Fiesta- A Good Reason To Have A Party

The one thing that I remember most from my travels were the sheer amount of Fiesta’s everything from parties in a private house to street parties to fiestas or fetes involving the town or city. Although religious events are often celebrated the biggest been Semana Santa at Easter, overall, any excuse seems to be a good reason to hold a party for the fun-loving Spanish.

Fiesta or Fete translates to a party, holiday or feast and usually its a mix of all three. The verb is festejar which is to celebrate, and this certainly the case from what I has seen.

In Barcelona in August, the neighbourhood of Gràcia explodes into celebration. The Festa Major de Garcia lasts a week, in the day and evening. Taking part in over 20 streets in Gràcia. Although drinking, dancing and partying dominate the evening, the festival also features cultural activities and a fire run (correc) as well as activities for children during the day.

I feel that certainly the street events brought the communities together much more than in the UK. Both young and old taking part. Although the recent pandemic has affected this and people in Britain are now more community- spirited than previously. I spent several months working in a rural location in Andalusia and the nearest small village held fiestas regularly with everyone in the village attending. Every village, no matter how small, has its own, unique celebrations.

Whilst thousands of festivals are celebrated all over Spain throughout the year there are only a few that bring overseas visitors specifically for the event. In mid- March the Falles Festival takes place. It’s a traditional celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The term Falles refers to both the celebration and the monuments burnt during the celebration. It has been declared an event of Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The whole of the city becomes an enormous street party, with parades, paella competitions and bullfights. Each night there is a firework display culminating in La Nit de Foc on the 18th March. The following night la Cremà takes place when all the ‘ninots’ which have been stuffed full with fireworks are burnt.

The official focus for the festival is San José, the patron saint of carpenters. Starting in the Middle Ages, carpenters hung planks of wood called ‘parots’ in the winter to support their candles whilst working. In spring these pieces of wood were burned as a way of celebrating the end of winter. After a while they began to put clothing on the ‘parot.’ These became the forerunners of the contemporary ‘ninots’ the enormous papier-mâché figures of today. It’s a loud, busy, colourful festival, not for the faint-hearted but a wonderful experience.

Medieval history is celebrated in many of the festivals in Spain. The annual Medieval fair in Capdepera, in Majorca, is set in the streets leading up to the Medieval castle that overlooks the town and is a popular event for adults and children alike. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, carpenters, shoemakers and ceramists are among the long list of artisans who offer Medieval inspired products to sell. Expect to see jousting, jugglers, falconry displays, stilt-walkers and fire-eaters. Traditional food and drink stalls are scattered throughout the event selling all kinds of Medieval fair. It wouldn’t be a Spanish fair without an excessive amount of food! The finale is a walk up to the castle by candlelight, which was atmospheric and an unforgettable memory.

 A similar festival takes place in Ibiza. To celebrate the declaration of Ibiza's Dalt Vila as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, every May the old- town hosts vibrant celebrations including three days of street parties, musical performances, artists and medieval re-enactments. As an added bonus, entry to all galleries and museums in Dalt Vila is free during the festival.

If you are planning a holiday do look in the local guides and see what is going on as not only is this great, often free entertainment it’s a wonderful way to see the culture and understand the history of the area.Many festivals have been cancelled for 2020 but I am sure they will be back with a great big bang in 2021.

Mallorcan Almonds

The Moors planted the first Almond trees in 903, they missed the soft, velvety taste of an almond tart at the end of the meal. There are now an estimated 5 million almond trees all over the island, almonds are a major crop and contribute to the island’s revenue.

 In the 1880s, the vineyards were destroyed by Phylloxera- a tiny yellow wine pest, which had destroyed vineyards in France, Portugal, Germany and Italy. Desperate Mallorcan farmers decided to plant less vulnerable almond trees in the destroyed vineyards. Almond trees also promised stable prices and had a constant market. 

Today almost 50% of the almond growth is exported abroad mainly to Belgium and Germany. However, the problems for mallorcan farmers are not over, almonds may become an endangered species. An infection hit the island over a decade ago and according to scientist Eduardo Moralejo, an estimated 150,000 Mallorca almond trees have succumbed to the disease since 2010. Moralejo's conservative guess is that somewhere between 800,000 and 950,000 trees are affected. That’s 70% of all almond trees are currently infected, though official numbers come in at a significantly lower 50%. Happily, the disease is finally being taken seriously and a number of entities are coming up with creative ways to combat the problem. Studies are being conducted all over Europe that are looking to eradicate the bacteria’s power and save the trees. Mallorca’s almond trees are in danger but measures are being taken to ensure they are not completely wiped off the face of the island. With the hard work and resourcefulness of Mallorcan farmers, I feel sure that Mallorca almonds will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.

From January to February, large parts of the Monturi plains are transformed by sweet almond trees, Prunus Dulcis, farmers here have been harvesting almond trees there for centuries. After two years when a sapling has produced at least a few hundred blossoms and the trunk has reached the right size, blossoms of the desired variety are grafted on. The trees will reach full maturity after about 10 years. The harvest time is in late summer. In a similar way to olives, traditional farming methods are used: the nuts are knocked off the tree to fall onto the net under the tree. The kernels are then removed from the hard shells ready to make biscuits, chocolate, nougat, oil, liqueur. 

Mallorca almonds are said to be the best in the world, and the almond blossom is a major attraction for visitors to the island. The delicately scented Pink and White blossom adds a special beauty to the landscape. There are many different native varieties of almond cultivated on the island of Mallorca and the denomination Mallorca is used to cover all the varieties produced there. These nuts are characterized by their pleasant flavour, by the complete absence of bitter almonds, and by their high-fat content. These high-quality almonds have meant that locals have been cooking with almonds for hundreds of years. In my last blog we talked about the nutritional benefits of almonds but they are also versatile and taste wonderful. Roasted, toasted, smoked or blanched, almonds are available to buy everywhere on the island. Traditional Mallorcan cuisine uses almonds with fish, with meat and in sweet dishes.  As in mainline Spain, almonds are popular in various desserts. At Christmas, Turron is considered a great favourite. Gato d´Ametlla, is the delectable almond cake that Mallorca is known for, I have attached a recipe below, although there are lots of variations to make.

Mallorcan almond flour-free cake: Serves 8

Ingredients:

7oz/200g blanched almonds, 5 large eggs, separated, 7oz/200g caster sugar, finely grated orange zest 1 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, butter for greasing the tin, and icing sugar for dusting. Orange zest to decorate is optional.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325F/gas mark 3. Grease a 23cm round cake tin with butter and dust it out with flour. Put the almonds into a food processor and grind them to a very fine powder. Using an electric whisk, beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl for 4–5 minutes until pale and creamy. Fold in the almonds, orange zest and cinnamon. The mixture will be quite stiff. Clean the beaters of the whisk, then use to beat the egg whites in a large clean bowl until they form soft peaks. Add two large spoonsful of the egg whites to the mixture to loosen it slightly, then gently fold in the remainder. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes until a skewer, pushed into the centre of the cake, comes away clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar. To add some extra Majorcan spirit, grate orange over the top!

As I mentioned before, almonds are a remarkable source of income to the agricultural Mallorca and therefore very important to pay tribute to, several events are held on the island to celebrate almonds. In the town of Son Servera, you can visit an almond-themed fair coinciding with the blossoming of the trees. The Fira de la Flor d’Ametler is held in February in the grounds of Ses Cases de Ca s’Hereu, a finca in the town of Son Servera dating from the 18th century. You most certainly should never leave Mallorca without having tasted the Gato d´Ametlla eaten with almond ice-cream and a coffee accompanied by a small glass of Flor d’Ametla the famous liqueur made of almonds. This fair is known to be one of the most interesting fairs on the Mallorcan cultural scene.

Fira de la llet d’Ametlla is a Yuletide almond milk festival on Mallorca in December. The sweet flavour of almonds makes them ideal for milk- making. Celebrated in Pla de na Tesa in Marratxí, local almond farmers take their produce into town to allow people to taste almonds and almond-based dishes that are deep-rooted in traditional Mallorca cuisine. You can wander around the Aristan stalls and look at the old vehicles, traditional almond-farming machinery and animals and see presentations on growing almonds and the subsequent production of almond milk. It’s also a great chance to buy some unique Christmas presents from artisan makers.

I always love the chance to combine a cultural experience with some eating and shopping!