The renowned specialist in games, toys and childhood joins the list of honourees at the 58th Cocido Fair for his key role in preserving Galicia's recreational heritage and for his decisive contribution to the launch of the Galician Toy Museum - A. Chaves Collection at the Pazo de Liñares in Lalín.
The mayor of Lalín, José Crespo, confirmed the incorporation of writer, painter and collector Antonio Chaves as a new member of La Encomenda do Cocido 2026, as part of the 58th edition of the Cocido Fair. This is in recognition of his long career in the research, conservation and dissemination of recreational and children's heritage, as well as his close ties to Lalín through the Galician Toy Museum – A. Chaves Collection, located in the Pazo de Liñares.
Crespo emphasised that ‘Antonio Chaves perfectly embodies the spirit of La Encomenda, the defence of identity and collective memory, from areas that are directly connected to emotion and childhood’. ‘We have him to thank for the fact that Lalín has a Toy Museum that is a benchmark in Galicia and Spain,’ he said.
Antonio Manuel Chaves Cuiñas (Cambados, 1959) specialises in the world of games, toys and childhood and is a national reference in the research and dissemination of recreational heritage. Since 1994, he has been president of the Raquel Chaves Foundation, an organisation focused on the research and recovery of antique games and toys from a cultural, educational and recreational perspective.
Throughout his career, he has participated as an organiser, speaker and contributor in numerous conferences specialising in this subject, as well as in exhibitions and publications at national and international level, and is a leading figure in this field.
Among other milestones, he was director of the Castilian-La Mancha Toy Museum, has coordinated the Galician Museum of Childhood, Play and Toys (MuGaIn) since 2006, promoted the Ludomar museum room at the Galician Sea Museum and recently collaborated on the publication Galician recreational heritage. Research, Resources and Dissemination of Traditional Games," published by the Xunta de Galicia and the University of Santiago de Compostela.
In addition, on 6 and 7 February 2026, he will participate as a speaker at the ‘First International Congress on Toys’ in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.
On 7 August 2021, the Galician Toy Museum – A. Chaves Collection was inaugurated at the Pazo de Liñares, with items donated by the collector himself, a space conceived as a time capsule around the memory of childhood. At the opening, the Regional Minister of Culture highlighted the artistic, emotional and identity value of the collection, considered a true material and immaterial heritage treasure of Galicia, through childhood.
The Galician Toy Museum in Lalín and collector Antonio Chaves invite visitors to enjoy a moment of serenity through one of the greatest legacies of humanity's childhood: toys.
With this designation, the Encomenda do Cocido 2026 now includes, in addition to Antonio Chaves, the following confirmed commendators: world-renowned thoracic surgeon and Fair announcer Diego González Rivas; writer, psychologist and personal development expert Irene Villa; national football coach Luis de la Fuente; the Lalín-based entrepreneur and leading figure in the refrigeration sector, Ramiro Mejuto; the renowned physicist and science communicator, winner of the Galicia Research Medal and the Spanish Confederation of Scientific Societies Award, Jorge Mira; and the Councillor for Tourism of the Madrid City Council and Secretary General of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI), Almudena Maíllo.
Each year, the Encomenda do Cocido recognises outstanding careers in different fields that contribute to the prestige of Lalín, Galicia and the cultural and human values they represent.
