Culture
Válor’s cultural heritage is reflected in its monuments, agricultural elements and villages, as well as in its fiestas, folklore and delicious cuisine.
Typical Cuisine
Traditional recipes in the municipality use locally-grown produce and have been passed down from generation to generation. One of the most famous dishes from Válor is hinojos al ajillo, made with fennel, almonds, garlic and dried peppers. The locals also make a typical dessert of Moorish origin, soplillos, a sort of meringue made with eggs, almonds, sugar and lemon.
History
Although evidence of Bronze Age and Roman settlers has been found in the municipality, the village of Válor was established in the period of Moorish rule, and its shape and layout is almost exactly the same today, with narrow streets and typical Alpujarran houses.
It belonged to La Taha de Juviles and be-
came very prosperous through the production of silk in the area. Válor was the birth town of the most notorious Alpujarran of all time, Fernando de Córdoba y Válor, more commonly-known as Abén Humeya. Crowned King of Andalusia in 1568, he urged the Moors to revolt, and led the Moorish Uprising, until he was overthrown by his cousin, Abén Aboo.
Abén Humeya was a member of a famous Moor-ish family which converted to Christianity after the Conquest of Granada in 1492. He renounced that religion to become a Muslim again, and started to fight against the repression of the Moorish faith and customs, and the Christians’ failure to adhere to the Capitulations of Granada. The Revolt lasted three years and extended throughout the whole of the Kingdom of Granada, but it was violently controlled and repressed by Philip II. After the Moors were driven out of the region, Válor became home to Christian resettlers from Jaén. Archaeological sites found in the municipal district show that other human settlements were also founded here. These sites include the Yacimiento del Barrio Garzón, underneath the current districts of Barrio de Cantarranas and Barrio del Portel, or Piedras de la Cárcel, where villagers say that a church and a prison once stood.