I’m Late, I’m Late!
By Keiti | November 6, 2008
When I interviewed James Salter I said I’d do a post on Galicia. I’ve been knee-deep in research and writing papers and reading that I haven’t had time to post anything. I don’t have time right now to do a full-post, but if you want to find out more on Galicia, you can do so here.
I was able to speak with (via email) Xabier Cid, a Visiting Lecturer at University of Stirling, who teaches Galician Studies and he was kind enough to answer some questions for me (albeit weeks ago). So, without further ado, here’s Xabier.
Are there any drinks specific to Galicia?
Galicia has a good, old tradition in wine. Most of the Galician wines are red, but probably the best one, and the most exported to UK and to US, is a kind of white wine called albariño. We have a national beer as well (Estrella Galicia) and for liquors probably the most classical is the “licor café”, a strong alcoholic beverage done by distillation of the grapes’ skin, aromatized with coffee grains for several months. The licor café is indispensable in every Galician popular party. Concerning the coffee/tea border, we are in the coffee side. 
Are there any national dishes?
The best thing about national dishes is finding that your neighbour country use to cook your national dish. In this case, for instance, we have some haggis as well, called chanfaina, where we change the oat for rice and the lamb mince for pork mince… Probably the most know Galician dish is the “empanada”, a kind of big onion pizza covered by dough, and filled with beef, chicken, cockles, mussels, sardines (or whatever you want, but cheese). In meat, the most famous is the “lacón con grelos”, a winter plat composed by cooked ham (actually, only the forward legs), with turnip leaves; yes, we eat the leaves and throw the turnip to feed the pigs. Another very popular food is the “polbo á feira“, an octopus Galician style. Galician people use to eat lots of fish and seafood (the highest rate in Europe), of a wide span of different fishes in many styles. And you can buy typical Galician peppers at Tesco.
What is the top tourist spot to visit?
The top tourist spot is Santiago de Compostela, a medieval city where the Saint James Way ends: people were pilgrimaging to Santiago from Poland, Germany, France, Italy or United Kingdom by thousands, since XI century until present. All this cultural transmission created a city like an architecture jewel, full of narrow streets and glorious buildings. Santiago is also an university city, and the cultural capital of Galicia, plenty of theatres, bookshops, libraries, pop gigs and other cultural events. The best month to visit Santiago is July, where the city is packed by tourists and visitors coming to pay a visit to the alleged remains of Saint James, but mainly to drink and to eat seafood, empanada and to go out by night.
If you had to pick one place to visit, where would it be?
I never went to the Cíes Islands, but The Guardian said that these islands have the best beach in the world. My friends who went there use to say the same.
What would you say is the best part about Galicia?
Galicia is not the sunny place that Scottish people await. Actually it rains more in Galicia than in Scotland, but summer months are clearly warmer than here. Then probably the best part about Galicia is the people. They are open and warming, particularly if you can speak some words in Galician.
Topics: Interview |