EXFICALP, the philatelic exhibition organised every December by the Calp Philatelic Association, reaches its 25th edition this year, and it does so by commemorating the anniversary of the twinning between the city of El Penyal and the city of El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz, which is also celebrated for a quarter of a century.
For this reason, EXFICALP 2020 will have all the collections collected by philatelists from the "Guadalete" Philatelic Society of El Puerto de Santa María, while the twinning between the two philatelic entities will be carried out when the situation permits.
According to the Agrupación Filatélica de Calp, the participating collections all have "a very important philatelic background, as they have all been awarded prizes in national and international exhibitions".
This year the aim was to honour the links that link Calp to El Puerto de Santa María, two towns that are linked by strong family and social ties, the result of the emigration that part of the population of Calp had to carry out in search of family support and the welcome that the city of Cadiz has given to the citizens of Calp.
The group has also asked the Post Office to publish and issue various materials of a postal and philatelic nature to commemorate the ties that bind the two towns, and therefore both the pre-franked card to be circulated and the stamp issued by the Post Office bear references to Calp and Puerto. Fotocrack and the photographer Francisco J. De Gea collaborated in the design of the card and provided some of the images used, as did the Tourism Department of El Puerto de Santa María Town Hall.
In addition to the philatelic collections on display, EXFICALP 2020 will offer a programme of activities, including a day of philatelic exchanges scheduled for Tuesday the 8th of December, and a guided tour of the so-called "Camino de Postas" on its way through Calp, where visitors will be able to see what remains of the "Camino Real" (Royal Route) on which the post office used to travel between Alicante and Dénia.
In addition to the philatelic exhibition in the exhibition hall of the Old Town Hall, there will also be an exhibition of photographs by local photographers Francisco J. De Gea Fernández and Pascal Guilloux, with images of an unknown Calp, which are also part of the EXFICALP 2020 programme.
On the other hand, and as a special collaboration, the company EDIFIL S.A., publisher of one of the most prestigious Spanish language philatelic magazines and of material for collectors, wanted to be present in this new edition of EXFICALP, as it has been doing without interruption for years. The material on loan will be offered to those who visit the exhibition and are interested in this collection.
EXFICALP 2020 will take place in the exhibition hall of Ajuntament Vell and can be visited from 4 December to 29 January. It collaborates with the Calp Town Hall through its Department of Culture and the Department of Tourism, and with the Town Hall of El Puerto de Santa María. This EXFICALP 2020 will be the first activity that Calp Philately will carry out to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.