The empanada is one of the most characteristic dishes of Galician gastronomy and one of the greatest recognition and international fame. There is no doubt that currently the Galician empanada is present in all the events and meetings that are held throughout the year, being synonymous and cause for celebration for all families in our country. But to know the origins of this delicacy, we may have to go back to the 12th century and specifically to the Camino de Santiago.
The truth is that this is a product that is easily transported, that protects the ingredients inside the dough very well and that can be enjoyed anywhere; For this reason, there are those who affirm that the empanada is the food of travelers, of pilgrims on their way to Santiago.
And precisely following one of the pilgrimage routes, specifically the Vía de la Plata, we come across a small rural town that has earned over the years the name of the undisputed capital of the empanada. We are talking about A Bandeira, a town of just over seven hundred inhabitants located in the Silleda Town Hall (Pontevedra Province) and which has celebrated the well-known Empanada Festival since 1974, an event that has crossed Galician borders and brings together Every third weekend in August, more than 20,000 people gather around this gastronomic product, which every day adds more faithful devotees.
Added to this veteran gastronomic event, almost half a century old, is a unique environment that makes Silleda and A Bandeira a quality tourist destination for this summer. Dreamy forests, extensive valleys and mountains, hiking trails to get lost in full connection with nature, architectural treasures such as the Carboeiro Monastery or cinematic natural spaces such as the Toxa Waterfall, one of the highest in Galicia, make this town hall in a must-see place when we talk about this autonomous community.
But returning to the gastronomic field, we must go back to the summer of 1974, when a group of friends decided to take some empanadas to a small oak grove to enjoy an afternoon to the sound of bagpipes and tambourines so characteristic of musical culture. Galician. What began as a small gathering of friends has now become an unmissable gastronomic event in the Galician summer.
The A Bandeira Empanada Festival is organized by a non-profit cultural collective made up of a handful of young people who are clear that the only way to keep the rural environment alive is through culture and gastronomy. The Amigos da Empanada Association works every day to defend and promote the empanada as the star product of Galician gastronomy, obtaining in 1999 the distinction of Event of Tourist Interest in Galicia and now fighting for the national title.
It could be pointed out that A Bandeira has held its prestigious empanada contest since 1975, which attracts thousands of onlookers every year, experts in the gastronomic field, as well as dozens of media outlets waiting for the verdict of a professional jury that has the difficult task of choosing the best empanada in the country among the many and ingenious creations that are presented in each edition.
While the jury deliberates, the people who attend the event enjoy traditional Galician music and dance as well as the careful words recited by the person in charge of the traditional proclamation. Among the illustrious town criers who decided to support the Fiesta da Empanada, writers such as Camilo José Cela or Alfredo Conde, renowned chefs and cooks such as Pepe Solla or Lucía Freitas or politicians such as Abel Caballero and Fernández Albor stand out.
Also actors and actresses, businessmen and prestigious journalists, Fernando Ónega, María Rey, Pilar Cernuda, Luis Zahera and José María Carrascal participated in the A Bandeira empanada. Once the jury makes its decision, the awards ceremony and subsequent auction take place, with a price of €2,400 being paid for an empanada and the proceeds being used for cultural purposes. The contest, auction and proclamation give way to a great meal under a beautiful oak grove where thousands of people enjoy empanadas with all the ingredients in a unique festive atmosphere that makes whoever tries it repeat. Renowned musical orchestras, brass bands and traditional music groups liven up every corner of the town until the wee hours of the morning so that the party does not stop at any time.
At the Empanada Festival you can taste empanadas of all flavors and ingredients. From fish empanadas such as bonito, cod, sardines, eels, conger eel, lamprey to seafood empanadas such as scallops, octopus, cockles, mussels, cuttlefish, etc. However, in A Bandeira the star empanada is the meat empanada and this is because this town exports one of the best meats in the world, the old cow from A Bandeira (Frigoríficos Bandeira), a product present in the best restaurants and that They have earned the trust of the best chefs in the world, including Martín Berasategui, who was also declared an ambassador of the Empanada Festival together with Pepe Rodríguez.
In addition, the true “empanada de A Bandeira” must be made with local flour (Galician wheat flour stone-ground in the traditional style), specifically with that which has been produced in “O Muíño de Cuíña” since 1918.
To all this we must add a complete cultural and gastronomic program displayed in five days of celebration that take place the third week of August and that fill A Bandeira with activities for all tastes and ages. Musical concerts, rap battles, traditional games, gastronomic and musical routes or the prestigious Festivals of the Empanada, the Bandeirock and the Esmorga Folk, some of the oldest in Galicia and which have been bringing together well-known names on the music scene for decades such as the Tanxugueiras, Luar na Lubre,
Treixadaura, Susana Seivane, Kepa Junquera, Che Sudaka or Carlos Núñez are just some of the examples of everything that can be seen at the Empanada Festival. In addition, at this time, the organization has already revealed that top-level groups such as Heredeiros da Crus, Mekanika Rolling Band or Cuarta Xusta will be present at the Empanada Festivals that will take place this year from August 16 to 20.
We could continue writing to explain what A Bandeira is, its Empanada Festival and the spirit and affable and homely character of the residents of this small town located in the middle of the Vía de la Plata on the Camino de Santiago but to know what this place really is , the best decision is to visit it.
They have a wide hotel and gastronomic offer, with hotels, restaurants, taverns, rural houses, local shops and all the necessary services to have a most comfortable stay. Without a doubt, A Bandeira is the empanada capital!
