The Botillo Festival will be twinned this year with the Casa de León in Asturias
The National Festival of Exaltation of Botillo will formalize next February 22 a new twinning protocol during the institutional act that will take place in the City Hall of Bembibre, before the Gala. This time it will be with the House of León in Asturias, based in Gijón.
The twinning will seek to strengthen the ties between the Botillo Festival -and what it represents from a gastronomic and cultural point of view- with the León community in Asturias through the Casa de León. We must not overlook the importance of the Leonese community in Asturias which, in the 80’s, reached over 30,000 people and currently exceeds 25,000 inhabitants who were born in the province.
They have a meeting point in the Casa de León in Asturias, which promotes cultural and leisure activities aimed not only at citizens from León or of León origin, but also at the population in general with a clear integrating character.
During the past year 2024, this House of Leon held several activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its foundation, at the end of 1983. In their usual activities, they organize literary presentations, conferences, theater, two annual trips to the province or the patron saint festivities in the month of October, ending with a great parade of banners in the promenade of the Muro de San Lorenzo, among others.
Without forgetting its festival of exaltation of the botillo, which will celebrate its 37th edition at the end of March. The twinning protocol, to be signed by the mayoress of Bembibre, Silvia Cao, and the president of the Casa de León in Asturias, José María Fernández Chimeno, entails the commitment of both institutions to establish and establish cooperative relations, mainly in the cultural field.
About the twinning
The City Council of Bembibre began in 2016 a series of twinnings with other towns and institutions with the aim of spreading the cultural value of the National Festival for the Exaltation of Botillo. At first it was with municipalities producing different ingredients of the sausage: Jaraíz de la Vera in 2016 (for paprika), Guijuelo in 2017 (the pork itself), La Bóveda de Toro a year later (for garlic) and, in 2019, Chozas de Abajo (potato).
In 2020 the twinning took place with the Festival Cante de las Minas de La Unión (Murcia), beginning thereafter, after the pandemic, with the León communities residing in other provinces. In 2022 it was with the Casa de León in Seville; in 2023 with the Casa de León in Madrid; and, in the last edition of 2024, with the Casa de León in A Coruña.
