Emilio Luque Avenue, in La Orotava, right in front of the La Milagrosa school, was the setting where the largest roscón in the city was prepared this Thursday. Canary Islands. And there was also formed a cola directly proportional to the dimensions of this Christmas candy. After 5:00 p.m., hundreds of people waited for a portion in a line that extended along La Milagrosa Street and Sor Soledad Cobián Avenue. It is one of the “most delicious” events, as the City Council has described it, of these dates in the Town.
This Thursday was the eleventh edition of an initiative that is being surpassed year after year. The objective on this occasion was to reach half a kilometer of roscón, while in previous events the maximum was 310 meters in 2010. At least at the beginning, the forecast was that the event would last until 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m.: 00 hours, or until stocks run out.
«It has become a reference for Christmas in the North of Tenerife, and on the Island, since it can be said that it is the largest roscón de Reyes in the Canary Islands and, possibly, the largest in Spain,” they indicated from the Orotavense Consistory. «I have been coming for a few years now. “I live in Puerto de la Cruz and I take the opportunity to go up during the day of the roscón to do some shopping here in La Orotava and I try it,” said Teresa. Gonzalez. «It is true that I never remember as much queue as today. Honestly, with so many people ahead it’s not worth waiting, although, since I’m here, there’s no harm in waiting a little; “It seems that the queue is moving quickly,” he said.
“The Manobuena Pastry Shop is for another year, and there are now eleven of them, responsible for making about 1,000 kilos of the filling cream,” the City Council had detailed. The dough, for the second year, was made at the Jovita Bakery, which used, among other ingredients, about 300 kilos of flour, a thousand eggs, more than 50 kilos of orange, various fruit, margarine, butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon.
And along with all those components, and as they say when it comes to culinary preparations, a lot of love. At least the first opinions were positive. “It’s good”, pointed out Alberto Rodriguez, a Santa Cruz who had to travel to the North this Thursday and took the opportunity to stop in La Orotava. “Taking into account that it is free… It is normal for so many people to gather,” he said when asked about the size of the queue.
Specifically, the roscón was prepared under tents set up for the occasion and, unlike the usual circular shape of this type of sweet, it was made in a straight line, arranged on tables. There it was cut and delivered to those who went to Emilio Luque Avenue.
rectilinear shape
Precisely the rectilinear shape was what they noticed Moisés and Jesús Antonio, two friends who met up this Thursday afternoon to go to some stores and who took the opportunity to eat a portion of roscón. “It’s the first time I’ve come and I didn’t expect it to be straight, because at least I, and I suppose everyone, is used to the traditional round roscón that we buy at home,” he said.
The initiative is organized by the Local Economic Development area of the La Orotava City Council and aims, “in addition to offering another attraction to residents and visitors, to boost commercial activity,” the City Council stated. A stage in the middle of the street to animate the tasting with music completed the event. Another of the peculiarities of the initiative is that in the portions you could find “surprises and gifts donated by businesses in La Orotava.” Participants who found any of these gifts had to go to the indicated store to pick it up.
There were also those who admitted, jokingly, that they had gone with the idea of repeating, but that it was not possible. «I thought it would be possible to repeat it, but anyone waits with the queue being so long. Is awesome”, Andrea was surprised, who joined the event with her two young children. “I had come years ago and I’m pretty sure there weren’t that many people,” she recalled.
The local institution also sent a “special thank you” to the group of Red Cross volunteers who were collaborating during the organization of this event, as well as to the companies Manobuena and Panadería Jovita. Now, and after once again surpassing themselves for another year, the organizers are faced with the challenge of at least maintaining the level or continuing to grow in 2025 to remain leaders.
