Alicante–Elche

From Santa Cruz to a centenary

In the late 1970s, the Alicante band Mediterráneo put the narrow streets of Santa Cruz in the title of a song. “Estrechas calles de Santa Cruz” appeared on the group's first album, released in 1978. The neighbourhood, below Santa Bárbara castle, gave the musicians a place name close to home for a record that introduced their music to listeners beyond Alicante.

The group emerged from Alicante musicians who found a recording opportunity in Madrid. Decades later, members Víctor Carratalá and José Alfonso Linares returned to the stage for a benefit concert in Valencia.

Elche, a separate city inland from Alicante, has its own musical occasions. In 2022, local group Diagnóstico Binario presented “Un sentimiento centenario” for Elche CF's hundredth anniversary. Its unveiling at the city's congress centre was part of a programme of events marking the football club's first century.