The spokesman and deputy of VOX in the General Meeting of the Principality, Ignacio Blanco, has lamented in the plenary session held today that “the Asturian left has harmed, once again, the Asturian and Asturias not betting on one of its great cultural jewels , tourist and historical of the region such as the Roads to Covadonga and the Sanctuary, ”explains Blanco. “An example, I would never have spent the night in Sietes if I had not done the Road to Covadonga and, as happened to me, many Asturians and visitors from outside the region and foreigners will never be able to get to know corners and areas in danger of depopulation by those that run the roads ”.
PSOE, Podemos and IU have voted against Proposition No. of Law (NLP), presented by the VOX Parliamentary Group in which it requested “the elaboration of a four-year Strategic Plan for the national and international promotion of Covadonga and its paths proceeding to its signaling, publicity and adaptation, as well as the request to provide them with budgetary funds ”. Likewise, he called for “the inclusion of the routes to Covadonga within the Cultural Itineraries Program of the Council of Europe, as well as its impulse in the regional, national and international instances to value Covadonga as a Sanctuary because it is one of the most representative places nationally and internationally for its components of nature, spirituality, culture and gastronomy ”. "They have returned to vote against a proposal of VOX blinded by their sectarianism, harming Asturias and Asturians," says Blanco.
During his speech, the spokesman recalled that “the Camino de Santiago, composed of numerous routes with the common destiny of the tomb of Santiago Apostle, in Santiago de Compostela, is one of the great historical, cultural, artistic and tourist jewels of Spain that It also has its Asturian origin being Alfonso II the first pilgrim who left Oviedo with his court to visit the tomb in the 9th century ”and stressed that“ in Asturias we have an enclave of obvious religious ties, but with enormous cultural potential, tourist and economic: the Sanctuary of Covadonga. A sanctuary that also has its own roads, with a great advantage over the Camino de Santiago and is that most of them run entirely within our region. ”
In this sense, he clarified that “the Roads to Covadonga, some great strangers, are a natural, ethnographic, cultural, gastronomic, tourist and religious wonder, which are made up of at least 14 itineraries, of which four, the most traveled, in specifically, they have their origin in Oviedo, Gijón, Llanes and Sotres ”. Therefore, “given that one and a half million people visit the magnificent and iconic Sanctuary of Covadonga a year, making known the Roads to Covadonga, would undoubtedly be an economic engine of growth for Asturias and for many of its areas depopulated by that run the same. Without a doubt, the promotion and activation of the Roads of Covadonga will be an important revulsion that will lead to the creation of jobs, as well as economic activity. ”
In this regard, he recalled that "the links between the Camino de Santiago and the Ways to Covadonga are undeniable" so "in Asturias we can easily do the same with Los Caminos to Covadonga, since you just have to feel like it and act with vision . No need to invent anything. The Camino de Santiago is a success without palliative and can be the Ways to Covadonga, which even shares some itinerary with that of Santiago ”. Likewise, Blanco urged the Principality to promote the “Covadonga Brand” through the Sanctuary by endowing it and elevating it to aspire to be one of the most interesting Sanctuaries in the world, ”said the spokesman.
