Of calcots and castellers

In the tradition of saving the best for last, today we attended the 7th Annual Calcotada, hosted by the Castellers of Vilafranca. We owe this honor to our new friends in Barcelona: Lluis, himself a Casteller since 1987, and fellow freelancer Jenn B., who is stylish enough to also spell her name with two n's. It was far and away one of the most memorable experiences we've had over the past couple of months.

What, pray tell, is a Calcotada?
Well, how nice of you to ask! It is an event where one eats many, many, many calcots (cal-chot--rhymes with snot)!

Bless you! What's a calcot? They look rather nasty!
According to this Web site:
Calcot, a word derived from calco, which means "stocking" in Catalan, is an apt name for these fat, long-legged onions, a specialty of this region for over half a millennium. (The second "c" in the word should have an accent mark, indicating that it is pronounced like an "s.") As legend has it, they were discovered in the 14th Century by a farmer named Xat Benaigues, who one summer, inadvertently left some spring onions in a dark, cool place, wrapped in damp burlap. He replanted them in the fall, banked deeply in a mound of soil, and by the start of winter, they had swelled into something never seen before: the calcot. They are milder than spring onions, and fatter. Calcots are typically grilled over a fire and dipped in nutty tomato sauce, called romescu. They are the chief attraction in so-called calcotada festivals, which are held in towns throughout Catalonia from late November through March.

They do look nasty, but rest assured, they taste heavenly. You must peel back the charred outer layer to reach the soft, melty center. That is dipped into the sauce, then down the hatch, like this:

They're especially good when you're sitting next to an angelic, French-speaking child named Elise, as our friend Marc is in this photograph. Oh, and note the grown-up bib. Very important to wear the bib.

So what's the deal with these Castellers?
Well, that's where things get really interesting! Castellers build human towers that can be as many as four or five stories high. Every August groups gather in Vilafranca (a 40 minute train ride from Barcelona) to compete. Other towns also host competitions and events. The Castellers of Vilafranca, which our friend Luis belongs to, is among one of the best in the world! This photograph from the group's Web site explains better than I can.

There are many more excellent photographs to be seen here.

So this Lluis, is he in the tower?
He most certainly is! He is the gentleman wearing a red bandana, green shirt, white pants, and black belt, which conveniently provides some back support. We also met a man at the Casteller's club house/practice space who proudly pointed to his daughter, who was near the top of the tower! We appreciate that this is not just a guy thing. At the top of the tower is usually a young child. If you had a hard time spotting Lluis above, he's the fellow on the left below. Jenn B. is standing between Marc and Alan. Jenn and Lluis actually met during a Casteller event in Barcelona. Very romantic.

Romance? More like a good way to get killed! Don't they have lawyers in Catalonia?
Yes, sometimes the child falls. Sometimes they all fall. But serious injuries are rare and Lluis assures me that without risk there would be no adrenaline and without adrenaline there would be no human tower, because what bored person would ever want to do such a thing! And yes, they have insurance! And no, this would never be allowed in the uptight, litigious U.S.A.

Long, plump onions. Tall, thin human towers. Torre Agbar. Is there some kind of Catalan penis obsession going on here?
We weren't really going to comment on that. But yes, yes there is.

So did you happen to see one of these things in action?
If only! But, after all those onions to say nothing of the sausage, lamb, cava, wine, and cake, nobody seemed to want to build a tower. Go figure. We did, however, see this very nice depiction of the tower near the cathedral.

What's up with the the Q&A format?
So many Calcots, so little creativity.

Jenn S is nice and all, but is Alan ever going to post on this blog again?
That is a very good question! He has been asked many times, but he seems to be very busy doing other less important things like working on his book proposal. However, I have been told that a blog post is imminent so do check back.

--JENN