El Tablero revives its 26th La Zafra Fair with tradition, music and popular flavor

The Church Square in El Tablero hosted the 12th La Zafra Fair this Saturday, organized by the Department of Culture of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Council as a recreational and ethnographic event dedicated to recalling the town's agricultural origins. The event, inaugurated by the Councilor for the Presidency and Culture, Elena Álamo Vega, began at 00:XNUMX with a stellar performance by the Umiaya Folk Group.

 

The Fair once again enjoyed the involvement and collaboration of the women of La Cuadrilla and the Casa del Mato Cultural Association, as well as the support of the Gran Canaria Chamber of Commerce. This year, the Department of Industry and Commerce of the Island Council and its brand "Gran Canaria Me Gusta" (I Like Gran Canaria) also joined the event, contributing three show cooking sessions with tastings offered by chef Aridani Alonso Rodríguez, a native of El Tablero, who shared with the audience the creation of several recipes featuring tomatoes.

 

 

For this year's edition, the organizers decided to expand the opening hours of the festival and the number of stands, including those dedicated to the craft exhibition, with displays of cane basketry, traditional pottery, cutlery, embroidery, wool yarn, wooden toys, felt and dolls, jewelry made from recycled music CDs, Fred Art paintings spray-painted with markers and paints on all kinds of recycled surfaces, handmade jewelry, and stone carving by Fermambo and her brand "Piedras con alma." Also notable were a display featuring Ayagaures honey, candles, and natural soaps, and one championed by Pili Rufo, dedicated to numerous patchwork projects, both created by two residents of El Tablero.

 

 

 

In its more recreational section, the Fair offered attendees exhibitions of the game of club, plow lifting, and shepherd's leap; there was also a reading corner with texts specifically dedicated to the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, its agricultural world, and its tourism development; a stand dedicated to children's storytelling, and another dedicated to traditional games. Furthermore, the entire area surrounding the Fair and the Plaza de El Tablero were decorated with large ornamental motifs created by the town's residents at the Carmelo Pérez Rodríguez Cultural Center, in an art workshop subsidized for this purpose by the Department of Culture. 

 

 

 

One of the most popular offerings at this fair is its gastronomic offerings. Aside from the show cooking, highlights included tastings of plantain and sugar peels, tomato and garlic hash, local olives, southern cheese, chochos, cake, and chorizo ​​sandwiches offered by the women of La Cuadrilla; the bread and homemade sweets displays; the empanada and choripan stands; and the locally sourced vegetable and vegetable stands; the cheese and strawberry stands; and the stand dedicated exclusively to the sale of natural ice creams with prickly pear, banana, pineapple, strawberry, and mango flavors. Among these stands, the one dedicated to the sale of homemade gluten-free sweets from the "Cositas Dulces" bakery, located in the El Salobre neighborhood and run by Vanesa Paz and Lizarte Rebollas, stood out. Above all, the stands of the La Cucaña Cultural and Folklore Association, where its president, Inmaculada Ojeda Guerra "Tata," cooked a slow-cooked stew of colinos (collectives and associations), and the one of the Coordinator of Collectives and Associations of El Tablero, which offered ropa vieja (old clothes) and roasted black pork as star dishes. Also new at this fair was the presentation of the "La Zafra" cocktail, offered to the public by members of the Professional Association of Aboriginal Bartenders of the Canary Islands.

 

Among the most popular and acclaimed events at La Zafra was the soloist gathering featuring Besay Pérez, Thania Gil, and Simón Artiles, who presented the audience with the show "Cantos al Aparcero," created especially for this occasion. 

 

The Fair, which on Friday night included a successful dramatized tour of various sites featuring historical figures from the town, "a milestone that will continue in future editions," according to Councilor Elena Álamo, concluded with a taifa dance performed by Los Encinosos and Los Horcones.