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The word "cucaña" derives from the Italian "cuccagna" and this in turn comes from the Latin "coctus", participle of the verb "coquere", which means to cook. But originally the cucaña referred to the Country of Cucaña, an imaginary country where abundance and food reigned and it was not necessary to work.
A country crossed by rivers of wine, milk, honey, and where the mountains were made of cheese and the trees gave sweet and succulent delicacies such as roast piglets. In this country you didn't work, you just enjoyed yourself.
The reason why this popular celebration, of Italian origin, has spread throughout our country is due to the relationship that Spain and Italy have in history.
It is not the objective of this report to give a history class, but very briefly it can be said that the Kingdom of Naples, starting in 1137, occupied the territories of the former Duchy of Naples and the rest of the Mezzogiorno (the southern part of the Italian peninsula that includes the regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata and peninsular Calabria), and during the first periods of its existence it was united to the island of Sicily.
In 1442 (15th century), Alfonso V, king of Aragon, as adopted son of Queen Juana II of Naples, conquered the kingdom of Naples. From the middle of the 15th century, the Kingdom of Naples was in the power of the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of France (for a brief period), the Hispanic Monarchy and the Habsburgs of Austria.
In 1500, King Louis kingdom, which would be divided between both.
The kingdom remained divided between France and Aragon until 1504, when according to the Treaty of Lyon it was completely ceded to Ferdinand II of Aragon. Southern Italy would remain a possession of the Spanish sovereigns (Spanish Monarchy) for the next 210 years, with the kingdom of Naples becoming a viceroyalty, until the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (1713).
These two centuries of relationship between southern Italy and the Hispanic monarchy became a bridge through which traditions and customs flowed between both countries.
In Italy there was a tradition of building monumental food palaces only to be destroyed in a literal hunger game.
In 1768, the Austrian princess Maria Carolina married Ferdinand IV, the King of Naples. To celebrate, they had a magnificent fake fortress built in front of the Neapolitan royal palace and decorated with delicious food. At a signal from the king, a crowd of Neapolitan commoners crossed a moat full of live fish, slid through the mud and carried away all the food, to the delight of the noble spectators.
The event was a tradition in Naples and other Italian cities. Cucañas were born in the streets of the popular neighborhoods of Naples as a game consisting of building an artificial mountain that simulated the Vesuvius volcano. Nothing topped off a royal wedding or holiday like watching hungry people fight for food. From the crater of this artificial mountain flowed culinary prizes (remember the origin of the word cucaña, from the Latin "coquere") such as cheese, pasta and various delicacies that the neighbors tried to catch.
These Cuccagna were festivals that represented an earthly paradise where no one went hungry. For centuries, European poets and artists described the magical land of Cockaigne, the Cucagna Country or Cuccagna, where commoners were kings and food fell to them from the sky.
Cuccagnas were so popular that they were used to celebrate everything from saints' days to royal birthdays. The nobility often patronized the monuments and local craftsmen and farmers placed the edible decorations.
Later, these artificial mountains were replaced by greased sticks to the ends of which the delicacies to be obtained were tied, namely: in 1716, Bologna had a Roast Pig Festival inspired by Cuccagna. Men with spears chased loose bulls, while commoners climbed the "Cuccagna trees" in the gardens. The trunks were covered in fat, so only the most agile could remove the whole, live birds tied or nailed to the branches.
In 1764, famine in Naples contributed to the disappearance of the Cuccagna festivals. That year, hungry Neapolitans sacked the Cuccagna before the king's signal. Disgruntled authorities decided the events were not worth their time, and over the next few decades they disappeared.
This disappearance was for the best, as the Cuccagnas often turned bloody. Stampeding citizens crushed each other and fought over food. A Neapolitan king, Charles III, established a fund for the victims of the widows of Cuccagna. Even the infamous Marquis de Sade was horrified by the Neapolitan Cuccagna he witnessed in 1776, calling it a display of barbarism and chaos. Princess Maria Carolina reportedly expressed her horror when she saw live animals destroyed at her wedding in Cuccagna.
From Naples this popular game came to Spain in the 16th century, establishing itself in places that had a strong relationship with the kingdom of Naples (Andalusia, Valencia, Mallorca and Catalonia) and from there it expanded to all corners of our geography.
From the port of Seville on the Guadalquivir River, the cuccagnas, now converted into cucañas, reach the New World (America) and the Philippines.
The first time that cucañas were officially organized in Spain was in November 1852 on the occasion of the birth of María Cristina de Orleans y Borbón, the third daughter of the Dukes of Montpensier in the Palace of San Telmo (Seville). Nine months later they are organized again with the difference that they are held for the first time on a boat docked on the Guadalquivir in front of the palace of the dukes.
In short, currently, a cucaña is defined as a trunk 5 to 7 meters long at the end of which a pennant is tied that symbolizes a prize that is currently money.
To win the prize, participants must climb the entire trunk if it is placed vertically or walk on it and cross it if it is placed horizontally and tear off the flag.
But not everything is that simple, to complicate the ascension of the trunk or the crossing on foot, it is greased well to make it very slippery, making climbing or walking very difficult.
Whoever manages to pull off the flag simply "goes to the cashier" and collects the money stipulated in the call for said game.
The photographs in this report in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos correspond to the cucañas celebration on August 16, 2023 on the Ulla River, next to the Roman bridge that connects the population entity of A Ponte, belonging to the parish of Santa María de Iria Flavia, in the municipality of Padrón with the municipality and town of Puentecesures.
These wedges from A Ponte - Puentecesures are of the horizontal type. A ship arrives from the Arosa estuary (the Ulla is navigable from the sea to Puentecesures), which this year and the previous one was the same ship and came from El Grove.
Arrived at its destination, the boat is moored to the bridge and there the trunk is placed crosswise in a horizontal position and tied to the hull, from which the bark, splinters and irregularities will later be removed, followed by a good grease smear and bathed in water. so that the participants slip when walking on it and fall into the river.
The flag is nailed to the end of the cucaña and the participants have to manage to walk on it without falling and tearing it off.
Every time a participant manages to tear off the pennant it is pinned again, up to a total of 3 times, therefore there are three prizes, which this year were stipulated as follows:
When the pennant has been torn off three times, the game is finished until the next one is called, in August of next year.
It is a dangerous game, very dangerous, because more important than having skill, balance, pulling off the flag and winning the most important prize is knowing how to fall, that is, falling without hitting the trunk.
Whoever falls badly and hits the trunk can suffer a lot of damage, a blow to the ribs can break them, a blow to the back can break the spine, leaving the participant paraplegic or quadriplegic, a blow to the head can cause him to lose consciousness. and when he fell into the river he drowned.
The oldest written record so far known of the celebration of this cucañas game in A Ponte – Puentecesures dates from August 19, 1916. A local newspaper that can be downloaded digitally in the newspaper library. The newspaper in question is called La Idea Moderna, a monarchical newspaper, Period 2nd Year XXVII Number 7716 - 1916 August 19, dated Saturday August 19, 1916.
On the first page of this diary, at the bottom right there is a small paragraph that says:
"In Cesures, on the occasion of the San Roque festivities, several boys had to take part in the cucañas. One of them, 14 years old, had the misfortune of falling into the estuary without the people there being able to help him in the danger. that was happening."
Therefore, an accident is being described during these celebrations in which a 14-year-old boy died.
If the date of this record is 1916, it means that at least the cucañas have been held in A Ponte – Puentecesures for at least 107 years (they were interrupted during the Civil War).
Currently, in this game the only veto is age, only adults, whether men or women, can participate. You simply have to go down to the river bank and swim to the boat, get on it, register and wait your turn to cross the cucaña. Curiously, I have never seen women participate.
The bridge and surrounding areas are filled with people to enjoy the show and the truth is that this game has its morbidity because each participant, if he is well-known and well-known in the media, is cheered while crossing, at the same time that the public waits to see the falls that according to Whatever they are, they can be spectacular.
In this year's 2023 call, only three participants hit the trunk when they fell, the second of them receiving a severe blow that fortunately did not end in injury.
As on more than one occasion I have mentioned that my love for photography dates back to long ago and until 2003 I was not able to buy my first digital one. Unfortunately, at my job I have never been able to have vacations in the month of August, so year after year I missed the cucañas, with the exception of last year, this year and future ones in which the management of the company has decided to close this year. month.
Thus, last year, 2022, I saw the cucañas, I photographed them and began to inquire about them on the Internet, to see what I could find, like this article in El correo gallego, dated August 11, 2011, in which several things are said interesting.
First of all, it is indicated that the A Ponte festival commission has been trying for some time to get the traditional cucañas declared of cultural and tourist interest (this translates into more money for the municipality). And, secondly, we talk about the press clipping of the 1916 accident.
And so, since last year, I had been trying to locate the aforementioned press clipping, and I was unable to do so because the name of the newspaper in question was not mentioned.
This year 2023, after photographing the event again, it occurred to me to show the more than 400 photographs I took of the owner of a restaurant in Cesures where I usually go to eat on my vacation. I then found out that his son Víctor participated in the cucañas and that he was the winner of the second prize after which I met him.
And as in the towns, unlike the big cities, everyone knows each other, so talking and talking I found out that Víctor knows the president of the A Ponte festival commission, Julián Lorenzo, mentioned in the previous article in El Correo Gallego .
I offered Víctor my more than 400 photographs from this year, and the more than 200 from last year so that he could show them to Julián.
Days later, in the same restaurant, they introduce me to Julián, who saw all the photographs and, according to what he says, he loved them, so much so that they have proposed that I photograph them again next year and swell the local archive. And so I will do it, because for me this is not a job, it is entertainment, it is leisure, I do not make a living taking photographs.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I asked Julian for the 1916 clipping and thanks to him I knew the name of the newspaper and where to find it on the Internet.
After my return to Barcelona, via WhatsApp I informed Julián of the existence of The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia, where you can now see this series of photographs of this traditional game of medieval origin.
Finally, returning to the issue of these popular festivals, the cucañas of A Ponte – Puentecesures, being declared of cultural and tourist interest, the following questions should be asked:
Well, we will say that usually, two main categories of cultural heritage are distinguished:
They simply consider that the requirements are met for this event to be declared BIC.
For an event to be declared an asset of cultural and tourist interest, certain requirements must generally be met and an administrative process must be followed. Although requirements may vary depending on the country and region, here are some general points that may apply:
Certain documentation must be provided to support the application for a declaration of cultural and tourist interest. This may include information about the history and cultural significance of the event, as well as details about its tourism and economic impact. Supporting evidence, such as expert testimony or investigative reports, may also need to be presented.
In many cases, the event must have an established tradition and have taken place for a significant period of time. This shows that the event has lasting cultural and tourist importance and has achieved a certain level of recognition and popularity. We have already seen that the cucañas of A Ponte have been celebrated every August for at least 107 years.
The event must have a positive impact on tourism and attract visitors from other regions or countries. This may include aspects such as promoting the event nationally or internationally, generating employment and economic benefits for the local community, and the ability of the event to attract tourists.
The event must have significant cultural value and reflect the tradition and identity of the community or region in which it takes place. This may include elements such as the preservation of cultural practices, the participation of local communities and ethnic groups, and the promotion of cultural diversity.
The administrative process of BIC declaration is long and very bureaucratic, even taking 10 years. If the A Ponte commission succeeds, it will have obtained the highest administrative distinction that can be granted to a Property, and it is not only the distinction but the Property will receive special treatment and a series of measures will be established to protect and conserve it.
