Top 20 Galician Festivals 🎉

Good weather is here to stay in Galicia. And with that, a celebration is in order! While Spain as a whole is known for partying and celebrations, Galicia in particular has an endless list of festivals. Whether you're fond of food, eager for a blast from the past, or wanting to embrace local culture, Galicia has got a festival for everyone! I've decided to compile the best here. Some I've been to, and some are still on my to-do list. Check 'em out!

Historical:

• Feira Franca, Pontevedra. In September, get transported back to the Middle Ages. The city gets decked out for the day, but I remember being disappointed that not everyone was dressed up. (My experience)
  
• Arde Lucus, Lugo. Kick off summer with a wildly popular clash of Roman and Celtic (Castrexo) cultures. It lasts the whole weekend and has many events such as a Roman circus, reenactments, and interactive ceremonies like Celtic baptisms. (My experience)
  
• Assault on the Castle, Vimianzo. Another Medieval Fest, but specifically around the episode which took place at this castle in 1468. In that year there was an irmandiño rebellion where they sieged the castle. Nowadays they do a reenactment where all can participate. Maybe next year will be the year I finally make it there.
  
• Ribadeo Indiano, Ribadeo. This event celebrates indianos, those Galician emigrants to Latin America lucky enough to return home with a fortune at the beginning of the 20th century. The dress code for this event is white, preferably in early 20th century style. Ribadeo -- and the northern coastal region of A Mariña in general-- has many examples of indiana architecture: ornate mansions from the turn of the century. So it must make for a lovely backdrop. Some day!
• Romaría Vikinga, Catoira. Once again off to the Middle Ages, but with a Viking twist. At this festivity they reenact the arrival of the Vikings to Galicia, who at the time were fought off. Now there are only two towers in ruins on the riverside where merrymakers welcome and party with the vikings, rather than clash with them.
  
• Festa da Istoria, Ribadavia. Around for over 30 years, this might be Galicia's original Medieval Fair. If you're looking to be transported back to the Middle Ages, you really have options in Galicia.

 

Roman fort in Arde Lucus

Gastronomic:

• Albariño Festival, Cambados. People swarm to this small capital of white wine, which keeps the crowds entertained at night with concerts. I've been and would certainly go again.
  
• Ribeiro Wine Festival, Ribadavia. Perhaps Galicia's less famous white wine, Ribeiro is celebrated in late spring. A special touch is the wine tasting in a historical building. (My experience)
  
• Wine Festival, Chantada. Always in late winter/early spring, this mostly-red-with-a-dash-of-white wine festival kicks off the year in enology. The downside on its timing is that often the weather does not cooperate. (My experience)
  
• San Simón Cheese Fest, Vilalba. Haven't been yet, but as one of my favorite types of cheese over here, it's certainly on my list! The day's events include cheese tasting and music. (My experience)
• Seafood Festival, O Grove. Razor clams, cockles, barnacles, or crab. Pick your pleasure at this event which celebrates all things seafood on the shores of the Rías Baixas. Plus, no Galician festival is complete without some concerts at night. I must admit I've never been because not only am I not a huge fan of seafood, but it always coincides with San Froilán in October.  
  
• Flat Onion Fest, Miño. In Galicia, every food is deserving of its own festival. Case in point, the flat onion. Not that I'd necessarily recommend going out of your way to attend. Unless you are crazy for this pungent veggie, that is. But it just goes to show that they'll make a festival out of anything here. For example, the following foods also boast their own festival here in Galicia: bread, sea lamprey, hake, Spanish omelette, pepper, tuna, ham, eel, the list goes on.

Onions, onions everywhere

 

Cultural:

• Cans Film Fest, Cans. If movies are more your thing, head to this tiny, tiny village between Vigo and Portugal. It's a pun on Cannes, because the village name is similar. Audiences gather to watch short films in barns, garages, anywhere! And in the evening there are concerts for your entertainment. I've been twice and would go back in a heartbeat, but there are only so many weekends in a year. ;)
  

 

Film screening over pile of wood in Cans

 

Music

• Resurrection Fest, Viveiro. Masses of metal/rock fans from all over Europe--and maybe even the world!-- flock to pack the town of Viveiro. It's a weekend full of dozens of concerts, always with some internationally-acclaimed headliners. This year will be my first time going, so stay tuned! (My experience)
• International Celtic Music Fest, Ortigueira. I've never been, but have heard many tales of the fun environment found at this festival. They bring in Celtic bands from all over the world for a summer weekend of Celtic fun.
   

 Miscellaneous

• Carrilanas (Soap Box Derby), Esteiro. I'm dying to get to this one. It's a summer soap box derby by day with big-name concerts by night! 
• Rapa das Bestas, Sabucedo and others. Hundreds of wild horses are corralled annually for a haircut and de-worming. After the job is done, a celebration ensues.
• Dorna Boat Fest, Ribeira. This longstanding festival on the coast celebrates their traditional fishing boat (dorna), a key part of life in this town for ages. It has mushroomed from a one-day gathering when it started in the late 1940s to its current form: nearly a week of activities, games, concerts, and fun for groups dressed in matching t-shirts. It even has an Icarus competition where people try to make flying contraptions, as well as a Soap Box Derby.
  
• Water Festival, Vilagarcía de Arousa. In the middle of August, this celebration is all about water to cool you down. I've never had the pleasure of attending, but from what you can see on videos online, looks like a riot! I have heard that it is more geared towards the ¨youth¨ than the middle-aged and older. 
• Corpus Christi, various. Several towns in Galicia celebrate Corpus Christi in a similar way: by designing giant ¨rugs¨ made out of petals in the streets. One year I went and watched them work at night in Redondela. It was cool, but not much of a ¨festival¨ if you are looking for a wild time.
  

 

Preparing the petal murals in Redondela

And I didn't even get into patron saint celebrations, which can be a massive event in Galician cities. Not to mention special days celebrated throughout Galicia, such as Magosto or Midsummer. So if you're planning a trip to Galicia, why not schedule your visit around a fab festival that piques your interest?  You surely won't be disappointed. Galicians know how to have a good time!

Having Fun Teaching English

In my decade in Spain, I have always worked somehow teaching English. When I first came back after study abroad, I worked as an auxiliar de conversación, a language assistant in a high school. Then I had a stint at an academia, where students learn English after school all over Spain. Now I am an autónoma, meaning self-employed (a topic worth a blog post of its own). So I still spend my days with kids and teenagers, and still treasure the fun misunderstandings and cultural differences.

This week I asked a 16-year-old student where he hung out with his friends. Keep in mind, here in Spain 18 is the legal age to both drive and drink alcohol, so it's not like he could just hop in his car and go somewhere. ¨At the bar.¨ What?? I've been here long enough to know that bars are okay for all-ages. In the beginning I remember being shocked seeing little kids at bars, even if they were accompanying their parents. But still, even now, his answer came off as so strange. Imagine my underage student and his pals having a pop at a seedy, dark bar like back home. He met my surprise with his own bafflement. ¨So then where do kids get a Coke in the United States? What do you mean they hang out at people's houses?!¨ Cultural differences still exist, however small they may be.

My youngest ¨student¨ is 4. A while back she used to speak jibberish to me, I believe in an attempt at ¨speaking my language.¨ Her new favorite joke is saying things that are wrong and then cracking up when I call her a silly goose. For example, she points to the number 3 and says ¨Five¨ or the color red and says ¨yellow,¨ and waits grinning for me to catch her mistake. Obviously, at 4 she doesn't know a ton, but after 2 years it seems that she understands me and has a good basic vocabulary of animals, colors, numbers.

On the other end of the spectrum are two teenage sisters who I have worked with for the past four years. They have a great level of English, so we just spend the hour chatting or even gossiping. Sometimes when I leave they trill, ¨Love youu¨ like we're besties. They also argue over which of them knows me better. Daymakers! 

Most days, I just get such a kick out of teaching English over here.

Solos en una Isla Griega: Kimolos Top 3

OK, it's time to wrap this Greece trip recap up, before a whole year has passed since we went. Last but not least, was the island of Kimolos. On the whole, our two-week journey was ordered from more hectic to more relaxed. We started off with big-city Athens with lots to see, then coastal towns/cities that were a little slower-paced but still quite busy, followed by the small island of Milos, and lastly the tiny island of Kimolos. Kimolos makes Milos look big and bustling in comparison. 

Apparently, part of Chorio's castle

The ferry ride between the two islands is barely half an hour. Although a smattering of houses can be found near the port and on other parts of the island, Kimolos really only has one village, Chorio. And it's so charming! All painted white with blue accents. Even the stones on the ground were outlined in white paint. (The island's official website has tons of info in English, FYI)

On quiet island time, our schedule was as follows: mornings at the beach, lunch, nap, stroll around town in the mild evenings, catch a glimpse of the sunset, dinner on our patio, bed, repeat.

 

We strayed from our routine on three occasions: 

1. Hike to Skiadi. A must see in Kimolos. The short hike is worth it to see this giant mushroom rock. And frankly, it was nice to do something other than go to the beach. The trail is well-indicated, and for the hour there we were totally alone amongst a barren backdrop. On the way back, we ran into another couple who asked in Greek, ¨How far away is Skiadi?¨ At least that's what I thought they said, so I answered in English. She seemed satisfied enough with my reply. Anyways, you don't have to be a geologist to appreciate this very unique rock formation, nor do you have to be an expert trekker to get there. 

Skiadi!

2. Movie Night. One of the most serendipitous events on our trip was a little outdoor film screening. We had heard about it from some hitchhikers we picked up and decided to check it out for ourselves. As the sun was going down, the water was just warm enough to go in. Crossing ¨sunset dip¨ off my Greek bucket list. That's certainly something you can't do in Galicia...the water would be just too frigid! From the beach we could see a path of tiki torches. So picturesque! We sat on some boulders furthest from the screen to make a quick exit. More than the movie we were just interested in the set up. It was in English (fine for me) but with Greek subtitles (not so fine for my travel companion). Quite amazing that this tiny island has a cultural society that puts on fun activities. Good on you, Kimolos! 

 

Movie Night with the Kimolistes

3. Fancy Restaurant. From our home base, we could see a building on a hill with a wraparound porch beautifully lit at night. Turns out this is one of Kimolos' fancier restaurants. On our last night we treated ourselves to dinner there, switching things up from our usual spread of simple Greek tapas on our little patio. The ambiance of the place was pleasant, and the pasta was pretty good. This was our big ¨night on the town¨ in Kimolos.

Much about Milos

After Carnival there has been a lull in activities. A Lenten lull, if you will. While we had a weirdly hot taste of spring in early February, it's now back to rain, rain, rain. Cold rain. In the mountains it's cold enough to snow, but not here. And since I've had a lot of time on my hands indoors, I've been reminiscing about sunnier, hotter days. Time to finish up the recap of Greece last summer. Better late than never!

This is going to get long...

Cave in Milos

Entroido on Trial

It's curious. When you look at a map of Traditional Entroidos in Galicia, the vast majority are in the province of Ourense, near the border with Portugal or León. In that region they have Carnivals that are considered Festivals of National Interest, and Galician Interest, too. (Not sure what the parameters are to be declared so interesting.) Then there's the Entroido Ribeirao, which is in the province of Lugo, but right on the border with the province of Ourense, so that makes sense. Next we have the Xenerais de Ulla that I mentioned the other day. They're a conglomeration of essentially the same celebration throughout the center of Galicia. Aside from these two main focal points, there are a handful of traditional Entroidos that are scattered randomly across Galicia, each with their own special character. That is the case for the second Carnival I attended this year.

Val do Franco is a bucolic, green valley in Castro de Rei, Lugo. If I was impressed the other day by the party the residents put on in a parish of less than 600 people, I've really gotta hand it to the folks of Val do Franco. This festival combines the forces of three parishes, and for good reason. Their total tally of inhabitants is not even 250! But they put on quite the show, with a local traditional band of all ages, a DJ, Carnival customs, and a full-fledge orquesta. Wow! I'm sure that all cost them a pretty penny. 

The ¨Prosecution¨ Arrives

We got there at the start of the party, following the tune of a multigenerational band. They had bagpipers, tambourine players, and other percussionists. The most endearing thing was a special recital by the littlest members, who stumbled through their own little Muiñeira dance. So cute! And extra sweet, because the Galician countryside has a population problem. More specifically, an aging population problem. Galicia is home to a lot more elderly than youth, so it was cute to see that in this village of just a few hundred people, there were a dozen residents representing the next generation. 

Two fareleiras protecting Entroido

The Galician folk music was eventually switched out for a DJ spinning Latin beats. Just as things were getting heated up, it was time for the Trial of Entroido. Entroido, also known as a ¨meco,¨ (an effigy, in this case of Carnival personified) was paraded in. Reminded me of my first Entroido 10 years ago! Except back then, it was meant to be a specific person. Escorting the Meco were two fareleiras. These masked bailiffs protect the figure of Entroido on its journey to trial and burning afterwards (if Entroido is found guilty, which of course he always is). They are a character specific to the Val do Franco Carnival. The fareleiras wear white jumpsuits and each have a stick with a fluffy bag of flour attached to hit people. In addition to thwacking people who get too close to the Entroido effigy, I think they also went after people without costumes, which is quite typical in Carnival characters.  Following the Entroido and his fareleira posse was a quartet of the costumed ¨prosecution,¨ pulled in by a tractor.

A few hundred of us gathered around the big stage to witness Entroido's Trial be carried out by two adults and two children. They took turns reading couplets about local happenings over the past year. Someone kicked their husband out of the house, someone found love abroad, someone got pregnant out of wedlock. At first I thought they were just kind of making stuff up, but then someone near us in the crowd muttered, ¨I know who that's about.¨ Therefore, they must have been real current events. Afterwards, a round man very aptly dressed as an English-style judge declared Entroido guilty as charged. Burn him in effigy! So off they carried poor Entroido (again, just a replica of a person) and lit him on fire as the crowd looked on from a safe distance. They even blew him up with fireworks! 

Left: Entroido about to be set on fire
Right of Center: Fareleira in action!

After the fire died down, we turned our attention back to the tent where the DJ had started up again. A while later, they raffled off a bunch of gift baskets. Then it was time for the orquesta to play some lively tunes. Another Entroido in the books!

Bye bye, Entroido!

Countryside Carnival: Os Xenerais da Ulla

Apparently, apart from being on time, among my students I am also known for being a huge fan of Carnival. Guilty! A few weeks ago, when to make conversation I asked one student if she liked Carnival, she replied, ¨Not as much as you.¨ And another was surprised when I told her I still hadn't decided on a costume. So to make up for lost time (as I haven't truly celebrated since pre-COVID times), this year I'm joining in on not one but two Entroido festivities. After all, I have a reputation to uphold!

There are so many traditions and special characters throughout Galicia, and since Entroido/Carnival comes but once a year, I've decided no repeats! Every year requires a new Carnival location or else I'll never get to see them all. And on my quest for witnessing first hand all of Galicia's plethora of Carnival celebrations, this year I landed on Os Xenerais de Ulla, the Generals of Ulla. This colorful figure rides horseback in multiple towns and villages surrounding Galicia's capital Santiago de Compostela. On their website they have a calendar of all the places they will be, as they celebrate in different places all throughout the monthslong Carnival season. (You can also see some better pictures than I was able to take.)

Sunday we went for the ¨evening show¨ in Sergude. And they threw quite the party for a parish of less than 800 people. Apparently the morning session involved following the Xenerais to neighbors' yards and singing. I'm sure it would have been a fun and unique experience, but as three foreigners with no ¨in,¨ we decided to go to the less exclusive evening events. When we arrived, there were already other cars parking, but we saw little action. There was a huge tent set up with a bar and two small stages. One would clearly be for the late-night orquesta-- a Galician staple. (Although the word in English may conjure up images of dozens of string instruments seated around a conductor, in Galicia it's quite different. Here orquesta are showy bands that do cover versions of hits, performing in the smallest of villages.) Then the first band started playing and I realized that their stage was the hitch of a tractor! Que enxebre! We rocked to the traditional Galician tunes as more people started pouring into the tent area, seeking protection from the rain that had also started to pour.

After two hours of musical entertainment, the tent area was now packed with a few hundred people. The generals are coming, the generals are coming! First came the dancing band, wearing an array of costumes and playing mostly percussion. Leading the band was a young couple with elegant clothing who I assume to be the King and Queen of Carnival. Behind the band, about a dozen colorfully-clad ¨Generals¨ strode down the hill on their horses. They remained at the front of the tent, behind some metal barriers. It kind of seemed dangerous to us. Imagine one of the horses got freaked out for whatever reason. Stampede, anyone? Luckily that was not the case. Meanwhile the band paraded into the center of the crowd to play their songs. I know they changed the lyrics of some well-known songs to be fun or social commentary, but unfortunately, with all the hubbub I didn't catch much.

Finally, it was time for the Xenerais to do something. When we had arrived to the ten we noticed (and mistook for real) two life-size horses. I thought it was just for decoration. But as the ¨Atrancos¨ got under way, we realized they were being done while on the fake horses. The ¨Atrancos¨ are the closest thing to a rap battle you can find in Galicia. Traditionally they were invented on the spot, but now they are written down and recited with a very marked rhythm, which got in our heads for the rest of the night. The first to participate in the atrancos were kids, not even teenagers. One recites something to the other, brandishing a sword (obviously, they're generals!). The next replies, and they go back and forth for a minute. Again, it was pretty hard to make out what they were saying, but current events in the village seem to be the topic of choice. We heard a few of these pairs having their little spoken duels before we had to go.  Like Cinderella, we had to be home by midnight. So I'm not sure if there was more to the revelry or not. Perhaps only the children perform from the fake horses and then the adults perform from their real horses. But I don't know. That's why I would allow myself to repeat and go back one year, to be able to join the party all night long. Maybe I'd even sign up to ¨march¨ with the Xenerais' morning ¨army.¨

This afternoon I'll be headed to a different Entroido experience, so stay tuned!