an exceptional support for the organization of minutes and schedules.