Magosto : The Galician Block Party

November. Here come the rain and the cold in the streets of Santiago…But, there is a reason to be happy : « Magosto ! Magosto … » we can hear everywhere in the city, and in all Galicia. All the villages, neighbourhoods, centres have their own Magosto. But, the question is : Where did this traditional « fiesta de castañas » come from ?

Like for all traditions, there are a lot of theory about the roots…and they are all mixed to make the Magosto of nowadays.

Theory 1:  The economical reason

Let’s make a travel in History. As you may know, chestnuts are eaten since the palaeolithic. Then, with the expansion of its culture of  by the Romans, the fruit became the base of the diet. It was eaten like fresh, as a dry fruit, or as a flavour. Moreover, in this period, potatoes were a rare product, so that’s why chestnuts where used to be the heavy base of diet.

Theory 2 : The magic side

The fire has an important place in the celebration. Galicia is well-known to be a earth of  witches ("meigas" in galician) who used the fire and his effect for such kind of medicine. Later, this fire was used by the Christianity, for the purifying effect.

Moreover, the name « Magosto » could come from the Latin word «magus », link with a magic side…

Theory 3  :  Saint Martin day

In the region of Ourense, the city where the Magosto is really popular, there is special date for the celebration : November the 11th,  Saint Martin de tours’  day, one the most popular saint of  the Christianity.

But,  berore anything, Magosto is, for the poeple of the neighberhood, an ocasion for meet each other, and spend a moment all together. For Farruco, the director of the Don Bosco free time center , « Magosto is a day where the poeple of our neighberhood join each others at the cross of the San Pedro's street.. There, a big fire is made and the chestnuts are cooked on a special gill ». All the block is organized and ready to enjoy this « festa tradicionai ». Firemans take care of the fire, local artists play traditional galician music (if you don’t like bagpipes…), chesnuts come from the montain just near by…People say also that to appreciate more the taste of the chestnuts, it’s better to eat them with a cup of wine, a local wine, of course ! 

Sources : directoalpaladar.com
                as festas traditionais galegas (federation de centro xuvenis don bosco de galicia)
                wikipedia.es

Pictures : Nora