Mercy, mercy me, it's La Merce!

Today has been another public holiday in Barcelona. The last one was September 11th, which is sort of "Catalonia Day" and is called the Diada. Today, September 24th, is a holiday in the city of Barcelona, not in all of Catalonia nor anywhere else in Spain. It's called "La Mercè" which means The Mercy and which refers to Our Lady of Mercy. It's Barcelona's "Fiesta Mayor" or "Main Festival."
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Every city, town and village in Spain has a "fiesta mayor" and many were originally based on saints and such. In big cities, in addition to the official ones which are public holidays, every neighborhood has it's own little "fiesta mayor" which, while not official holidays, involve such things as parades, street parties, communal meals, concerts, carnivals for children, etc. I suppose one of the reasons for these little fiestas is that many big city neighborhoods were once separate towns. Anyway, just about every week in Barcelona there is a neighborhood "fiesta mayor" somewhere. But La Merce is the whopper of 'em all.
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Nearly every corner of the city has had something going on this weekend, including parades, firework displays, food tents, arts and crafts booths, outdoor concerts, etc. I just came in from the final parade of day, the Parade of the Giants. The giants, known as "gigantes y cabezudos" in Spanish, are made of paper mache and are worn like a costume by marhers. Cartoonish and imposing at the same time, they are representative of Kings, Queens, Pirates, Fishmongers, Laborers, Dragons and more. There was one of a woman with a breast exposed who was holding a platter with a stingray on it. I couldn't quite figure that one out. There was also a pair of giants dressed like a priest and a showgirl that seemed to resemble Prime Minister Zapatero and his wife. Hmmmm.

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One of my favorite parts of the close of the festivities is the ability to walk in the middle of Via Laietana at dusk with hundreds of other people. This street, normally full of vehicular traffic, is converted into a pedestrian walkway after the parade. Walking in the middle of it allows for a different perspective of the architecture.
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On my way home tonight I also walked through the street carnival that has been set up near the Barceloneta Yacht Basin. To be honest I had one thing in mind -- to buy fresh, hot, sugar-coated churros! My objective was easily reached, so now I will say goodbye and enjoy the treat. (OK, OK... I admit I ate a few before I got home. However, more await!)
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Chao amig@s,
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Carloz

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P.S. I was inspired this weekend to translate/adapt the articles about La Merce that appear in the Spanish and Catalan versions of Wikipedia for the English version, since it had contained nothing about the holiday previously. If you want to read about its history, click the following link: La Merce on Wiki.

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P.S. The photo above is from Larry&Flo's postings on Flickr. For more great photos of the event visit their pages.

¡Churros!

I weighed myself today and noticed that I'd lost two kilos since my last visit to the scale. Hmmm, I thought, what better way to celebrate than to go out and buy some crunchy, fattening churros! (Or in Catalan, xurros.) Sometimes I think the churro may be one of the main reasons I moved to Spain.

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I once heard churros described as Spain's answer to the doughnut. Nothing could be more untrue. From what I have been able to determine, the upstart doughnut was invented in 19th century America. Well, Spain has been around a bit longer than that and since Spanish settlers introduced churros to the new world, I think it's easy to see which fritter came first.

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The legend here is that centuries ago Spanish shepherds, who did not have ovens because of their nomadic ways, used open fires to fry the batter they made from wheat. Eventually creativity led to a sugar coated fried bread treat they called churros, because the shape resembled the horns of the churro-sheep they herded.

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Nowadays the typical Spanish churro is a slightly curved, star-shaped cylinder of dough that is fried until crunchy. They are served either with sugar sprinkled on top or covered with thick dark chocolate. I prefer the lightly sugar coated variety but many Spaniards are mad about the chocolate covered ones. It is also popular to dunk plain ones into a cup of hot chocolate so thick that it seems more like a melted chocolate bar than a drink.

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Churros can be purchased everywhere in Spain, from cafes at breakfast time to expensive restaurants that serve their own "nuevo" versions for dessert after dinner. They're even sold pre-cooked and frozen in supermarkets! There are also variations on the theme: churros rellenos ("stuffed churros" -- filled with chocolate or a cream of some sort), tejeringos (wheels about 10 cm in diameter that are sometimes served on a stick), porras (like churros, but thicker), etc., etc. etc.

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To me, however, there is nothing like the churros that come from one of the small street vendors, called churrerías, that sell freshly cooked ones. It's so nice to watch a churrero/a (churro-maker) in his/her crisp white apron fry up a batch right before your eyes, weigh out a portion for you, shake the hot little pastries into a cone shaped paper container, sprinkle a little sugar on top and then hand them over for a snack right there on the spot, while walking, while sitting on a bench or to take home.

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Although they seem in demand at just about any time of day or night, perhaps consumption peaks in the morning, either because the consumer has just gotten up and is ready to face a new day or is just going in after a long night's fiesta. I've savored them in both situations, as well as when a churro urge simply strikes, like it did this afternoon.

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If you are not in Spain or Latin America and want to try churros, here is a simple recipe:

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Ingredients

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1 cup of flour

1 cup of water

1 teaspoon of oil

1 teaspoon of olive oil

a dash of salt

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Directions

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Heat water, salt and olive oil to a boil. Add flour. Stir until it forms a batter. Let it cool and then place the batter on a flat surface. Shape the dough into cylinders. Drop them in hot oil and fry until crispy and golden.

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Serving suggestions:

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If you want your churros Spanish style, either sprinkle them with sugar, coat them in melted chocolate or serve them plain with a cup of thick hot chocolate to dunk in. To enjoy them the way Chileans do, cover them with powdered sugar. For Mexican style churros, dust them with cinnamon.

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I hope you get to enjoy some one day.

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Disfrutadlos amig@s,

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Carloz