Weekender Alicante North Issue 106

14 FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST 2019
www.weekender.news
Local&WhatsOn Benidorm
the centrally situated Hotel
Vorarmar, followed by the infamous
Black Party, hosted by
the fantastic Barcelona based
clubbers Supermartxe, which
takes place in the open air Julio
Iglesias Auditorium.
Saturday September 7th is
undoubtedly the highlight of
the week, beginning at 17.00h,
with the famous parade, featuring
colourful floats and
outrageous costumes, which
attracts hordes of sightseers,
who line the whole route from
Mcdonald’s at the Rincon de
Loix end of levante Beach all
the way through to the Julio
Iglesias Auditorium.
Following the parade, the
entertainment begins with a
T Dance, Mariquita Pop and
a Main Stage concert featuring
Stevie Spit and his New
Jersey Boys and tribute shows
from artists including Lady
Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna and
Little Mix. The final Pride
event is on Sunday at 20.00h,
back in the Oscar Esplai Auditorium,
with the Superman
v Supermartxe Closing Party.
Organisers are confident
this year’s Benidorm pride
will surpass previous festivals,
whilst maintaining the strong
community spirit, which
brings back visitors year after
year eager to sample it’s
unique atmosphere.
Benidorm’s
Pea Men
war
COUNCILLORS in Benidorm,
have, earlier this
week, unanimously voted
through a motion, urging
the Congress of Deputies to
bring into force a law making
street gambling scams,
known as ‘Triles’ a criminal
act.
The gambling game, is operated
by gangs of men and
women, who set up makeshift
tables made from cardboard,
on which they place three
plastic cups, with a pea under
one of them, before encouraging
passers-by to place a
bet to guess the whereabouts
of the pea and win double
their money.
Unwitting pedestrians are
drawn in by watching other
participants appear to guess
correctly and win money, however
these winners are also
part of the gang, used to lure
in potential victims.
Generations of British tourists
have witnessed this game
operated by the so called ‘pea
men’, ever since it arrived on
the streets of Benidorm in the
1970’s.
Hundreds of them have fallen
victim to the scam, which
draws large crowds and allows
other members of the gang to
pickpocket the spectators who
gather to watch.
A recent incident, involving
a young British holidaymaker
violently attacked by
members of a ‘Trilero’ gang,
after he tried to warn other
spectators that the game was
a scam, prompted Benidorm
Mayor, Toni Perez to push for
legislation to make the game a
criminal act.
During the assault, which
occurred last week and was
recorded and uploaded onto
Youtube by a friend, the victim
Nathan Smith, 23, was
attacked by a group of six or
seven members of a ‘Pea Men’
gang, brandishing metal poles
and bats, with which he was
beaten to the ground and left
with a bleeding wound to the
back of his head.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper,
the victim said, “I got
hit quite badly on the back of
my head.”
“I was scared for my life, I
didn’t know if I was going to
come out alive. I got battered
and covered in blood. My
friend came out of it black and
blue, he had a black ear and
two black eyes.”
The young Brit revealed
he had been in the resort
two months previously and
witnessed an old woman
fall victim to the scam and
was determined not to see
a reoccurrence.
Current legislation, leaves
Police powerless to arrest
the gangs, as although street
gambling is considered a
crime, the ‘Pea Men’ claim
they are playing a game of
chance, and therefore the person
placing the bet is actually
breaking the law.
Benidorm councillor for
security, Lorenzo Martinez,
speaking to the Spanish press
said, “We know that the National
Police Corps is already
carrying out identification of
the people who have participated
in this very unfortunate
event. From the City of Benidorm
we want to strongly condemn
this brutal aggression
produced on public roads,”
He explained that the gangs
are routinely moved on and on
many occasions arrests have
been made, but the courts
are “tied hand and foot since
the ‘trileros’ declare themselves
insolvent and return to
the street.”
Speaking after last Mondays
council meeting, Mayor
Perez said, the activity, “damages
the image of the city
of Benidorm and Tourism
in general.”
The young Brit received a blow to the back of his head