The City Council of San Juan de la Rambla rescues the traditional representation Soaking the pussies. It is about remembering a tradition already lost, which consisted of The farmers of the municipality approached the puddles of the La Rambla neighborhood carrying the sacks in which they carried the harvest of this legume and deposited them in the sea. A process with which they obtained their characteristic salty flavor. An activity that its protagonists carried out during this period of the year.
The recovery of this representation is led by Ramblero artisans María Dolores Santana and Marcelino Reyeswho, having become authentic prescribers of local history, remember that “decades ago, carrying out this action was very common coinciding with the celebrations of the La Rambla neighborhood”, in the first days of the month of October.
The artisans María Dolores Santana and Marcelino Reyes are the architects of this initiative
They say that the custom was that dozens of farmers from all parts of San Juan de la Rambla took advantage of the fact that “they came walking to the festivals in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary to soak, in the puddles there, the sacks filled with pussies. There they remained submerged for several days, until they were suitable for consumption.».
In this representation, and from early in the afternoon, this couple of ramblero artisans, accompanied by neighbors, staged how this custom was carried out in great detail. A staging that Santana and Reyes rescued years ago and that only the pandemic paralyzed, until last year.
Nowadays, farmers no longer bring their harvest of chochos down to soak them in puddles of salt water.. It is a laborious job, because you have to put them in bags, tie them, shoe them with stones and be careful so that the tide does not carry them away, the artisans explain. However, the cultivation of chochos does continue in the town, although to a lesser extent than in the past, since they still use it for their own consumption and to fertilize and oxygenate the land in the crop rotation processes.
smoke party
It should be remembered that the representation Soaking the pussies fulfills, as usual, its work as a prelude to the Smoke Festival, a tradition recovered in 2011 in which dozens of neighbors, carrying hatchets and wicks, descend the Risco de Las Pencas at dusk, on the slope of the Barranco Ruiz, until you reach the La Rambla neighborhood, where the local residents wait to start the festivities. In fact, the neighborhood celebrations took their name from the cloud of smoke generated by the wicks when they were extinguished upon reaching the town square.
Given the latter, and to facilitate participation, the San Juan de la Rambla City Council makes available to attendees the free bus service to the departure point of the Smoke Festival. The pick-up of travelers will take place in the Barranco Ruiz park, in the Plazotela del Casco and in San José. The buses, once the party is over, will make the return journey to the point where they were picked up, thus avoiding participants using the car and parking problems on La Rambla. To use this service, prior registration is required at the Culture Office (922360003) or the San Juan Office (922350240).
