ARCHIVED - 8th and 9th February 2020: Fiesta de la Matanza Alhama de Murcia

Free tastings all weekend in a celebration of the traditional art of the Matanza

Throughout the weekend of 8th and 9th February 2020 the town of Alhama de Murcia is hosting its tenth annual festival focusing on the theme of the Matanza, and is a chance for expats to learn more about how the traditional meat products of the region are made, as well as sample them.

Across the weekend there are stacks of free samples on offer, providing the perfect opportunity to try some of the most traditional meat products served throughout the Murcia Region, as well as enjoy traditional folk music.

As modern day city dwellers and coming from a country in which meat is "processed " for our consumption, we are quite used to the idea that meat and meat products are sold ready-processed and sanitised in our supermarkets,  never really pausing to consider how it arrived on our plates.

In this region, as in many other farming regions in Spain, meat is viewed almost with reverence:  an animal was not a bland piece of meat in a supermarket packet, it represented many months of work and care to bring it to the table, and a great deal of work and skill to convert a pig into food for the months ahead.

Rural families would rear and grow their own food, and the annual matanza was the day on which the family pig was killed and the work undertaken to convert it into products which could be stored and eaten over a period of months.

Processing a pig is a skilled and extremely labour intensive job as not a scrap of the animal is wasted, every tiny part processed into sausages or cured, " the only part of a pig which cant be eaten is its squeak" an apt traditional saying in these parts.

A fully grown pig is a big, heavy animal, so the process traditionally involved several people, and as the preparation of the embutidos, the cuts and sausages which were either eaten fresh, hung up inside chimneys to smoke or in the rafters of the house to dry is labour intensive and time consuming, either skilled professionals were called in to do the job, or the entire family gathered to do the work together.

Processing a fully grown pig is a 2 day job, so the event became an annual celebration, with food and drink the centre of the occasion.

Traditionally the initial kill and the cutting is done by what´s known as a matachin, a skilled professional, specialising in the preparation of the embutidos, the sausages and charcuterie which are so much a feature of Murcian cuisine and are served in every tapas bar across the region.

The traditional arts of the matachin are dying out, as most animals are processed in giant processing plants, such as the El Pozo factory which is the biggest local employer in Alhama de Murcia, so this event aims to celebrate the tradition of the matanza, demonstrate the skills and techniques used in the preparation of the embutidos, and of course, enjoy the products which are produced in the process.

For this celebration, a marquee is installed in the Recinto Ferial de Alhama, which is at the back of the park area opposite the Town hall, containing an exhibition of historical implements and photographs  related to the art of the matachin. During the course of the weekend, local matachins will be making the various sausages and products which are derived from a pig, with samples of the various items on offer to the visiting public. To accompany the work, music is traditional, so throughout the event, folk music will also be on offer, with local groups performing.

In this case, the pigs have been killed in a professional abattoir, in a commercial environment prior to this event, in the same way all pigs are killed to produce pork products, so attendees will be watching the preparation of the final products, and sampling the traditional products produced in the process.

There is plenty of parking in the Recinto Ferial which is the large patch of land where the funfair is installed during fiestas. This is behind the Parque Cubana, which in turn is opposite the town hall in the centre of the town. Click for map Parque Cubana

Outline programme: 

SATURDAY 8th February

09:30 Opening of the festival marquee and display of instruments, tools and equipment associated with the acts of a Matanza, as well as historical photos of a traditional Matanza in Alhama de Murcia.

From 10:00 onwards, TRADITIONAL BUTCHERING OF A PIG AND PREPARATION OF DELICATESSAN PRODUCTS:  the different sausages including morcilla, salchicha, with frying pans of fritá (the liver, offal etc) on offer to attendees.

10:30 Official opening of the exhibition showing the traditional tools of the Matanza and photographs of traditional Matanzas in Alhama de Murcia by the Mayoress of Alhama,  Mariola Guevara Cava.

11.00 Free guided tour of the municipal Archaeological Museum. Prior booking required at the Tourist Office (968 633 512 ) or Archaeological Museum (968 630 776)

11:30 Live music from the Rondalla Cantaores de Alhama

12: 00 Work begins to cook a PAELLA WITH MEAT FROM THE MATANZA. The winner of the first prize in the “Mayos 2019” rice cooking competition, will cook a paella for all attendees with the help of family and friends.

12:15 Live music from the Taller de Cuerda del Centro de Mayores

12:30 Free sweet black sausages for all to taste: MORCILLAS.

13:00 Live traditional music from the Grupo Músicos de Sonata and Cuadrilla from La Costera

13:15 Free pork sausages for all to sample: SALCHICHAS.

13:45 Traditional live music from the Grupo Folklórico Villa de Alhama

14:15 Free samples of FRITÁ for all to try ( versión of sweet onion and blood mix for black puddings)

14:30 Free PAELLA for all attendees.

Evening:

17:00 Folk music and dance from the Coro Rociero Villa de Alhama

17:30 Free SOBRASADA for all to try ( a red meat paste sold in traditional butcher shops).

17:45 Live music from the Grupo de Coros y Danzas Virgen del Rosario from Alhama de Murcia

18:15 MIGAS CON TROPEZONES for all, cooked by the winner of the Feria Migas competition last year. (Migas olive oil and flour with fried meats; surprisingly good and very filling!)

18:30 Display of ham cuttings by a professional; with all the ham cut served to attendees

18:30 More folk music from La Edad de Oro

19.10 Live music from la colla del Ramblar

19:15 Free MORCÓN for all to try.

19:45 Free MIGAS for all to sample.

20:15 Music from DJ AMEEX

21.30 Migas for the young people enjoying the DJ

SUNDAY 9th February

08:00 Work begins to prepare a giant olla fresca (a pork stew made with beans and pulses)

10:00 Workshop to learn how to make SALCHICHAS for children, prior registration required before 5th February in the Concejalía de Festejos (Casa de Cultura). There are two groups, one at 10.00 and a second at 11.30.

12:00 Live folk music from the Cuadrilla de El Berro.

12:40 Free samples of various delicatessan products to try followed by presentation of certificates to children who have participated in the workshop

13:00 Live music from Aires de Espuña

14: 15 Free OLLA FRESCA for all to try ( a rich pork stew, cooked over a period of hours with beans and pulses).

14: 30 Free dessert in the form of PAPARAJOTES, or deep fried lemon leaves (A lemon leaf coated in a batter made of flour, egg and lemon zest and then fried and dusted in sugar and cinnamon)

Click for further information about the Alhama de Murcia municipality