In a speech that opened and closed in Galician and in which he made reference to Rosalía and Laxeiro in this 23F, Takahiro Nakamae, advocated for the gastronomy and tourism linked to the Camino as bridges of connection between Spain and Japan.
He said he was proud to participate in this festival ‘with a lot of history and unique in the world’ and defended that the secret of the Cocido de Lalín is ‘in its unequalled Galician raw materials, in its local products’, of which ‘I bear witness to its exquisiteness and excellence’.
Ten new Commanders were appointed: Takahiro Nakamae; Arantza Sarasola; Javier Moll de Miguel; Marian Mouriño; Acisclo Manzano; Paz Pérez Asorey; Francisco Conde; Luis López Diéguez; Teresa Portela and Miguel Ángel Santalices.
The LVII Cocido Fair is held under the challenges of deepening the internationalisation of Cocido, in an edition marked by the international presence led by the Fair's town crier, in addition to the novelty of the twinning with the Festa da Filloa de Lestedo.
“Moitas grazas por convidarme a estar hoxe en Lalín, no Día Grande da Feira. Non se poden imaxinar a ilusión que me fai, como embaixador do Xapón en España, estar hoxe con todos vostedes como pregoeiro da Feira do Cocido. Teño entendido que son o primeiro embaixador estranxeiro en ostentar este honor. É unha altísima consideración, créanme, pero é tamén unha enorme responsabilidade. Moitas grazas, alcalde, pola confianza que depositou en min. Espero estar á altura!”. With these words, pronounced in Galician, the Japanese ambassador in Spain, Takahiro Nakamae, began the proclamation of the LVII Feria del Cocido that he offered in Lalín on this anniversary day of two illustrious people, Rosalía de Castro and Laxeiro, to whom he also made reference in his proclamation, which also ended in Galician language.
He continued: ‘I have to tell you that when the Mayor invited me to be the town crier for the 57th edition of the Feria del Cocido, the first thing I felt was surprise. But this feeling soon turned into an enormous honour and pride because it is a festival with a lot of history and unique in the world’.
The ambassador said ‘I never imagined in my career as a diplomat that I would be giving a proclamation in my beloved Spain, at such a renowned gastronomic festival, the gastronomic festival par excellence of Galicia, a festival of International Tourist Interest, which pays tribute to a dish as celebrated throughout Spain as cocido. For all these reasons, you will understand that I feel immense joy and a real honour to be today a humble herald of the great Galician cocido, the Cocido de Lalín, so revered by all’.
He added: ‘Furthermore, I have heard that this edition of the fair coincides with the anniversaries of two great figures of Galician culture: the great writer Rosalía de Castro and the painter Laxeiro. Therefore, this event is even more special’.
He said that he came to Spain for the first time in the 1980s and that at that time he discovered Galicia ‘which captivated me even then’, he remarked, while specifying that ‘as a Spanish student, I lived in halls of residence and in their canteens I enjoyed, together with my fellow students, many cocidos. From then on, cocido became one of my favourite dishes’, he stressed. He said that shortly after returning to Spain, in December 2022, as ambassador, he visited the college where he lived and when he smelled the aroma of the stew that had been served at dinner the night before, he had a feeling ‘as good as it was 35 years ago’, he added.
A ‘practising gastronome’ like Cunqueiro
He said that ‘throughout my career as a weekend cook, I have tried to cook stews from various countries at home (...) So, when I returned to Spain, why not, I started to cook cocido. And with recipes that I consulted on the internet and, combining several of them, I made my own version that I called, since my name is Takahiro, <the Takahireño stew>. ‘I admit today, in front of all of you, that it was a real disaster,’ he joked. He said he was looking forward to ‘sinking his teeth into the Cocido de Lalín and paying tribute to this delicacy. Because, like Álvaro Cunqueiro, I declare myself a <practicing gastronome>, that is to say, I really enjoy good food’.
He spoke of the secret of the Cocido de Lalín ‘which everyone talks about and which I have already been lucky enough to taste: unequalled Galician raw materials, its local products. I can vouch for its exquisiteness and excellence’. He referred to the land of Lalín and the region of Deza ‘which is in the heart of Galicia, because I understand that Lalín is known as it is’.
Tradition, modernity and vindication of the roots like Pardo Bazán
And he said: ‘And this land combines, like the stew, modernity and tradition. I have been able to meet leading companies in the region, which are committed to innovation, and others that preserve the value of craftsmanship. Japan shares with Galicia this spirit of respect for tradition, of its transmission from generation to generation, while at the same time it is distinguished by its avant-garde’. He remarked that ‘... as Emilia Pardo Bazán said, vindicating the cultural value of gastronomy: <each nation has the duty to preserve what makes it different, what forms part of its peculiar way of being>. That is why we must celebrate the deep-rootedness of this Cocido Fair’.
Special connection between Japan and Galicia
He alluded to the ‘crossroads’ that is this land and mentioned ‘the special connection that exists between Japan and Galicia with the twinning in 1998 of the Camino de Santiago and the Japanese pilgrimage route called Kumano Kodo; in 2015 a general protocol of collaboration was signed with the Shikoku-Henro route and, finally, in 2023, if produced the twinning of friendship with the pilgrimage route Saigoku Kannon’. ‘All this reflects - he argued - the strong bond between the distant countries, which do not share religion or culture, but which are united by spirituality, the personal recollection of pilgrims and their connection with nature along the way,’ he said.
Announces he will walk the Camino
‘In 2024, more than 1,400 Japanese pilgrims walked the Camino de Santiago. I must confess that I have not done it yet, it is my unfinished business, but I am sure that, before my departure from Spain, they will find me on their routes as one more pilgrim and, probably, recovering strength with a tasty stew,’ he said. He advanced that ‘although the Japanese travel assiduously through their land and are great lovers of the Camino de Santiago, they are unaware of the existence of the Feria del Cocido. But, be assured that I will try to contribute to its internationalisation, so that its benefits reach the ears of my compatriots. Rest assured, Mr. Mayor, that I will fulfil my mission as Commander and share my experience in Lalín’.
At the end of his proclamation, which he delivered in Galician as at the beginning, he referred to the ties of friendship between Spain and Japan, more than four centuries of relations and more than 150 years of diplomatic relations and stressed that ‘’one of my missions as ambassador is to promote a greater knowledge of our countries, a greater mutual understanding. There is a great deal of potential in our cooperation. E a gastronomía é unha ponte para ese maior coñecemento, para un achegamento das nosas xentes’, alegou. ‘I am committed to its international projection and I would be delighted to contribute to spreading, as you say, the goodness of this food’, he affirmed.
Mutual cooperation between Japan and Galicia
He also made reference to the fact that ‘Spain and Galicia are a power in tourism and receive a large number of Japanese tourists every year who enjoy the richness and diversity of their landscapes, their monuments, their culture and their varied gastronomy. But Japan and Galicia also share a great potential for mutual cooperation, beyond the cultural, touristic and spiritual aspects. Last month I met in Santiago de Compostela with the President of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, and we confirmed our strategic interest in pursuing this cooperation.
Thanks to all of you for making me feel like another Lalinense
He ended by thanking ‘everyone, especially the Mayor, because you welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like another Lalinense, experiencing this special festival (...) Thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend this great festival. Long live the Cocido de Lalín, long live Lalín and long live Galicia’.
First incursion of the Cocido Fair in Asia
This LVII Cocido Fair is an edition immersed in the challenges of deepening the internationalization of Cocido, both in terms of media impact and the opening of new frontiers and opportunities. This year's edition is marked by an international presence, as it is the first time that a foreign personality, a diplomat with an extensive career such as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in Spain, Takahiro Nakamae, has acted as town crier. It also represents the first incursion of the Cocido Fair in Asia, which means the possibility of opening new frontiers and opportunities such as, for example, the use of the Pilgrims' Roads to Santiago de Compostela, among others.
Twinning with the Lestedo Filloa Festival
This Fair is also marked by the twinning with the Lestedo Filloa Festival, a Festival of National Tourist Interest, in order to take advantage of the gastronomic synergies between the two Fairs, maintaining the healthy pride that other important Fairs want to rely on the Cocido to improve its diffusion. Twinning that was present in this great day of the Fair through a tasting of filloas de Lestedo and the Generals of Ulla who participated in the parade of floats and troupes and who represented an atranque.
In addition to the novelty of the twinning with the Filloa, the 57th Cocido Fair encompasses a whole series of events and activities that revolve around it, among them, the XXVII Month of Cocido, which although it bears the name of a month, lasts practically a semester in which the restaurants of Lalín serve thousands of cocidos; the International Beekeeping Fair, Alvariza; the Traditional Slaughter of the Pig that in this XXV edition took place in the parish of Catasós, or the central exhibition of the Cocido ‘Art in ink’, fruit of the collaboration between the City Council of Lalín, ABANCA and Afundación that makes a journey through the engraving through the most outstanding artists of the Galician, Spanish and international panorama, all of them belonging to the Afundación Art Collection, among a very wide series of attractions.
Ten new Commanders
The events of this great day of the Cocido began at around 10.30 a.m. in the Casa Consistorial with the Encomenda do Cocido, in which ten new members joined this year's edition: Takahiro Nakamae (town crier, ambassador of Japan in Spain); Arantza Sarasola Ormazabal (vice-president of the Prensa Ibérica group); Javier Moll de Miguel (president of the Prensa Ibérica group); Marián Mouriño (president of RC Celta); Acisclo Manzano (sculptor, poster designer of the 57th Cocido Fair); Paz Pérez Asorey (deputy mayor of the City Council of Lalín); Francisco Conde (deputy in the Congress); Luis López Diéguez (president of the Deputation of Pontevedra; Teresa Portela (canoeist and Olympic medallist) and Miguel Ángel Santalices Vieira (president of the Galician Parliament). The cape was placed on him: the president of the Xunta to the town crier; the head of Cardiology at CHUS, José Ramón González Juanatey to Arantza Sarasola; Ana Pastor to Javier Moll; the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzán to Marián Mouriño; the provincial deputy for Tourism, Nava Castro to Acisclo Manzano; the Regional Minister of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training, Román Rodríguez, to Paz Pérez; the notary of the Encomenda, Andrés Ramos to Francisco Conde; Víctor Manuel Vázquez Portomeñe to Luis López; the painter Antón Lamazares to Teresa Portela and the head of Oncology at the CHUS, Rafael López to Miguel Ángel Santalices. Then, the retinue headed by the town crier and ambassador, Takahiro Nakamae; by the mayor of Lalín and by the president of the Xunta; and formed by the president of the Parliament -nominated Comendador in this edition-; by the president of the Diputación de Pontevedra and Comendador; by the delegate of the Government; by the two Eurodeputies from Lalín; by several senior officials of the Xunta de Galicia; by the President of the Parliament -nominated Comendador in this edition-; by the president of the Diputación de Pontevedra and Comendador; by the delegate of the Government; by the two Eurodeputies from Lalín; by several senior officials of the Xunta de Galicia (Regional Minister of Presidency, Justice and Sports; Regional Minister of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training; Regional Minister of Health; Regional Minister of Culture; Regional Minister of Rural Environment; Regional Minister of Employment, Trade and Emigration; territorial delegate of the Xunta in Pontevedra; secretaries and directors general, etc. ); by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF); by the president of the Diputación de Ourense; by the vice-presidents of the Diputación de Pontevedra and provincial deputies; regional deputies; subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra; senators; mayors; poster designer of the Fair, Acisclo Manzano -nominated Commander in this edition-; Commanders; and members of the municipal Corporation, visited the Cocido Tent in the Campo de la Feria with typical gastronomic products of Lalín and handicrafts. Afterwards, the delegation went to the stage of the Main Street where Takahiro Nakamae offered his speech after being introduced by the Mayor of Lalín, José Crespo. Then, the President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, presented the medal to the town crier. This was followed by the parade of charangas, musical groups and comparsas. In the afternoon, from 17.00 h onwards, Charanga KM Cero will provide the atmosphere for the streets, ending in the Plaza de la Iglesia. From 18.30 h in the same square, Los Ardores and Los Satélites orchestra will set the rhythm of the Verbena del Cocido.
