Onwere

Onwere is a city in Candelaria And Marquez situated on the Río del Rentaría in the south-east of the island of Marquez. It was founded as a fishing and forestry community by Spanish settlers in 1777, its geography making it a relatively small but important settlement of Hispanic Marquez well into the late 1800s.

Onwere did not gain real notoriety until the early 1900s however, when the University was established, creating a reputation as a thriving city of counter-cultural young people. The establishment of OnwereTV in the early 1990s and the promotion of a wide variety of festivals, parades and other events further served to enhance that status.

The city’s population varies dramatically throughout the year owing to the large percentage of students and tourists among its denizens. In terms of ethnicity and culture, Onwere is one of the least Hispanic towns on Marquez, though the Spanish-speaking community still makes up approximately 17% of the year-round population. A significant part of the populous is made up by former OU students, many of whom live a notoriously bohemian lifestyle in the Piedrabuena district.

Older permanent residents involved in the private sector are generally in the tourist industry, with the remainder mostly involved in information technology; with many designers based along the Calle del Francisco Álvarez, or ‘Silicon Street’. For students and locals alike, Onwere is considered to have the best standard of living of any major town on Marquez.

Onwere University

The OU was established in 1894, though it remained a modest entity until the mid-20th Century. In the years immediately following the Civil War, it began to become a popular destination for the offspring of an affluent middleclass growing distrustful with what they saw as establishment institutions such as Albrecht University. By general consensus, the OU is now part of the country's elite trinity of tertiary education bodies with the AU and the Universidad Isabela González de Arrigo.

With its cousin in Albrecht having effectively dropped tuition fees for C&M-born students and the UoA forever seeking a thoroughly modern image, the OU has become in many ways the most middle-class of the three; often being criticized in the press for encouraging less able but well-healed students over the more naturally talented. As an entity keen to trumpet its liberal credentials the OU strenuously denies such claims.

Whatever the truth of this, it remains a trendy - some might say faddy - institution. Though it offers courses in as wide a range of areas as the AU; it specialises in the Arts (particularly Theatre), English Literature, Media Studies and Politics.

Media

Students at the OU established their own TV station, the originally-titled OnwereTV, in the late 1980s during a very brief boom time for localised broadcasting. Though many other such stations across the country collapsed after mere months or even weeks; O-TV went from strength to strength. At a time when the more mainstream channels were cursed by an often cringe-worthily sober presentation style; OnwereTV offered a much more relaxed manner. In recent years ratings have grown ever further, thanks both to the shock winning of the CMSC highlights package; as well as innovative, interactive programming. O-TV pioneered the phenomenon of 'Reality-TV' in the country, before largely dropping it when other channels moved in. By audience figures, as well as critical acclaim, their most popular show is the drama Billy Bob's New Hat; set in a fictional Candelariasesque country called Cnidaria and following the presidency of President Lorimer Rosenkranz as portrayed by former Spaghetti Western star Cade Harper. The show's influence is such that in a poll in 2001, a little less than 1% of Candelariasians polled identified Rosenkranz as their country's real-life leader over the actual incumbent Israel Clark.

Clark's Modern Liberal Party lost the 2004 elections, in part on their educational record.

Festivals and events

Since the mid-eighties; Onwere has, for reasons that have never been entirely clear, become a popular destination for a variety of festivals, events and parades. These include;

• Gay Pride ~ Onwere is home to the country's largest GSBS march, held in April every year. It has recently been the subject of major controversy over its organisers' disinclination to encourage genderqueer participation. Such individuals have since formed their own pressure group and Onwere march, suitably held biannually in March and September. These have now become some of the most colourful events in the country.

• The Parade of Ducks ~ An archaic event in June dating back at least as far as the 1970s. It involves ducks. Mallards, mostly. A few widgeons. And if you're lucky, an enigmatic Baikal Teal or three.

• The Parade of Duck ~ A less popular event, it involves a man parading through the streets in a giant duck outfit. Still, it's an excuse to stop the traffic and make a day of it, eh?

• C&M Students Convention ~ A week in June where pretty much the entire student body of C&M, and a fair few from other countries as well, decamp on mass to Onwere for high-brow discussions on the political and industrial future of the country and the wider region. And drinking and that.

• The Info-Tech Expo ~ A week in November when the country's united geeks descend on the city for... whatever it is they do.

• The Onwere Film Festival ~ The country's foremost film festival, in February, celebrating the best of foreign and Candelariasian filmmaking, culminating in the sort-of prestigious National Film Awards.

• The Onwere Beer Festival ~ In October. Thar be a pattern forming.

• The Onwere World Music Festival ~ In March. Children's choirs and all that. Raga.

• The Onwere Festival of World Music ~ In early December. A rather more high-profile event, featuring classical and folk artists from countries with inside toilets.

• The National Golf Championships ~ Alright, 'festival' is pushing it a bit. But it's ever so popular. Funny trousers a-go-go.

• The Winter Thing ~ A general, all-purpose event celebrating the end of the year, unless it's not the end of the year for your particular culture, in which case it's just celebrating the time of the year when it's particularly nippy in the Steven-and-the-twins area.

• The Onwere Comedy Festival ~ The fortnight in January when the nation's most earnest stand-up satirists, right-on comedians and embarrassingly filthy comediennes arrive in the city to perform, largely for each other.

Politics

Onwere is also well-known in C&M for its distinctive political scene. Though in national elections its permanent denizens are fairly staunch Unionist Party supporters; in local elections the entire population - students and older residents alike - have largely abandoned traditional parties. The current City Council is made up of thirty-seven seats comprising eleven for the United Party of the Onweriii People, six for the Fabulously Spanish Party, five for the Deeply Concerned Citizens Alliance With The Very Popular Party, four for the Independent Representation Party, two for the Real Left-Alliance of the Fabulous Folk, two for the Sore Bottom Community and one each for the Think About It Party, Social Democratic & Green Party, Unionist Party, the Young Green Group, Free Marquez, the Libertarian-Unionist Party and the Marquez National Party.

As a result, the current Council Leader is Prince 'n' Princess Morgan-Matthew-Millie van Ijssel; of the UPotOP. The genderqueer van Ijssel took over the role after the retirement of its predecessor and mentor The Genuinely Honourable Derek 'Butcher' Buckley. Though his appointment was initially divisive; Buckley became a hugely popular figure thanks to his refusal to countenance government plans to dramatically expand the number and concentration of housing developments in the city and a genuinely forward-thinking approach to transport and environmental issues. His disinclination to support any softening of the country's anti-drugs laws within the city's borders only seemed to help contribute to his popularity among the stable "Onweriii" population.

Football

Sport has never been a major preoccupation in the city, and the various sides to have carried the name of Onwere seldom achieved much in the original professional leagues of the 1940s to 70s. In 1983, a new Candelaria And Marquez Soccer Championship (CMSC) was created; being a seven-game series featuring amateur players representing either Candelaria Island or a united side of Marquez and the Outliers. The final game was played at Onwere's Estadio de Francisco Álvarez; at the time being the largest available arena in Marquez having been built for the '85 Rushmori Student Games and to host concerts. The Marquez & the Outliers side beat Candelaria 3-0 to complete a 6 games to 1 series victory.

The decision to split the nation in this way had proved highly controversial, and shortly before the start of the 84/85 series the two sides were officially renamed as Candelaria-Allemali FC and Marquez-Onwere FC; with all the games being played at the Sausages Arena, Allemali and the Álvarez in Onwere. With an almost entirely Hispanic side, MarquezOW triumphed six to one once again.

As brand new clubs, CandelariaAM and MarquezOW lacked the funds and fanbase of some of those sides that began to be introduced into the competition from the 85/86 season; and as a result received significant cash from the CMSC itself to help keep them on an even keel with the rest. The naranja, as MarquezOW were known from this season thanks to their newly-adopted orange kit, won their third straight title ahead of Khatib FC, and were considered unlucky to only finish third in 86/87 after assembling what is still generally thought of as the best single side in the history of Candelarias football.

Following their third place finish, things look in danger of going pear-shaped for the club. The rise of amateur rivals Onwere FC was one distraction; that club reaching the final of the CMS Cup in 1989, the final year before that competition too went professional. More unnerving was the establishment of the breakaway Club de Marquez, also in Onwere, by Spanish-speaking fans, players and officials of MarquezOW worried at the increasing domination of the club by English-speakers. Club de Marquez stayed in the city for five years before becoming nomadic - they remain today the only professional club in the country with that status.

MarquezOW however remained as the Marquez' people's club in the affections of at least the English-speaking population and though they suffered an immediate hit to their fortunes as a result of the internal strife their top-flight status remained assured. A young side finished third in 91/92 and won the CMS Cup the following season, but this proved something of a false dawn as the club continued to struggle to become anything more than a comfortable mid-table outfit.

Finally now there are signs of a real recovery. In the 06/07 season, under Macario Ayoví, the naranja were second to winners Albrecht FC only on goal difference. The following XXV season was rather more disappointing however, as despite having the league's second-top goalscorer in Ignacio Vélez and a number of other star performers, the inexperience of much of the squad finally told and resulted in a mid-table finish and Ayoví's dismissal. Former Kura-Pellandi national team manager, Andy Woolworth, has been installed as the first foreign manager in the CMSC. With a squad that includes full C&M internationals Vélez, Harry Primrose and José Felipe Cassumba Domingos, Under-21 stars José Luis Sosa, Mars Douaydari, Reiban Okeke and Ethan Schepinov and Recluse Island international winger Niclas Kjaer; Woolworth will be under pressure for instant success.