Super Soup Day in Álora
On Saturday it was Álora's turn in the round of local village money spinners. We have 'Sopas Perotas Day', one of the only celebrations here that does not require a virgin.
Álora's signature dish is our best shot to attract lots of visitors to spend money in the bars and buy all sorts of stuff from the stalls which are set up in the Plaza Baja and right up to our front door.
Sopas Perotas
The highlight of the day was a free plate of this meat free delight if you were prepared to queue up in the hot sun or have a drink in one of the 36 bars which featured it as a free tapa if you bought a drink. Normally you would not find 'sopas' available in bars so by Sopas Perotas Day most Perotes (people from Alora) are gagging for a taste.
'Bring your own spoon' said the posters and two people did. I saw them. Entertainment included some very good flamenco dancing by girls from the Mónica Morales Dancing School, a recital by the town orchestra, a few songs from our local songbird Yoli Fernandez and a Verdiales group. (see 'Man in Alora' 11/5/2013).
The Groupo de Baile de Mónica Morales
Mrs. Sanchez and I set off for a jolly afternoon of eating and drinking but not before paying 20€ for a nice log basket that was outside our bedroom window. The nice man declined my offer of a discount in lieu of rent for the space.
Our first stop was at Bar Mocho which is run by Manolo and his wife. He only makes any money on Sopas Perotas Day and Easter Friday (if it's not raining) as most of the year the Plaza Baja is avoided by the good burghers of Perote town except for weddings, baptisms, first communions, masses and if they want to buy drugs. Manolo was but a blur as he served up beer and tapas from the zinc topped bar outside his premises. I hope he did well as Mrs. Manolo
has just had another baby (and so was excused bar duties for the day.)
Regular readers of this blog may remember the 'Spanish Inquisition Day' at Casarabonela a couple of weeks ago where I bought a piece of sheeps' cheese. I was hoping to find the same purveyor to buy some more. No luck. Loads of cheese but nothing as dramatically pungent as the last lot. Other stalls offered pork products of every description, churros, olive oil, honey, chairs, painted roof tiles, potato crisps made as you watched, sweet wine, log baskets. My favourite was the one that sold all kinds of things dipped in chocolate. I think the stallholders had been eating rather too much of their product to make any money on the day.
We made our way up Calle Atrás to the 'Fuente Arriba' where all my favourite bars are. Passing by the door of Bar Madrugón I called out 'Hay Sopas?' (Have you got any Sopas?) to Manolo (a different one) and Javier. I don't know what they shouted back but those within earshot found it very amusing and I took it as a 'No'.
We went into Bar Alegría instead and had calamares and Cruzcampo beer. Paco Gordo, the proprietor, saluted as he passed us on his way out to do a 'ronda' of his competitors.
The hot afternoon wore on as we slogged from bar to bar to cultural centre to casa de hermandad in search of the perfect sopa.
Come to think of it we only had the one plateful at Mocho's.
I'm not very fond of it anyway and not only because it has no pork in it. It's called 'sopa' but it's not like a soup at all. It is usually made in a big earthenware bowl called a lebrillo which means 'bowl'. and traditionally everybody tucks into the sopa with their spoon, taking care to keep to their own little sector. Here's what's in it:
Pan cateto Stale dense bread
Papas potatoes
espárragos asparagus
tomates tomatoes
cebollas onions
pimiento rojo red pepper
aceite olive oil
agua water
Mmmm.
Here's the alcalde (mayor) José (Epi) Sanchez (no relation) and his retinue tucking into the free sopas. I don't know what he's found in his sopa, but the bloke on the far left is the leader of the .opposition party.
October10th. 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment