Culture

Calendar: festivals
& constant events

TOLOSA CARNIVAL
Tolosa Carnival is the town's main festival and takes place 40 days before Easter. Among all the carnivals celebrated in the Basque Country, this is the longest and most visited. The show kicks off at noon on Fat Thursday (equivalent to Mardi Gras) with the traditional firing of a rocket or "txupinazo", and finishes the following Tuesday with the Burial of the Sardine, aka "Asteartita". Six days long joy and a great atmosphere flood the town.

Fancy dresses and music are the festivalýs main elements. The streets of Tolosa are flooded with groups of people enjoying the best atmosphere. The main events take place on Fat Thursday, first day of Carnival, on Sunday or "Zaldunita" or on Carnival Tuesday or "Asteartita". However, the most important day is "Zaldunita", when a spectacular parade is held. Different groups compete with each other trying to show the most original fancy dress. It is, no doubt, one of the funniest and more relevant festivals in the Tolosaldea region.

Date: 40 days before Easter

FESTIVAL OF SAN INACIO
The festival of San Ignacio (patron saint of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa) is very meaningful in Azpeitia, as there is a four-day interval that kicks off on July 30. Those days, Azpeitia is home to those visitors who approach to enjoy its atmosphere, bullfighting fair and religious celebrations.

The festival of San Ignacio stands out because of bullfights, the main festive event in those days. On the other hand, Basque pelota enthusiasts have a special opportunity to attend the matches taking place at Izarraitz pelota court.

Besides, religious celebrations are very important too. On July 31, for instance, the music band goes walks across the old part of the town to the parish church. Likewise, on August the 1st, representatives of the Basque government attend the mass at the Basilica of Loyola.

Date: July 30-August 2

ASTE NAGUSIA
Bilbao's Aste Nagusia or Great Week, with its typical Marijaia character and groups, offers in a nine-day period the most complete festive-schedule for adults and children and for every taste alike: concerts, theatre, merry-go-rounds, games for children, sports, circus, bulfighting, gasonomical contests, fireworks, etc.

The most crowded festival in Bilbao, its festive atmosphere floods the whole city, but mainly the Arenal and the old quarter.

Date: August's second fortnight.

FESTIVALS

The Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival has become one of the most important events for professionals and enthusiasts of cinema. Located in the charming city of Donostia-San Sebastián, the festival gets together the most important directors, actors and producers for ten days to enjoy the best films in an incomparable setting.

The festival consists of several sections. The best films of the moment are brought together each year in the Official Section that shows a selection of recent films, not screened before in other festivals. In Zabaltegi, on the other hand, newly released films are presented. In this section, films can have been screened in other festivals and the program is more varied, including thematic retrospectives or retrospectives dedicated to great artists of the seventh art.

Apart of the contest, there's also place for tributes to the work of the most relevant interpreters of our time. That's the aim of the Donostia Award.

In "A Day of Basque Film" different films released in the Basque Country are screened, so that it's possible to enjoy the newest works with Basque label.

Date: September

Festival of theatre
Every year prestigious and innovative theatre groups meet in Vitoria-Gasteiz to fill the Basque capital with the colour and the magic of theatre. Thus, the capital of Alava is covered with colours.

Due to its importance, distinguished actors and directors have visited the festival, since it was first organised.

Although most of the events are related to theatre plays, we can also enjoy other kind of cultural performances such as dance or opera.

Date: September-December

Regional tradition: cuisine/recipes

Even if Basque gastronomy presents a wide offer, there are some dishes enjoying a significant role. Long-tradition recipes made with high-quality locally grown products.

SUKALKI
Ingredients:

1.5 Kg. stewing meat
1.5 Kg. potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1 large red onion
3 carrots
1 leek (white end)
3 sundried "choricero" capsicums (the flesh)
3 spoonfuls of tomato sauce
1 glass of dry white wine
Oil
Salt


Recipe:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the three cloves of garlic over a very high heat. When the garlic begins to turn golden, remove the garlic from the frying pan, and add the cubed, seasoned meat to the pan, and cook until golden. Remove the meat and strain the oil used to fry the meat.

Put the strained oil in a saucepan, and add the onion, leek and carrots, peeled and finely chopped, and cook over a very low heat. Season to taste. Let it cook very slowly, stirring with a wooden spatula from time to time until all the vegetables start becoming golden. Add the tomato sauce and the flesh from the sundried choricero capsicums. Let it cook for 10 minutes approximately.

Add the meat pieces to the saucepan together with the vegetables and pour the dry white wine over. Let it cook slowly, making sure that it does not stick to the bottom. Ads stock or hot water if necessary. When the meat is about to soften, remove from the saucepan. Strain the vegetables and keep the stock.

Add the stock, and the cracked potatoes to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes over a low heat, stirring with the spatula. Add the meat pieces and the stock or hot water until the liquid covers the ingredients. When the potatoes are nearly cooked, turn off the stove. Cover the pan and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes before serving.

Cod Vizcaya Style

Ingredients:
6 cod pieces, deboned
12 "choricero" sundried capsicums
2 onions
2 slices of fried bread
6 red tomatoes
Salt and sugar


Recipe:

Soak the cod the previous day changing the water three times. The capsicums also must be soaked in advance for at least 5 hours. In a saucepan, cook the cod in plenty of water just until it starts to boil. Remove the saucepan from the stove and remove the cod from the saucepan with care.

To prepare the Bizkaia style sauce, fry the cloves of garlic in plenty of oil over a low heat. Then add the onion, cut in slices, until cooked. Add the fried bread to thicken the sauce. Add the flesh of the sundried capsicums, the tomato, peeled and sliced, salt, and a pinch of sugar. Let it simmer and when ready, purée with a food mill.

Finally, put the slices of cod in an earthenware pot, skin side on top, on a base of Bizkaia style sauce and cover with more sauce. Let it simmer for a short time only and serve.

Tuna in tomato sauce

Ingredients:

Tuna: 750 grs.
Tomatoes: 1 kg.
1 clove of garlic
2 onions
Olive oil


Recipe:

In an earthenware pot, fry lightly two onions and a clove of garlic in olive oil . Then add the slices of tuna (two per person). Remove the tuna from the pot and add the peeled diced tomato. Season to taste and add a pinch of sugar. Mix it using a sieve until it becomes a fine sauce. Pour the sauce in the pot and place the tuna slices on top, and bring to simmer.