Tuna and seafood Mogán overflow power in its sixth Fair

Lovers of the flavors of the sea, fresh and vibrant, have attended their appointment with the Mogán Tuna and Sea Fair, which is celebrating its sixth edition in the Pérez Galdós square in Arguineguín. The event began with a tribute to four sailors from the municipality and continued with the showcooking by renowned chef Lolo Román. Other chefs from the municipality also participate with exhibitions and it is possible to enjoy the gastronomic creations of restaurant establishments in Mogán. 

 

The Mogán tuna enjoys its annual showcase before the general public – it is estimated that there are 4.000 people throughout the day – thanks to this event that publicizes the high quality of the specimens caught in an artisanal way, with rod and hook, sailors and sailors of the municipality. But also its versatility. Because tuna, as it is commonly said about pork, absolutely everything is used.

 

The mayor of Mogán, Onalia Bueno, present with the Councilor for Fisheries, Víctor Gutiérrez and other councilors of the Corporation, thanked those present and the collaboration of the Tourism Department of Gran Canaria and Cajasiete, entities represented at the event by the Minister of Tourism of Gran Canaria, Carlos Álamo, and the director of the Cajasiete office in Arguineguín, Federico Hernández. Likewise, he thanked the presence of the general director of Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Armiche Ramos, and everyone who is in some way involved in this Fair, such as the Fishermen's Guild of Arguineguín and that of Playa de Mogán, advisors, chefs, cooks, local restaurants and the Training Program in Alternation with Employment (PFAE) Sala Professionals – financed by the Canary Islands Employment Service, the State Public Employment Service and the Mogán City Council.

 

Bueno showed that the fair continues with the objective set when it was founded in 2017, which is none other than supporting the local fishing sector by promoting the excellent quality of tuna and in general all the seafood products that the fishermen bring to land. of the aforementioned brotherhoods, which house a total of 60 boats, thus highlighting the work they do, from which they continue to support sustainable fishing.

 

The mayor, along with the rest of the authorities, will enjoy the scheduled activities until the closing of the Fair, scheduled for around 23:30 p.m. The Mogán City Council organizes and co-finances this event, which also has funding from Gran Canaria Tourism and Cajasiete. 

 

Tribute to a life at sea

 

Tomás Trujillo Santana, Manuel Moreno Ruano, José Déniz Hernández and Rubén Déniz Padrón have been the neighbors whom this year the City Council has decided to honor for dedicating their entire lives to fishing, to the sea. This is, above all, a way to give a face and voice to professionals in the sector, starting with those who, due to their long career, are a source of wisdom and have a broader vision of a job that they continue to love and respect, despite their hardness, known to all.

 

The honorees have made themselves known through a recorded interview in the place they know best and surely where they have spent the most time: their boats and/or the dock.

 

Tomás Trujillo Santana, who everyone knows as 'Macito', began to earn a living in the tomato fields but his passion was always the sea, to which he dedicated himself until his retirement. “I got up every day in the world at 3:00 – 4:00 a.m. to place the trammel nets and when they had spent a good amount of time in the water, we would pick them up and catch the fish. That was our life,” he said, pointing out that years ago “more fish were sold and work was valued more,” at the same time that he excitedly recalled how he crossed Las Marañuelas beach loaded with mackerel and other specimens. 

 

Manuel Moreno Ruano, 'Manolo El Guirre', began working in fishing with his father when he was only ten years old. A faithful witness to the complexity of the sea, he recounted when they were rowing and could not raise the sails “because we were freezing from the cold, and we had no shelter. “Just clothes that my mother made for us out of flour sacks and things like that.” “We left at 2:00 a.m. and arrived home at 15:00 p.m.,” he noted in the video. Moreno once had four fishing boats but ended up removing them “because of everything they demanded, and more and more.” However, even though he hasn't gone fishing for 15 years, he spends his days in the Arguineguín Pier area.

 

José Déniz Hernández was first a Canarian wrestler than a fisherman, and from there he inherited the nickname 'El Garepa'. He came to fishing “out of necessity.” He worked “in the banana plantations, in the construction of the Puerto Rico dock and again in agriculture until a brother told me to go to sea. “I went and got ahead,” he explained. “I got together with my two older brothers, we bought a little boat. When they retired, I bought their share of the company and built a new boat in Almería, where my son and other people now work,” he explained. For Déniz, Puerto de Mogán continues to be a second home, to which he goes daily where he says that he helps his son and that sailor who needs it if he can. 

 

Rubén Déniz Padrón, a Moganero with Galician roots, began fishing when he finished mandatory military training. “I started in the 70s, when not all fishing boats had motors.” “The sea is hard, less so now because we come with socks and boots, but before we left the beach barefoot, whether the tide was empty or full. There was not even a dock,” he stated in his interview. For Déniz, tourism has been a catalyst for the sector because "life is better, fish sells better and those who want to work in this make ends meet well." However, he misses the great tuna harvests of years ago. “We started catching them at the beginning of the year and we were practically catching tuna and bonito until the end.” 

 

These four sailors received a commemorative plaque from the mayor, the mayor of Fisheries, the Minister of Tourism of Gran Canaria and the general director of Fisheries of the Canary Islands Government, being supported by their families, friends, neighbors, men and women, but Also of all those people who came to the town to enjoy the gastronomic day.  

 

showcookings

 

After the tribute, the presentations began and showcookings. The first with chef Lolo Román, also a renowned creative advisor to restaurants in our country. He was named Best Canarian Chef in the world in 2018, he has been a professor in the area of ​​Culinary Avant-garde at the Basque Culinay Center and today he heads Lolo Román Becoolinary Group, a project that aims to provide solutions and answers to companies, both public and private companies in the food and restaurant sector, to seat the Canary Islands at the world table of culinary avant-garde.

 

Román began his speech by announcing the importance of tuna in history and its relevance in cultures such as the Mediterranean. He starred in a showcooking based on the reuse of bluefin tuna discards, making up to five preparations with pieces little known to the general public.  

 

The first, a Canarian bluefin tuna morrillo ranch; followed by a Russian salad with fried eggs and cured tuna heart and a belly tataki with coconut garlic and soy butter. He also prepared with the tuna parpatana what he called 'the txuleta del mar', which he accompanied with piquillos and cogollos. Finally, with the tuna tail, he made a glazed shank in lamb sauce in fake herb risotto and yogurt with Ras el Hanout. 

 

Next it was the turn of the municipality's chef Carlos Santana Hernández, who explained to the audience that his love for cooking began watching his grandmothers cook and going out to eat with his parents. He trained in the IES Arguineguín cooking class and in 2017, at the I Mogán Tuna Fair, he met Jorge Muñoz, head chef at Pakta, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona owned by the acclaimed Albert Adrià. From that meeting came the opportunity to spend six months as a kitchen intern at the establishment and subsequently continue his career in different restaurants on the island. The Moganero made tuna morrillo with green pepper.

 

With a more classic preparation but highly in demand on the island, the old octopus clothes, the neighbor José Alonso Alonso, chef for 22 years at the El Capuchino 501 Restaurant located in Playa de Mogán, which has been in business for more than 25 years, presented himself. history. Finally, the young woman from Mogan Aynara Alonso Auer, only 13 years old, surprised those present by showing her skill when making a tuna ceviche to which she incorporated, among other ingredients, mango and strawberries. 

 

The student-workers of the PFAE Professionals Room also prepared before the public the skewer called 'Flavors of our land', composed of a base of tuna, raisins and prawn washed down with mango mojo. Next, they distributed the skewers for free so that those present could taste them. 

 

Gastronomic stalls, children's workshops and live music

 

Until the close of the event, the restaurant stalls of the municipality offer their gastronomic proposals with tuna and other delicacies from the sea and land of Mogán, among which are empanadillas, salpicón, croquettes, sushi, marinated tuna, octopus clothes, scallops, among other delicacies. The Casa Enrique Restaurant, Industria Qulinaria Foods, Sushi Crazy, Bar La Jaca and Marina Dennehy's Restaurant are participating. There is also a crepe stand, Pauleta Canaria artisan ice cream, Growls and COOL Raspao. 

 

The little ones have a space to enjoy various workshops such as those of the 'If fish could talk' project, which, while being playful and educational, promote care for the marine environment. 

 

Music is an active part of this Fair. After the tribute to the sailors, the saxophonist Mr. Bordón was in charge of setting the scene for the tent. Starting at 18:30 p.m., Mogan singer and songwriter Arantza Navarro and local artist Alberto Déniz will take the event stage. Well into the night, around 22:30 p.m., Latin rhythms will come from the group Qué Chimba.