Nighttime Queimadas and Witches' Incantations

I mentioned in my last post that after dinner Monday night, Pueblo Inglés held a nighttime Queimada, which is a traditional Galician ceremony (typical of the northern Spain region of Galicia) with strong Celtic (and seemingly Druid) origins. 

Mixing the ingredients

It's a strong drink made from Garujo Gallego (a Galician liquor) with spices and fruits added in, which then burns as more brandy is added. While the quemada burns, a traditional incantation is recited that is supposed to protect those who partake in the quemada from evil spirits and witches.

Explaining the history of the quemada

Of course, Pueblo Inglés turned the whole thing into a production, complete with 3 witches reciting the incantation in alternating English and Galician! While the witches (Margaret, Belén, and Beatriz) chanted (and laughed a lot), our Director Jez stirred the burning quemada and slowly ladled burning spoonfuls into the air and back into the vat. The quemada has a signature blue flame and once it has burned the majority of the alcohol (about 20-25 minutes) we blew out the flames and served it out.

It's alight!

Personally, I could take it or leave it; it has a very strong liquor flavor that doesn't really complement the added spices and fruits, but the ceremony itself was worth it. It's definitely a tradition that is more for the history and the spectacle than for the drink itself -- although some of the Spaniards had a full cup or 2...or 4.

doling out cups of the fiery quemada

After the quemada, we all shared songs from our respective parts of the world; we Americans performed (poorly, might I add) a rendition of She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain, Colin graced us all with a slow, mournful Welsh tune that is played before rugby matches, and our friends from the UK sang a song about London Bridge being on fire.

in the excitement, it was difficult to capture the toast

The Spaniards went above and beyond and performed not only a song, but several typical Galician dances for us. Of course, the majority of the Spaniards are Physical Education teachers and made the rest of us look like we had 2 left feet -- or as Marcos said, like a duck.

traditional Galician dancing!