Recently, while driving the back roads through the Gredos mountain range about two hours west of Madrid, I came upon a small village plaza packed with people and the inviting smell of campfire and something cooking that intrigued me. What I found was the annual “moragá” (chestnut roasting festival) which was being celebrated in a small rural village called El Arenal. When I asked what the festival was called two people actually had a 10 minute conversation about which towns call it “moragá” and which “calbotá”. The festival is also called the “calbotada”,” calbotá” and “calbote” depending on the town. This harvest tradition is widely celebrated in the north-western provinces of Zamora, Salamanca, Ávila and Cáceres (and other areas of Spain including the Canary Islands and the Basque Country) where towns are in full chestnut-harvesting mode during October and November.
It seemed as if all 1,046 residents of El Arenal were in the square for the camaraderie and free roasted chestnuts when I arrived. Freshly-harvested chestnuts were loaded into barrels that were suspended over open fire pits. The barrels were turned with a handle to prevent the chestnuts from burning. After about 30 minutes they were poured into huge metal containers and volunteers were serving cups full of steaming hot chestnuts. By the end of the night I think I had eaten 3-4 cups. After all the chestnuts had been roasted people stayed around warming themselves by the fire pits while sipping drinks on this chilly late-fall evening.
It seemed as if all 1,046 residents of El Arenal were in the square for the camaraderie and free roasted chestnuts when I arrived. Freshly-harvested chestnuts were loaded into barrels that were suspended over open fire pits. The barrels were turned with a handle to prevent the chestnuts from burning. After about 30 minutes they were poured into huge metal containers and volunteers were serving cups full of steaming hot chestnuts. By the end of the night I think I had eaten 3-4 cups. After all the chestnuts had been roasted people stayed around warming themselves by the fire pits while sipping drinks on this chilly late-fall evening.