El Mazuco is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the parroquia of Caldueñu

Caldueñu

Caldueñu is one of 28 parishes in the municipality of Llanes in eastern Asturias, in northern Spain. It is just south of the Mazucu mountain and the village of El Mazuco .-Villages:* Buda - Las Jareras* Caldueñin * Cortines* Debodes* El Mazuco* Villa...

 in the municipality of Llanes

Llanes

Llanes a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bounded to the south by the high ridge of the limestone Sierra del Cuera, which rises to over 1,100 m...

, in Asturias

Asturias

The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

, northern Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Its population in 2004 was 67, in 25 dwellings.

It is located at 355m above sea level in the Sierra de Cuera

Sierra de Cuera

Sierra de Cuera , is a 30 km long mountain chain of the Cantabrian Mountains.The ridge's highest point is Pico Turbina . This mountain range is located at 6 km from the sea and runs parallel to the coast...

, at 43°22′56"N 4°51′08"W, which is 16 km from Llanes. The road from Llanes to Meré

Meré

Meré is a village in the concejo of Llanes, in Asturias. Its population in 2004 was 175, in 84 dwellings.It is located on the banks of the Ríu de las Cabras at , which is 28 km from Llanes and about midway between Posada and Benia...

 passes over the Alto de la Tornería at 471m then drops down to the Ermita del Santo Ángel at 362m, where a left turn leads immediately into the village. 2 km to the south is the highest point in the concejo of Llanes, Peña Blanca (1182m).

The village sits at the western end of a 2.5 km closed valley drained by the Río Belugas and the Río del Pasador, which join just before sinking into Cueva del Bolugo (43°22′45"N 4°51′03"W); the river passes nearly directly under the village to resurge at Caldueñin (43°22′48"N 4°51′54"W).

During the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, El Mazuco was the focus of a major battle from September 6, 1937 to September 22, 1937, when 5,000 men of the Republican forces held off over 33,000 Nationalists in the Battle of El Mazuco

Battle of El Mazuco

The Battle of El Mazuco was fought between 6 and 22 September 1937, between the Republican and Nationalist armies during the Spanish Civil War as a part of the War in the North campaign. The Republican defence of El Mazuco and the surrounding mountains halted the Nationalist advance into eastern...

; see El Mazuco (La defensa imposible).

The only commercial establishment in the village today is the popular bar/restaurant El Roxin, known for its traditional Asturian food

Asturian cuisine

Asturian cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients found in the cuisine of the Asturias region of Spain.Asturias is especially known for its seafood, such as fresh squid, crab, shrimp and sea bass...

and (at weekends) its grill.