Festa de Caldera in Montmaneu
On February 11, it was a beautiful spring day here in Catalonia and we went to Montmaneu, a small village about a 20-minute drive from Torre Nova. Every year in February an authentic village festival takes place here: the Festa de Caldera, or the festival of the stew. A series of large stew pans are placed on the village square and they cook stew for the whole village and everyone who likes it, whisch is afterwards eaten together. The ingredients of the stew are lamb, chicken, ham, spinach stalks, rice, noodles, beans, potatoes and water.
The origins of this village festival can be traced back to the times of feudalism in the 14th century. The nobility invited their vassals to a grand dinner once a year, to reward their hard work on the noble's lands. It was at this time that the inhabitants of Montmaneu began to organize the 'Festa de Caldera' for their Count, which has become an authentic ritual over the centuries. There is always something special, such as the Castellers who build their human castles on the village square.
Nowadays it is also a fair with local products, we unexpectedly even came across a Dutch cheese seller there :)
