This year there was no music, entertainment activities or the festive atmosphere of other editions and there were many people who missed the glass of hot chocolate to accompany it and savor it on the street, accompanied by family and friends. There was also no possibility of choosing the filling: pastry cream or chocolate. Only the first was offered.
But the desire to try the giant roscón de Reyes that for a decade has been made in La Orotava on January 4, remained intact. Perhaps because in 2021 this event was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yesterday the portions were quickly sold out. A total of 1,192 in just three and a half hours.
Hundreds of people flowed down Avenida Emilio Luque (in front of the La Milagrosa school) to get a piece of the long-awaited sweet, made by the Manobuena patisserie, which has been in charge of preparing the pastry cream for ten years, and for the first time, by the Jovita bakery, responsible for the dough, brioche type.
This year its size was smaller. About 143 linear meters against the 310 that it reached in 2019, the year in which it weighed about 700 kilograms – one of the largest of its characteristics – and about 4,000 portions were sold. It was the last time that there were no restrictions of any kind to taste the expected sweet.
However, this time it was much more laborious because it had to be cut into equal portions and distributed in boxes to take home that previously had to be assembled, each of which had a 12-centimeter portion and 55 of them a gift donated by businesses Township. Only eight people from the bakery and the Red Cross volunteers dedicated themselves exclusively to this task on Monday, said Carmen Sosa, in charge of La Manobuena. A sanitary security measure to avoid further manipulation and to remain exposed to the open air longer but that did not prevent it from being just as rich.
This year the City Council encouraged to advance the time to avoid crowds. The sale opened at 2:00 p.m. and fifteen minutes earlier there were already people queuing to get a piece of roscón. There were those who brought more than one box and even went prepared with a bag to take several.
The queue was fluid until after five thirty which had to be closed because stocks ran out earlier than expected. The organizers of the event had set a limit of 9:00 p.m.
Solidarity purpose
This initiative that serves as a prelude to the arrival of their Majesties from the East has a solidarity purpose and that is why each portion had the symbolic value of one euro. The proceeds will go entirely to the Red Cross to help those who are experiencing the worst.
The regional president and the technical director of the Valley, Heliodoro González and Dácil León, respectively, were there from the first hour. “The situation has improved but in these times there is still a lot of work to do. We are always looking to raise funds for the neediest people and especially on these dates so marked that it seems that the need is greater, “said the first.
To this are added those affected by the eruption of the La Palma volcano with whom the charity has been present from the first moment. “It is one more addition to the daily work, to which the pandemic has also been added two years ago”, declared León. “Many funds go to La Palma but there are still families in the Valley who continue to have many problems and we have to distribute it,” he added.
The truth is that despite the pandemic and being enjoyed at home, the giant roscón continues to be a success and a must in the North of Tenerife as a prelude to the arrival of Their Majesties the Kings of the East.
