Where can I book a Queimada?

[Anniesantiago]

Does anyone know of a place in Santiago where I can book and attend a Queimada during the week - not on a weekend???

 

[mikevasey]

You could ask at Carpe Diem, they have some stuff on standby, but better to get it fresh with the flaming incantation ritual. They have the special ceramic bowls and little cups which go with this ceremony.

 

[mikevasey]

Try here as well http://www.lardasmeigas.com/actividades.html

 

[Rebekah Scott]

somehow I get the feeling a quemada, like a flemenco, is supposed to just kinda happen spontaneously, or in a club or group of buds. "Booking a quemada" seems a strange contradiction. IMHO. Maybe that is why I have never seen one?

Reb.

 

[mikevasey]

Had it once properly at O Cebreiro, arrived in a complete snowstorm after sunset, and decided to celebrate by having Queimada and incantation. Still I wouldnt say no to attending a pre-organised event especially if the Galician piper turned up.

 

[larryflo]

Geeez Annie,

I had to Google that one. You can eat a Queimada. You can drink one. You can pray to one. It seems like there are a lot of things that one can do with a Queimada. Which one are you looking for? If it is fattening, I would like to try it.

 

[sillydoll]

I booked a Queimada at a lovely little bar called Fuco Luis in Rúa Xelmírez up from the cathedral. He set the container on a table outside and we all sat around it while he set it alight. Many people passing by stopped to watch and two Aussie peregrinos and a couple from Brasil joined us. I gave each person a typical Galician incantation (all about witches, bats, toads, old women's farts!) and there was much chanting and incantations about 'Peregrinos in auto buses and taxis!'
He charges €5 per person. It was great fun.

I've tried to attach a photograph but the moment I click on Add the file, it vanishes from the Browse window.

 

[mikevasey]

I had to Google that one. You can eat a Queimada. You can drink one. You can pray to one. It seems like there are a lot of things that one can do with a Queimada. Which one are you looking for? If it is fattening, I would like to try it.

I think its the one you set fire to

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hey Larry! I want to watch this one, then drink it!

Sil, for some reason I thought this could only be booked on the weekends? :?:

Rebecca, I have no idea... I've never seen one either, but I'm fairly sure it's not some sacred ancient ritual. The words themselves seem to indicate it's an entertaining drama for tourists and pilgrims. :wink: Whether truly old or newly manifested, whatever it is, it looks like fun and I'd like to find one for my group in June.

 

[sillydoll]

Most pubs in Santiago will do a quiemada for you and your friends any night of the week if you let them know in advance. The first time I experienced one was at San Bol. Performed by Italian Rastafarians it was quite a spectacle! In 2007 (and in June this year) we went on a two hour Nocturnal walking tour of the old city which culminates in a Quiemada at the little bar at the top of the steps behind the cathedral. These tours are only done on a Friday night and are for a minimum of 14 people and costs €120. In September we didn't have 14 people so we did our own walk on the 'Paris to Dakar' and danced to the music of the Tunas outside Xelmerix's palace. We ended the night at Bar Fuco Luis with a Quiemada where we sorted out the good and bad Galician witches!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Places I know that do a queimada:

Santibanez
Ave Fenix - Villafranca
Albergue A Bolboreta - Casanova
Fonfria
Bar Mandala - Arzua
Albergue Touristico de Lagosa after Santiago just before Negreira.

I have seen other places advertise them, but do not recall where.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Thanks everyone!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCaminoDo ... ZCK239ZgzM

This hospitalero does them too, it appears...Lydia might be able to help you get in contact with him.

 

[Millie Mochila]

Some people book with an agency what they call a pilgrimage,and some now book a Queimada.

 

[sillydoll]

Some people book with an agency what they call a pilgrimage,and some now book a Queimada

Millie, I don't really understand the comment 'what they call a pilgrimage' ?? The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage trail and whether one walks it as a pilgrim or not doesn't change that.
I have walked to Santiago six time (and to Lourdes, Rome and other shrines) but not as a Christian pilgrim. That doesn't mean I wasn't walking 'a pilgrimage'.

According to the World Tourism Organization, an estimated 300 to 330 million pilgrims visit the world's key religious sites every year - most of them booked in groups through an Agency. If you ever plan on walking the Abraham's Path you will have to go through an Agency. Muslims have to book through agencies to complete a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and this is the largest pilgrimage in the world.
Thousands of pilgrimage destinations are undertaken in groups - just as they were in the middle ages. (Look up St Bona of Pisa). Only a few people are brave enough, have enough time and sufficient money, to walk to the Holy Land, Rome, or to Lourdes, Fatima etc. The many millions of pilgrims who visit these religious shrines are without doubt on 'pilgrimage'.

As for the Pagan ceremony of the Quiemada, there is nothing religious or sacrosant about a Queimada. In order to enjoy a Queimada in Santiago, you need to ask the bar owner in advance and let him know how many people will attend so that he can prepare it for you.

 

[markss]

Some people book with an agency what they call a pilgrimage,and some now book a Queimada

Millie, I don't really understand the comment 'what they call a pilgrimage' ??



Think readers of this forum are being baited by Millie. This is someone who has not and may never walk the Camino. Have a look at the other posts by her/him. The comments are foolish. Probably doesn't even own a Mochila!

 

[Abbeydore]

Some people book with an agency what they call a pilgrimage,and some now book a Queimada

Millie, I don't really understand the comment 'what they call a pilgrimage' ?? The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage trail and whether one walks it as a pilgrim or not doesn't change that.
I have walked to Santiago six time (and to Lourdes, Rome and other shrines) but not as a Christian pilgrim. That doesn't mean I wasn't walking 'a pilgrimage'.

Well I understand you both & appreciate both your views; & I/we are wanting to do as much of an 'impromptu' Camino, yes it's organised but not planned. If a Queimada happens great, but I'm not going to order one, it seems it only takes 12mins to make one anyway:
http://spanishfood.about.com/od/drinks/r/queimada.htm

I'm going to give my sole a kick-up-the-a...!,(it's not in a good place @ present), is mine going to be religious maybe/maybe not, I'm going to sing Dum Patter Familias, so maybe it is a bit religious. I'm trying to learn a bit of spanish so I can get a bit closer to the locals, I'm trying to get fit so I personally go off piste & do those 3 peaks(Dragonte, Villa de Corales, Vailasinde) in one day & I want to enjoy the locals very much, in the past it's been very much sign language, so I'm looking for some improvement on this pilgrimage, yes it could all go 'tits-up', but hay-hoe @ least I/we have tried, given it our best shot as it were! I could also go on an 'organised' trip/pilgrimage & get a lot from it, & enjoy, & 'grow'! I guess it's just a degree of how grounded one is/will be, on the 2 options!

 

[sillydoll]

Think readers of this forum are being baited by Millie.

And I took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Always do when fundamentalism and extremism combined with judgementalism rears its ugly head!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Having a queimada is a corollary to "donativo means free." On my first one, when the host brought out two bottles of orujo, a bag of citrus, a box of sugar, dehydrated coffee, and the bowl/cup set, I knew there were expenses to the ceremony. When no women were seduced by the first bowl, he did it a second time. Same result. I left a donation on leaving.

Pilgrims expecting a spontaneous and free queimada expect too much. If you want a queimada, buy, or volunteer to buy, the ingredients. The host is likely to be very willing to provide the labor.

there is nothing religious or sacrosanct about a Queimada

I respectfully disagree. It may not be in the New Testament, but that does not mean it is not religious. The following is said to be the incantation. It looks pretty religious to me. Sacrosanct? You would have to ask someone who believed it.

Gallician

Mouchos, curuxas, sapos e bruxas.
Demos, trasgos e diaños,
espíritos das neboadas veigas.
Corvos, píntegas e meigas:
feitizos das menciñeiras.
Podres cañotas furadas,
fogar dos vermes e alimañas.
Lume das Santas Compañas,
mal de ollo, negros meigallos,
cheiro dos mortos, tronos e raios.
Ouveo do can, pregón da morte;
fuciño do sátiro e pé do coello.
Pecadora lingua da mala muller
casada cun home vello.
Averno de Satán e Belcebú,
lume dos cadáveres ardentes,
corpos mutilados dos indecentes,
peidos dos infernais cus,
muxido da mar embravecida.
Barriga inútil da muller solteira,
falar dos gatos que andan á xaneira,
guedella porca da cabra mal parida.
Con este fol levantarei
as chamas deste lume
que asemella ao do Inferno,
e fuxirán as bruxas
a cabalo das súas vasoiras,
índose bañar na praia
das areas gordas.
¡Oíde, oíde! os ruxidos
que dan as que non poden
deixar de queimarse no augardente
quedando así purificadas.
E cando este beberaxe
baixe polas nosas gorxas,
quedaremos libres dos males
da nosa alma e de todo embruxamento.
Forzas do ar, terra, mar e lume,
a vós fago esta chamada:
se é verdade que tendes máis poder
que a humana xente,
eiquí e agora, facede que os espíritos
dos amigos que están fóra,
participen con nós desta Queimada.

English
Owls, barn owls, toads and witches.
Demons, goblins and devils,
spirits of the misty vales.
Crows, salamanders and midges,
charms of the folk healer(ess).
Rotten pierced canes,
home of worms and vermin.
Wisps of the Holy Company,
evil eye, black witchcraft,
scent of the dead, thunder and lightning.
Howl of the dog, omen of death,
maws of the satyr and foot of the rabbit.
Sinful tongue of the bad woman
married to an old man.
Satan and Beelzebub's Inferno,
fire of the burning corpses,
mutilated bodies of the indecent ones,
farts of the asses of doom,
bellow of the enraged sea.
Useless belly of the unmarried woman,
speech of the cats in heat,
dirty turf of the wicked born goat.
With this bellows I will pump
the flames of this fire
which looks like that from Hell,
and witches will flee,
straddling their brooms,
going to bathe in the beach
of the thick sands.
Hear! Hear the roars
of those that cannot
stop burning in the firewater,
becoming so purified.
And when this beverage
goes down our throats,
we will get free of the evil
of our soul and of any charm.
Forces of air, earth, sea and fire,
to you I make this call:
if it's true that you have more power
than people,
here and now, make the spirits
of the friends who are outside,
take part with us in this Queimada.

 

[Millie Mochila]

Some people book with an agency what they call a pilgrimage,and some now book a Queimada

Millie, I don't really understand the comment 'what they call a pilgrimage' ??



Think readers of this forum are being baited by Millie. This is someone who has not and may never walk the Camino. Have a look at the other posts by her/him. The comments are foolish. Probably doesn't even own a Mochila!

Such rudeness is uncalled for. I dont share your views but let it pass. Your post is nothing but baiting. Very dishonorable, very dishonest. Others found the queimada booking odd too.

 

[sillydoll]

Millie, looking back through the posts on this thread, it seems that only Reb thought that booking a quiemada was a contradiction. And she is right. A quiemada is something that a group of friends might share, spontaneously or pre-arranged. But if you are a visitor, without access to the bowl, cups, ladle etc, it is quite normal to request to have a queimada in a pub. But, you have to give them some advance notice and they will usually only do it for you after a certain time when their pub is not so busy.

 

[grayland]

A bit of warning may be in order here.

Let us try to keep personal attacks out of the forum.

Thanks.

 

[Millie Mochila]

Millie, looking back through the posts on this thread, it seems that only Reb thought that booking a quiemada was a contradiction. And she is right. A quiemada is something that a group of friends might share, spontaneously or pre-arranged. But if you are a visitor, without access to the bowl, cups, ladle etc, it is quite normal to request to have a queimada in a pub. But, you have to give them some advance notice and they will usually only do it for you after a certain time when their pub is not so busy.

You're quite right here. My point was that it is a spontaneous event and I feel that to book it is so artificial as to be pointless. I am unhappy with tradition being turned into commerce. That includes Christmas and camino culture.

 

[sillydoll]

I'm not going to argue with you on that Millie but a Queimada is not exactly part of Camino culture and never has been. Its a Pagan ceremony, practised mainly in Galicia to invoke the spirits and chase away witches! As you have learned from this Forum, very few people have actually experienced one, spontaneous or pre-arranged.
Your initial comment was a little unkind and judemental, don't you think? Perhaps that is what provoked some of the less than charitable replies. Pilgrimage can be a metaphor for life and none of us should judge how others choose to live their lives, or how they choose to do their pilgrimage.
A wise lady on this forum once said, "Pilgrimage is as pilgrimage does and its what is in your heart that counts". Belittling someone elses' experience or insinuating that their pilgrimage might be less worthy because they choose to go with a group is not very charitable.
Anyway, you are obviously a defender of the Camino and I can identify with that!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

A very entertaining English woman I met was venting a bit about Spanish hospitality, and said with a twinkle in her eye, "I don't have to put up with that. Godammit, I'm rich." With homes in England, France, and South Africa, she was. I thought I should be a bit put off, then it occurred to me that even those who can pay their way in life, even modify the world with their money to make it more accommodating to themselves, get to walk the camino their own way. I had already stopped worrying about the choices others were making along the way, and her remarks reminded me that I had made the right choice.

If you want to buy a queimada, it is alright with me!! I will chip in. (I bet you were not waiting for my permission, though...)

 

[Anniesantiago]

Well, I sure opened up a can of worms with my question, didn't I?

Since asking, I've done a little research on the Queimada. Here is what I've found:

Aquarium Hostel in Santiago apparently doesn't feel the Queimada must be spontaneous. In fact, they say on their website:

Queimada (typical Galician drink)
We celebrate "La fiesta de la Queimada" (Queimada Party) twice a week. The Queimada Ritual is accompanied by an initiation ceremony for pilgrims to put the finishing touch to the end of their pilgrimage.

A translated history from their website:
Queimada
Healing powers attributed to (the Queimada) says that this drink taken after the pronunciation of spell functions like protection spells, also to keep evil spirits and other beings that away from the (person who has) drunk.
The origins of the drink are unknown.
Popularly, Celtic origins are attributed to the queimada, but in 1972 the professor of prehistory at the University of Santiago, Carlos Alonso del Real stated this would be impossible, as the distillation of aguardiente in Galicia cannot be dated prior to the introduction the alembic (the still - from Arabic origin) from the twelfth or thirteenth century, and in the Middle Ages. Moreover, according to Alonso del Real, sugar cane, one of its key ingredients, was introduced by the Arabs to the Iberian peninsula (the spread of beet equivalent is much later, corresponding to the Napoleonic Wars). This led the drinking of the queimada to be attributed to medieval origins.
Subsequently, the anthropologist Manuel Gonzalez Reboredo Xosé says that consumption of liquor, usually without burning, it was common in traditional rural Galicia, where it had a reputation as a medicine for colds and at one point, around 1950’s - Galicians living abroad began to make this drink at parties or after meals.
In meetings of this kind have arisen in the habit of accompanying the consumption of spells queimada purpose-made for the moment. This custom spread so rapidly that in 1955, the potter Freire Tito created the clay pot, and claw-shaped legs that are used.

From Wikipedia (which of course ANYONE can contribute to)
It seems I am much older than the Queimada spell!

Queimada is a punch made from Galician aguardente (Orujo Gallego) - a spirit distilled from wine and flavoured with special herbs or coffee, plus sugar, lemon peel, coffee beans and cinnamon. Typically, while preparing the punch a spell or incantation is recited, so that special powers are conferred to the queimada and those drinking it. Then the queimada is set alight, and slowly burns as more brandy is added.
Although sometimes believed to be an ancient Celtic tradition transmitted along generations, some claim that the Queimada was actually developed in the 1950s.
Queimada was initially prepared by groups of Galician emigrants in places like Madrid, typically after fellowship lunches and other group events. This was accompanied by theatrical revivals of old beliefs such as the reading of spells written ad-hoc to keep witches away.
This ritual was so successful that it quickly became very widespread.
Tito Freire designed in 1955 the clay pot in which Queimada is usually prepared. The spell that is recited nowadays was written by Mariano Marcos Abalo in the 1960s[2].
Queimada is now part of the Galician tradition and considered as a sign of Galician identity[3].
The goal of the preparation ritual is to distance the bad spirits that, according with the tradition, lie in wait for men and women to try to curse them.[citation needed] All occasions are good for a queimada: a party, familiar meetings or gatherings of friends. After dinner, in the darkness of night, is one of the best times for it. The tradition also says that one of the perfect days to make the "conxuro da queimada" (spell of queimada) is Samhain, the Celtic New Year's Eve. However, typically the Queimada ritual takes place during St. John's night or 'witches' night' on the 23rd of June. (Summer Solstice).
The people who take part in it gather around the container where it is prepared, ideally without lights, to cheer up the hearts and to be better friends. One of them ends the process of making the queimada while reciting the spell holding up the burning liquid in a ladle and pouring it slowly back into the container.
1. ^ González Reboredo, X.M. (April 17–19, 2000). "Simposio Internacional de Antropoloxía". Etnicidade e Nacionalismo. Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega. ISBN 84-95415-34-8.
2. ^ "El café en la queimada es una copia de los catalanes", La Voz de Galicia, 2005-08-09. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
3. ^ "Desmontamos os mitos sobre a orixe ancestral da queimada", Consello da Cultura Galega, 2007-10-10. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.

From a Spanish website:
El conjuro o "esconxuro" tradicional de la queimada fue inventado en Vigo en 1967 por Mariano Marcos Abalo para una fiesta de juegos florales de las muchas que entonces tenían lugar en un barco decomisado amarrado en el puerto de la ciudad. En 1974 su creador le añadió las referencias a Satán y Belcebú y comenzó a representarlo en la discoteca Fausto de la Ciudad Olívica. (Vigo is called the City of Olives) Por esa misma época, una imprenta viguesa empezó a vender copias del conjuro, inicialmente sin su autorización y luego pagando una peseta por ejemplar vendido. El éxito hizo que otras empresas empezaran a vender copias por su cuenta, sin ninguna autorización y sin citar su nombre, lo que puede haber contribuido a la creencia de que el conjuro era de un autor anónimo. En 2001, Mariano Marcos Abalo decidió registrar la propiedad intelectual del conjuro.

If your Spanish is rusty, what this basically says is that the Queimada “spell” was written in 1967
(I was in HIGH SCHOOL then) by Mariano Marcos for a party.

In 1974, he added the references to Satan and Beelzebub for drama effect and began performing the Queimada at a discotec in Vigo called FAUST.

This makes a lot of sense. Gerald Gardner came “out of the closet” in 1952 and the laws against witchcraft were repealed in Britain. Whether or not his coven was real remains to be proven, but his step forward made it possible for other traditions and revivalist religions to be brought into the light or created.

In 1979 you could find 3 or 4 books on the Craft to purchase. There was no “online” back then. You walked into your local bookstore or took a trip to Los Angeles if you wanted even more information. Books about Witchcraft began being sold (Starhawk’s Spiral Dance, for instance). Books that had before been found only in collector’s libraries. Books by Ray Buckland, The Farrars, Aleister Crowley, which bookstores refused to carry suddenly flooded the shelves, and being a witch quickly became a “fad.” “Ancient family traditions” sprang up out of every corner. Llewellyn publishing got on the bandwagon and now you can’t walk into a bookstore without seeing 50 books on Wicca, all the same boring pre-initiate material, all with different covers. This is something that would last up until about 2 years ago, when the witchcraft/Wicca frenzy finally began to wear off.

In the case of the Queimada, around this same time, after the discotec performances, people began to reprint their versions of this “spell” without the author’s name, eventually leading to the belief that it was of “ancient” origins. This is not an uncommon occurrence in revivalist circles.

As per the Spanish article, again, the origins of the drink itself are unknown. What we do know:

1) In 1972, Professor of prehistory of the University of Santiago, Carlos Alonso del Real stated this idea of "ancient Celtic tradition" would be impossible, as the distillation of brandy in Galicia cannot be dated prior to the introduction of the still (of Arabic origin) coinciding to the time of the construction of the Cathedral.

2) According to Alonso del Real, sugar cane, one of its key ingredients, was also introduced by the Arabs into the Iberian Peninsula (the spread of beet equivalent is much later, corresponding to the Napoleonic wars).

3)The anthropologist Xosé Manuel González Reboredo says brandy (without being set alight) was habitual in the traditional rural Galicia, where it took reputation as a medicine against the cold,
(Well, I know this is true. My mom makes a “hot toddy” with brandy for colds!) and in the 1950’s resident began drinking it at holidays or after meals.

4) The custom took hold and spread so quickly that in the year 1955 the potter of Mondoñedo, Tito Freire, created the terracotta receptacle, in the form of the bowl with paws that you see today.

So there you have it! From everything that I have been able to find, this custom's wild dramatic spell is at the most, 50 years old.

There is no doubt the Queimada has become a tradition and a fun one!
And it appears by all accounts to be a tradition which is to be shared with friends and family, and in the spirit of the Camino, with guests.

To lament the commercial nature of the Camino is normal. I've lamented it myself more than once. However, the fact is pilgrimage is now and always has been commercial as well as spiritual. The Cathedrals of the world could never have been built if it had not been for pilgrims coming with their money to give to local merchants and priests. Villages would not have been built. The great Cathedral cities would not have succeeded. Fairs, events, and commerce were all built around pilgrimage. And pilgrimage meant you needed to attract pilgrims in one way or another. The remains of some villages have come back to life in my lifetime because of the popularity of the Camino.

Oh, I do understand how the pilgrims and walkers can be looked at as “locusts” by some. I get frustrated myself when I see California license plates in my beautiful Oregon, and when I lament the “good old days” when I could drive for miles without seeing another car. But the fact is, those people bring in money to the Oregon economy along with the disadvantages of raising rents and traffic problems.

There is an old (notice I say "old" not "ancient") divining rite I am personally acquainted with where liquor is burned during ritual and the burning causes a bright blue flame which dances and “speaks” to the group. I suspect the Queimada is related to this rite, although I have no proof. However, it’s so similar, I’d be surprised if they don’t have the same roots. It is done at initiations, elevations, and after the long winter to burn the remaining vestiges of the death and disease that accompanies the cold season and to welcome the strengthening sun.

The name specific liquor used is kept sacred amongst the priesthood of these people, and the affect is meant to dramatize and enforce the meaning of the rite itself. Good ritual is always dramatic!

At any rate, nothing I have discovered would prove the Queimada concoction to be older than the 11th or 12th Century, and absolutely nothing suggests the words to the ritual itself are older than the 1970’s.

I feel it should be enjoyed as it was meant to be enjoyed… as a fun and dramatic ending to a wonderful night of friendship, laughter, and sharing.

And I plan to book one for my group!

And for the record, I am making absolutely no money on the tour I am leading.
Zero.
Zip.
My own costs are just barely covered.
And if you count the hundreds of hours I have spent in the planning, the making of reservations, and the corresponding with the future pilgrims, I’m very deeply in the red.

I am taking a group of people who have a deep desire to walk the Camino, but who aren’t ready, for whatever their personal reasons may be, to travel to Spain alone. I am taking them out of my love for the Camino, my appreciation for their need, and my own desire to walk.

Let's all do our best not to judge each other, in the spirit of the Camino.

How's that, Carli? :lol:

 

[dutchpilgrim]

I will do my best not to judge you if you do your best not to judge me, in the spirit of the Camino.

Hi Annie,
Why the proviso?
Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo

 

[Anniesantiago]

:::laughing:::

Ok Carli!
Good point.

I changed it.

I will do my very best ::hand on her heart::: not to judge anyone regarding their Camino or their Queimada or any other way they choose to live this surprise-filled, wonderous and blessed life! :lol:

 

[Abbeydore]

I'm Judging you Annie,
I think you are a wonderful person, anyone who can think of taking their cat too must be amazing :lol: :

Oh yes, I think you have done wonders to this 'Queimada posting' too
(putting the worms back in the can),
thank you for that too. Yes I enjoy your blog too.
Even if it leaves me recently a bit hungry or is that full:

Roll-on-April 1st.......
Happy Xmas & Camino 2012
David
ps. hope you don't mind me stealing your pics.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

By the way, the flaming queimada will burn little holes in nylon jackets, pants, shirts, and sleeping bags! Sit well back when the concoction is ladled; it splashes fire.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

In 2008- so more than three years ago now- I stayed in a lovely albergue in Sarria, the Don Alvaro, where the welcome was very warm. There were sun loungers for us to relax in on a sun deck, and a pond in a very relaxing garden, and a huge bathroom to shower in all by yourself! The wonderful hospitalero there prepared a Queimada for the adult guests that night.

There was also a large group of German young people staying, who were glued to the TV for the victory they expected to see in the soccer final, Spain vs Germany. But the car horns locally soon told the story that Spain were in fact the victors!
Margaret

 

[Anniesantiago]

Awww thanks David.
I don't mind you stealing my photos at all!
I loved that kitty in the raincoat!

And Margaret, I stayed in Don Alvaro on my first Camino!
It was a wonderful experience with that nice outdoor fireplace.
We had no Queimada, but he did offer us a drink.
We and one interesting couple shared the night there.
The man playing his flute, and the firelight.. .it was a wonderful memory!

 

[Ribeirasacra]

Sometimes a Queimada has no atmosphere! Why did they not turn the lights off?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mKCIgQYs10[/youtube]
If you are lucky enough to be in Portomarin on Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday) you will see the fiesta del aguardiente. Every booth will have a Queimada at some point during the calibrations.