Nooooo!
I wanted to read it, but it didn’t work.
These days, in the midst of the news of the voluptuous cold front that covered Spain in white and images of Spaniards waging snow wars in Madrid…
I have seen a cuisine that the earth will turn into cherry tomatoes.
In capitals, in colorful headlines, the fateful expression, until recently a mere chimera: LA TERCERA OLA (the third wave).
Is it just me still thinking about Pedro eo Lobo (truncated version on acid)?
Break for some snow and a happy dog at Puerta de Toledo in Madrid, January 2021 (Reproduction / David Canales)
The. Overnight, someone decided Spain was experiencing the third wave of the pandemic since Christmas, when relaxing the anticovidial protocol would have helped the virus spread.
Even the vaccination, which began on December 27, cannot (for now) contain what has already become cyclical: spread of contagions> collapse of hospitals> mad samba of new restrictions every week / 10 days / 2 weeks, almost always announced at the last minute> uncertainty, theories, protests, no more headlines> rinse, cry, repeat.
As for the new “British” mutation of the virus, not only has it reached Spanish territory in its “imported” form, but indigenous cases have already been detected, with no epidemiological link with the United Kingdom. The latest tentative theory suggests this new strain has been around for at least a month.
Snowy Zaragoza (Reproduction / Nerea Peña)
However, very little britCovid has been detected so far, mainly thanks to a happy discovery: a Thermo Fischer PCR kit which shows different (positive) results depending on the mutation of the virus. So: the fault of Spain’s third wave is de-nanos-mermo, not the 70% most contagious strain of brexit.
Thus, at least until the end of January, we continue without bars and restaurants from 3:30 p.m., many shops closed, curfews and perimeter confinements. It’s the wolf, it’s the wolf.
***
Change of animals: I remembered the story of the alcoholic fruit of the Mediterranean because of a photo I saw today.
It shows the famous sculpture known as “El Oso y el madroño” (the bear and the medronho), heraldic symbol of Madrid, attached to the Puerta del Sol square, the most important in the city. In this case, surrounded by the unusual snow of the last days.
“El oso y el madroño”, sculpture by Antonio Navarro Santafé. Puerta del Sol, Madrid, January 2021 (Reproduction / David Canales)
Some claim that the bear is actually a bear, a symbol of strength and fertility. It could even be a reference to the constellation Ursa Minor, due to the 7 stars on the flag of Madrid. There was even a feminist demonstration to redefine the gender of the bear, which, moreover, remains hidden under the batto by the metal.
As for the fruit eaten by the “urs”, it is linked to the “berries” and colors the Iberian Mediterranean forests during the cold seasons.
Known at least since antiquity (with a possible “cameo”, for example, in the story of the twelve works of Hercules, when he kills the giant Gerião and the blood of it turns into a bush of frutiñas madroñeras ), until today, it is popularly used to prepare liqueurs, ciders, wines, vinegars, “salsas” and marmalades.
Madroño in natura (Reproduction)
In the Middle Ages, madroño (which in PrutugaL in Portuguese is called MEDRONHO ಠ‿ಠ) became popular for its medicinal properties. Back then, they said it could cure even the plague. Nowadays, emerging studies indicate that it may be legal to prevent cardiovascular disease, for example.
In the 20th century, it stopped being sold in the markets. Now the thing to find madroño (vaya number danado) is basically to venture into the bush between September and December.
I saw my first Madroño bush during a walk in the woods of Sant Mateu, near Barcelona, in the “Parc de la Serralada Litoral”. Me, boyfriend and a friend stopped in amazement (ok, me) in front of a bush painted red on this golden autumn afternoon (ah: the madroño is one of the few plant animals that gives both flowers and fruits, a splendor).
My friend, a jaded muy from northern Italy and known in popular culture, commented: They say overeating this frutiña causes migraines and drunkenness. A woman with a face from This Bosque Is Mine passed by us, who told us: nothing, you can eat without fear!
I can attest that I was not drunk, unfortunately. But later I learned that the fame is real: the Madroño fruit begins its alcoholic fermentation process always on the tree, and when we eat it it has already become mezzo cachaça-de-frutinha.
Hence its Latin name: Arbutus unedo, from “unum edo” – eat one. Or some of his nicknames around the world, like “borrachines” (“drunk”, drunk). @ urs @ de Madrid, señoras y señoretes, is drunk @, drunk @ wild fruits …