Burgos locals and gastronomy
The culinary festivals provide a good opportunity for tourists and locals alike to get to know the customs of the location and taste the best traditional cuisine, with recipes and tricks that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Here we propose a few of the most well known from the city of Burgos and encourage you to participate in some of the different culinary events that are held throughout the year.
This list shows those that combine gastronomy and popular folklore, permanently united elements, to maintain the cultural essence and tradition of our region:
JANUARY: SAN ANTÓN and TITOS
Among all of the festivals, the festival of San Antón – the patron saint of animals – is one of the most rooted in tradition. It takes place on 17 January, and in Burgos it is celebrated in a special way in the neighbourhoods of Huelgas, Gamonal and San Cristobál. After the church service, it is customary for people to take their pets to the different parish churches to receive a blessing.
In the neighbourhood of Huelgas, in addition to the blessing of the small buns made with aniseed and lard which are later distributed among the crowd, two pigs also receive a blessing and are then raffled among the public. Moreover, the groups of friends or clubs known as peñas distribute typical products such as morcilla, chorizo, wine, tripe broth, etc.
In the neighbourhood of San Cristóbal, the San Antón brotherhood prepares and then distributes the products made from the traditional seasonal pig slaughter so that the public can enjoy the morcilla, roast pig snout and minced meat, accompanied by wine and bread baked in a wood-fired oven.
For its part, the Brotherhood of Nuestra Señora de Gamonal y San Antonio Abad celebrates this day with one of its most well-known traditions: the cooking and serving of the legumes known as titos. Every year, increasing numbers of kilos of the legume are served, always to huge success, among the rising number of visitors to the event.
JANUARY: SAN LESMES
The San Lesmes Abad festival takes place in January on the Sunday closest to the 30th. It is one of the most loved by Burgos locals as it pays tribute to the patron saint of the city and provides an opportunity to deepen links with the French towns twinned with Burgos, such as Loudun. A Frenchman, he founded the monastery of San Juan Evangelista.
The municipal council and the French authorities from Loudun jointly walk the route from the City Council to San Lesmes Church, escorted by traditionally dressed guardsmen. They are accompanied by the small giants, dancers, dulzaina players and the clubs or groups of friends from the city known as peñas. Once they arrive, the religious ceremony takes place, in which the mayor, on behalf of all Burgos natives, offers an altar candle and Lesmes bread to the saint.
After the act, the folkloric groups, dancers and small giants dance and liven up the festival, while people enjoy chorizo, morcilla, wine and other tapas, as well as the traditional San Lesmes bread.
FEBRUARY: SAN PEDRO DE LA FUENTE NEIGHBOURHOOD FESTIVAL
CURED BEEF TASTING
The neighbourhoods of San Pedro de la Fuente and Fuentecillas celebrate their festivals in February.
Days to enjoy, with activities programmed for all ages such as parades, dances, street parties, activities for children, popular games and performances, as well as the already traditional tasting of its famous cured beef.
JUNE: CURPILLOS FESTIVAL
This festival has been declared as a festival of Regional Tourism Interest.
The Curpillos or Corpus Chico is the most authentic Burgos festival. It is not celebrated in any other part of Spain or anywhere else in the world. The earliest date it was known to have been celebrated was on 22 May 1331, after the establishment of the solemn Feast of Corpus Christi, under the reign of Alfonso XI. And from then on until the present date this distinctive festival – which brings together the most superior military, religious and civil authorities and, of course, the population of Burgos who see it as one of their distinguishing marks – has continued to be celebrated in the neighbourhood of Las Huelgas.
The protagonists of the Curpillos festival are the products from Burgos that only on this occasion turn Parral park, next to the monastery of Las Huelgas, into a centre for local gastronomy with on-site preparation of many of its traditional recipes served in the form of a tapa. It is a pilgrimage, in which Burgos locals and tourists gather together to try the typical products served by amateur chefs who volunteer their services by means of the city’s recreational associations or peñas.
JUNE: SAN PEDRO AND SAN PABLO FESTIVALS EL BUEN YANTAR [good food]
The Day of the Absent Burgos Local is celebrated on the last Sunday of the festival, in Fuentes Blancas park, and it marks the end of the San Pedro and San Pablo Festivals. This day on which the different peñas and hometown associations get together and on which the Buen Yantar [good food] contest is held, has been declared a Festival of Regional Tourism Interest.
Culinary contest in which each year better and better creations are prepared by the city’s associations and peñas.
CULINARY ASSOCIATIONS
CUCOS CULINARY ASSOCIATION
Traditional seasonal slaughtering of pigs in the city. Thirty-three year-long tradition in which the Cucos do not skimp on details when carrying it out in front of the inquisitive who come to Plaza Huerto del Rey (La Flora) to watch.
The Los Cucos Culinary Association was founded over three decades ago and, in addition to the slaughter festival in February, it performs different activities throughout the year. In June, it traditionally celebrates the shearing festival, and in November – coinciding with the anniversary of its establishment – it attends a chanted mass at the parish church of San Gil.
