Alboraya

Alboraya, in Spanish, spelled Alboraia in Valencian, is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia. Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the metropolitan area of Valencia. Better transport connections, including two stations on the Valencia metro system (Alboraya-Palmaret and Alboraya-Peris Aragó). The population increased from 11,267 in 1986, to an estimated 24,741 in 2020. Of these, 58.84% declared themselves to be Valencian speakers. In 1994, 45.8% worked in the service sector, 33% in industry, 16.7% in agriculture, and 3.60% in construction. In the May 2011 elections, the People's Party (PP) lost their absolute majority, as they fell from 11 to 8 council seats. The remaining seats were won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) (5), Unión Popular de Alboraya (3), Coalició Compromís (3) and Ciudadanos por Alboraya (Citizens for Alboraya) (2). Subsequently, a coalition of everyone but the PP was formed, with Miguel Chavarria becoming the first PSOE Mayor since 1999. Traditional crops are based on irrigated, intensive farming. Especially important are the tiger nuts (Spanish: chufas, Valencian: xufes), which are used to produce horchata (Valencian: orxata), a popular refreshment.