Families of Feriantes, Gran Canaria, Madrid (Castro / Díaz), interview conducted by @loretosocorro
While the east winds turn to the northwest and those from the north turn to the south, the islands take the opportunity to decorate themselves with party dresses. In the area of Siete Palmas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in addition to festivities there is a "fair".
Drizzles and the aroma of chestnuts is the combination that invites you to stop next to Javier Díaz's booth, on a corner of Siete Palmas.
Javier Díaz-Maroto Campos, Aranjuez (Madrid) - Teror (Gran Canaria)
A young woman hurries over and asks for a cartridge.
"I am Persian, Iranian, and I have been here for three years. My boyfriend bought them last year. It was the first time I tasted them and now I can't stop tasting them every time I pass by. I love! For me, Christmas parties now have to be with roasted chestnuts "
While waiting for her cornet, a lady in a red coat comments on the size of the chestnuts.
"This year the chestnuts have not come out very big but they are tasty. I've already been a couple of times this month. My grandson is six years old and he's crazy about chestnuts. As he passes by here, on foot or in the car, he begins to sing: chestnuts, chestnuts, chestnuts ... "
For Javier Díaz-Maroto, flavor can be summed up in one word: quality.
What was it like roasting chestnuts?
"From a very young age I learned by watching my father. And now the five brothers are dedicated to chestnuts, four boys and a girl. In Madrid he had three stalls, one of them in Puerta del Sol ”.
What kind of people stop to buy chestnuts?
"Of all kinds, of any age. Normally, the one who buys chestnuts comes every day. If you give it quality, it is a loyal clientele. This is from Lugo. I always look for the best quality because the result is noticeable ”.
What is the minimum you need to roast chestnuts?
"Coal and a sack of chestnuts! " - Javier exclaims forcefully and decisively while continuing to stir the chestnuts- "Those of us who roast chestnuts use a nafre, which is all this together: the drum with the brazier full of charcoal, the paella with holes and the tray to keep them warm ”.
How long does the chestnut take to be perfect?
"I calculate it by sight. I do not look at the time but I observe it. I have a trick and that is that I put on a thick glove to touch it without burning myself and when it creaks, it is already done. "
Javier, and you, do you eat chestnuts?
“Right now I just had three or four. As I don't sell them, I eat them all -laugh- I love chestnuts ”.
Rubén is a young customer waiting for a dozen roasted chestnuts.
"I buy them because my wife likes them very much. She is Asturian and whenever she sees chestnuts she goes crazy. As we come from the south and we take the opportunity to buy them every time we are here. I buy this for her, don't think she's going to leave me too much ... "
Javier, what does the chestnut have that makes him like so much to continue with nafre every year?
"You have to have a passion for chestnuts, not for the business. Because I know how to play a lot of sticks to get money, but the chestnut is not profitable. As I have been with this for twenty-five years, well I continue and combine it with the fair. This is temporary and will be lost ... "
Why do you think it will be lost?
"Because we are still very few and because we have to do a lot of expenses and procedures for the little benefit. It is very sacrificial. This is not supported by just anyone. A while ago it was raining and we are in the street getting wet. "
How long is chestnut season?
"Here it goes from October to January XNUMX. In summer we sell ice creams on the southern beaches, the arctic ones, in small glasses. The rest of the year we do fairs on the island and in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. I have a family business with a game booth ”.
Where do they move?
"We have a fixed route, we usually go every month of the year to a different fair. From Siete Palmas to Gáldar, then we stopped for a couple of months and we already started in Maspalomas, Vecindario ... "
What are the most important fairs?
"Each fair has its charm. Of the ones that I do now, the ones in Lanzarote, both Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen are good. And in Gran Canaria those of La Vará del Pescado in Arinaga and that of Pino.
When I was newly married and without children, I would go all over Spain with my wife… at the end of the world we would go. With children we already focus only on Madrid and now only on Gran Canaria. That they have the opportunity to prepare for something else and if later they want the fair, well… what their parents have done. "
What are the advantages of the fairground life?
"The way of life, a bit nomadic, meeting new people, new places. It is something that does not tire you. "
How does the health situation affect the fairgrounds?
"Confinement hurt us. He caught us in the south. We only open four days in the Yumbo, for the carnivals. We closed and we are still waiting for the refund of the money and on top of all the merchandise purchased. Now we can do fairs because we are outdoors, but when we stopped we took it as best we could, with the help of the family. "
How are fairs going now, are there plans for the future?
"We started working again with the Galdar fair and the Moya fair. We have been in Vecindario but the work has dropped a lot. If there were fifteen fairs we have stayed with two or three. In summer we have not done anything. As for the future we do not know, many fairs are still not sure, it depends on how the virus goes. "
Consuelo Castro, Teror.
Consuelo is a woman who speaks slowly and moves quickly. She went to Aranjuez when she married Javier Díaz.
Love of the fair and love of the fair?
"Exactly. Javier used to visit the fair and we have known each other since we were thirteen, through the fair, yes. "
With schools like you and your husband do?
"We get along well because during the week I stay home with the children for school, institutes… that's the first thing. We came from Madrid because my mother was here and I feel sheltered. And, in addition, we closed earlier. In the peninsula he worked until six or seven and then the confinements. He would come home without sleeping to pick up the children and take them to school. "
We see that there are many women at the fair
"At fairs it doesn't matter if you are a girl or a boy. You learn from everything. I did not want to study and my father told me: now you are going to know what it is to work and he made me do the same thing as my brothers, to weld, with a drill, with any tool, to assemble and disassemble. When the children were small, I paid a girl to take care of them and I went alone with my house to work, yes, I always slept at home. They are first. "
Javier Díaz, son, Teror.
The eldest of the Díaz Castro family's children is in the family booth at the Siete Palmas Fair of Attractions, surrounded by colored balloons. Follow the fairground tradition with gusto.
"I have grown up in this and for me it is the best. I have a small group of friends, who also go from fair to fair. Also, in each fair I have been making friends for years and when I return to each town it is very beautiful, because of the reunion. "
How do you see the first fair in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since the break?
"This year people are looking forward to it. A little different because of the mask, the capacity, that you enter and leave in different places, but the rest is fine. When the afora is full there are big queues outside. People participate and they look forward to it. I'm looking forward to it too, in a couple of days I'm going to decorate everything with garlands ... "
Natalio Castro, Teror, chestnut stall inside the Fair.
As soon as he attends to a couple who asks for roasted pineapples, he nimbly fills a cone with chestnuts, while chatting happily with the customer.
Do you consume chestnuts for the taste or for the cold? - We asked the young customer.
"For both. I am another fairground -This is the consumer and friend Arody speaking- And I ran away for the warm chestnuts. That the fair returns is a satisfaction to return to work after almost two quiet years. I do not know how to tell you. I like to see people moving and having fun. We benefit from people having fun. It is leisure and business where the most important thing is that those who come have a good time in here. "
Natalio, do you move to other places with chestnuts?
"Now I am with the chestnut house because it is the time and you have to take advantage of it. This year I only roast chestnuts here, at the Siete Palmas fair, last year I was in Teror at Christmas. "
How do you notice that the chestnuts are already done?
"Because they open by themselves. A cut is made on one side and it opens when they are cooked. A couple of minutes of heat and that's it. "
They continue to use paper packaging as in the past ...
"The cartridges are a treat, because of the chestnuts and because they warm people's hands.
Many people chat with me as I serve them and remember the smells of the parties they grew up with. ”
Are you also a showman Natalio?
"Like the whole family. Here we are family and we wrap ourselves up, Javier is my brother-in-law. In the booth on the left is my son, on the tombola, on the right, are my parents and in the booth, above it, another of my sisters… They know us as the Castros. The fairgrounds, although we are not family, we are family, because we are always together. We do the fairs on the island and come summer see you in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
Let's see if we can do the carnivals this year, it will depend on the covid ... "
From the muffled crunch of chestnuts, in the lonely nafre next to a pedestrian crossing, to the sound of announcers, horns, sirens and current songs in the attractions of the nearby enclosure, everything is to discover families that live by happily distributing where go. Fairground families who feel "Family" when they meet again.
