This is a very partial view of leisure activities in Lagartera in 1980, because I was a single woman, late 20s, and in those days in Lagartera, there was a much greater difference between the lives of women and men than there is now. The pueblo was the centre of an embroidery industry, and most women worked at home embroidering, or were involved in the industry in some way. On Saturdays, we single women washed our hair, dressed up, and went out, sometimes to the local disco. During weekdays we worked from home.
If you are confined to the home for much of the week, just spending time away from your home with your friends can be a real treat. One daytime activity we enjoyed was simply going for a walk in the countryside. The first photo shows a group of friends, Magdalena, Amada (hidden), Maria Victoria, Teresa, and Pepa (kneeling) by a well, in a ‘huerto de lavar’, or a place with water and sinks, where women used to go and wash clothes. The second shows the sinks where clothes were washed. By 1980, there was running water at home, and many people had washing machines, so women no longer went out in groups to wash clothes.
The huertos de lavar had wells, and we drank the wáter, not directly from the tin can, but from our hands.
A walk in the country was an especial treat in spring time, when the ground was covered in wild flowers.
There were some wonderful views. Here, the pueblo seen from a path going down from the Calvario, and the snow-capped Sierra de Gredos in the background.
Going out to the countryside was a tradition for some special days, some religious, others secular, like the day of the tortilla, and the day of the Calvote, when we played games. In Lent, women walked up a hill following crosses, praying by each cross. It was a quite sociable custom, as women walked up in groups, often meeting other groups of women coming down.
Men also went out into the countryside for recreation, especially if they had hunting dogs or hobby vegetable gardens. Both stockyards and walled vegetable gardens were often at some distance from the pueblo, so retired men kept fit, and had a social life if they hunted or grew vegetables.
Both activities could produce food for the family; rabbits for the pot, and vegetables year round. The rabbits caught were eaten, but by 1980, they were less important as a source of protein than a few decades earlier. Some people sold their surplus vegetables, but generally, by 1980, vegetable growing was seen as ‘something that keeps Grandpa happy and occupied’. Lagartera isn’t an easy place to grow veggies, because the soil is poor, unless enriched with manure, and the summers are long, dry and hot. It’s easier to buy fruit and vegetables from places with better growing conditions, like the Vera pueblos with less extreme conditions and more rain.
Then, as now, retired men put a lot of effort into taking care of the countryside, pruning olive trees, cleaning ground of scrub, and rebuilding stone walls. These were activities that could bring some financial benefit, for example, from selling olives, but didn’t bring in enough income to raise a family. They were neither purely hobbies, nor purely ‘work’.
Back in 1980, young women also went to organised activities, such as a discussion group run by the nuns who also ran a school in Lagartera. In theory the group was open to both young men and women, though in practice, most of those who took part were women. We mostly discussed topical issues, beginning with a participant giving a short talk, for example, on whether or not’equality’ between women and men might be a good idea. Young Lagarteran women asked why they had to observe long periods of mourning while their brothers could go out to the bars after the ten day mass, and they questioned why they were expected to make their brothers’ beds.
There was also a theatre group, set up by Alvaro Guadaño, who had come from Madrid to set up a small traditional tile factory nearby. His life-long passion was the theatre. The group performed works by Garcia Lorca, Chekhov, and other greats, both in Lagartera, and in nearby pueblos. Below, the group is setting up a stage in Navalcán, a pueblo to the north of Lagartera.
And here, Julián and Magdalena are going over their lines in Navalcan main square.
In the next photo, the older generation of Navalcan are doing what older Lagarterans also liked to do, which was to sit or stand outside their homes, chat and watch the world go by, though in Lagartera older women would usually be embroidering while there was light to see by. Meanwhile, Magdalena is still focusing on her lines, Miguelangel by her side.
Women did go to bars in those days, though married women usually only on Sundays, with their children, after Mass. It was frowned on for women to go to a bar at midday in 1980, but that changed not long after. The first pioneering group of young single women who met midday on weekdays in a bar were told by men in the bar to go home and prepare food for their menfolk (ie fathers and brothers). It was much easier for a group of friends to bring about change than for one woman acting alone.
In 1980, single women sometimes went out to see friends in a bar in the evening drinking ‘cortos’ (which cost two pesetas), often playing cards for matches rather than money. Most single women went out at the weekend, and fiesta times. Women had their favourite bars, such as the Labranza, Fabio’s bar (then run by his mother), and, at fiesta time, the Cavila. The photo below is of La Flor, which was more of a ‘man’s bar’, and a favourite for men who liked playing cards.
Below is La Cavila, with the owner, ‘uncle Cavileño’ behind the bar. Uncle Cavileño had a strong sense of mischief, and liked to get people drunk. He would sometimes lock the door and ply customers with drink. This could be dangerous if you were not from Lagartera, and were unaware of his habits.
During the day on week days, women rarely went to bars until work was done. At fiesta time, rules were relaxed, and young single women could make quick visits to different bars. The photo below, taken in the Cavila, shows Yolanda, Amada singing, and Julian, later to become Amada’s brother-in-law.
These photos are from the October fiesta in 1980. Some people tell me that they must be from Carnival, because some people were in fancy dress, but from the date on the colour slides, they are definitely from October. The next photo was also taken in the Cavila. The girl in the hat is Rosa, directly behind her is Fernando the doctor’s son, in the background, Urbano and Paco. The bride is Paco’s sister, one of the family nicknamed ‘Largo’. Behind her is Eva. Rita (a Larga) is the one with the cigar, and cousin of the other two. The girl with the freckles is Mari Carmen, mother of the actress Almudena Amor.
Fiestas had something for everyone, music and dancing for couples
and groups.
You didn’t have to dance, and could just watch and chat. In the next photo, you can see, starting from the left, Ernesto, his wife Libe, a married couple, Tere and Carmelo, Trini (Ernesto’s sister) and Victoria.
At Carnaval, there was a custom of cross-dressing, and some people decided to cross-dress for the 1980 October fiesta, most notably, these two Lagarteran couples:
Clowning for the camera.
At fiesta time, Christmas Eve, after the family meal, and New Year’s Eve, we youngsters often stayed up all night, just as today’s youngsters often do. Even so, in 1980, we younger women were scolded by older women, who said we didn’t know how to party. So we asked them about their celebrations. They told us that groups of women got together in the home of a member of the group, and stayed up until 4am, singing and dancing.
Over the years, fiestas have gradually changed. Young people today have more money to spend, and there is less separation between the lives of women and men. Young people are less likely to walk in the countryside for pleasure unless they are on a fitness regime. There are fewer young people in the pueblo, and fewer bars, but we still like to party.
Text and photos: Alison Lever
Thank you to Amada Lozano and Ana Pascual for your help
Lagartera, Toledo, January 2026