Despite the fact that fall weather in Galicia can deter most travelers, my cousin really lucked out on her recent two-week visit. She was welcomed with warm weather and sunny days, narrowly missing the rain that is all around in a fall that is finally underway. The only day it did drizzle was the one day we had set aside to experience a quintessential autumn activity here: collecting chestnuts and later roasting them on an open fire. But we braved the scattered raindrops for the sake of Galician fun!
Speaking of Galician fun, her visit coincided with Galicia's best fall festival: San Froilán. Night after night of concerts, rides, and crowds! While the rides were open for three weekends, San Froilán itself began on Saturday and ended on the following Sunday with the traditional Domingo das Mozas.
Friday we went out to eat at a poke bowl restaurant, for the most part avoiding the pre-celebrations. Saturday night we jammed to the good-time Mekanika Rolling Band and then found ourselves at Dakidarria's lively Galician concert (made even better by them posting their lyrics onscreen). We then traipsed through the packed streets until the wee hours. Sunday evening we attended two very different but quality concerts: Xoel López, a Galician singer whose show surprised me for its energy (I had been expecting a boring solo singer, but he had a full band-- all clad in colored suits--including two guys posed like backup singers of yore) and Biznaga, a young punk band that my cousin had just seen in Barcelona before coming to town. After the concerts, we danced a bit around Festicultores Troupe, a roving band that is a mainstay in Galician festivals. I was a bit disappointed though, since they hardly played any fun covers like the used to. Assumedly the songs that night were from their own repertoire.
During the week, the concerts didn't stop, but we didn't meet up as often seeing as, sadly, work goes on. We did catch a little bit of Uxía, a classic Galician folk singer celebrating 40 years on stage. Our grand night out was supposed to be Saturday, so I wasn't planning on heading into town on Friday. But the allure of the orquestas is too strong to resist! I wanted my cousin to experience some good old Galician fun and we couldn't have chosen a better band! Arizona is a non-reggaeton-playing group. Their singers were dressed casually, not the norm of scantily-clad women and suited men. A lot of the songs were in Spanish, so probably not as fun for my cousin. But they also played some international hits like Proud Mary. We had been grooving for 2 hours when we had to call it quits and save ourselves for the following day.
Saturday a group of us went out to eat in the Recatelo neighborhood, a once forgotten area between the Parque de Rosalía (where all the fair rides and attractions are set up) and the Roman Wall, specifically the cathedral where there is a concert stage set up for the festival. Prime real estate! During San Froilán, the typical dish is octopus, but since our guests don't eat seafood, we had a more ¨normal¨ meal. Lunch was slow to appear, even by Spanish standards. The restaurant was evidently overwhelmed by San Froilán reservations. Afterwards, most of the party walked around the fairgrounds while I snuck away to take a nap. In the evening, trying to find something to eat was an uphill battle. Should have known! We ended up grabbing the last racións available at a bar after having scoured for tapas. Shortly after our late dinner, my cousin and I parted ways. She had a big journey ahead!
We were able to squeeze in a goodbye coffee in the main square on Sunday. There we got a glimpse of some traditional dress from different parts of Galicia, in celebration of Domingo das Mozas. And with that, until next time! Or as the most hospitable Galician will say, ata cando queiras. Y'all come back now, ya hear?
