Each 29 June This celebration, one of the most curious and original in the Principality, takes place in Cudillero and has been declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest. The image of San Pedro go down to The Ribera, next to the Plaza del Sable, in the oldest part of the port. The reciterWell-trained and heir to a prestigious lineage of historical orators, he climbs aboard the decorated boat and, standing tall, growing stronger by the moment, embodies the voice of the people, saying what everyone knows and expects to hear in the most genuine language: the pixueta.
The seaside town, an amphitheater in itself, serves as both audience and jury. Aware of the importance of this ritual in continuing to make history, the townspeople will judge the orator's skill, what he truly needed to say, and what he should not have omitted.
Saint Peter, patron saint of Cudillero
L'Amuravela is a “sermon” that was half religious and half secular, recited in verse, which keeps the local patron saint (Saint Peter, the fisherman apostle and first Pope) informed of what happened during the year; from the small affairs of the port to the great events of the world.
The tradition of this oral tale dates back at least to the XVI century, linked to the construction of the church of San Pedro around 1569 and to the return of Pixuetos sailors who would have participated in the conquest of Florida, aboard the ship The holy ghost (built in Cudillero). Those men brought with them from overseas the custom of greeting the Admiral, and transferred it to their devotion to the saintly fisherman of fishermen.
The rhyming chronicle, ironic and bordering on satire, always stirred up controversy. A popular form of freedom that led to clashes with parish priests and lengthy suspensions. History particularly remembers the episode of Xuan de la Cuca At the end of the 19th century, when confronted by the image of the saint, he drew his sword and recited:
If there is a shortage of fish or bread
With one blow you'll fall to the ground;
I take the keys to Heaven,
and I give them to Saint John.
That irreverent tone ruined the proclamation, no less than... 1946The tradition was revived through an agreement with the clergy that allowed its recitation, but without the presence of the saint's image. It would be in 2005, after more than a century of longing, when Saint Peter heard L'Amuravela live again in La Ribera.
A secular sermon in the Pixueta language
Between these two milestones rises a genealogy of guardians of the word: Elvira BravoThe author of the sermon from 1947 to 1986, never went down to San Pedro in the morning to listen to L'Amuravela because, as she clarified, "I don't like it when they say that I made it... San Pedro and the people make it."
His son, Juan Luis Álvarez Bravo “Totó”a great performer for several decades, and Cesáreo Marqués Valle For as many years (after taking over in 1985 and also assuming the writing of the opening speech since 1995), they are two of the key figures of this festival. Cesáreo defined the essence of this monologue like no one else: “L'Amuravela must always reflect what the people say, nothing more and nothing less. It is the true expression of freedom for the fishing community of Cudillero.”
Juan Luis FernandezA local hotelier and history graduate, he took up the mantle in 2025 and felt firsthand that sensation of speaking on behalf of everyone: "from up there you can see it clearly from the faces the neighbors are making, you know if the text is being well received, if it is necessary to raise your voice more..."
This central event, called L'Amuravela, is also the festive peak of the popular Feast of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint PaulinusBut… who was San Pablín? Well, it's just a very ingenious invention that the people of Pixueto came up with to extend their festivities by one more day without having to give too many explanations.
Cudillero, the mirror of the sea
Few fishing villages are reflected in the water like Cudillero. A villa that gives its name to an entire… Read more
The town of Cudillero It has been called Norman and imagined as a Viking enclave, but historical sources are cautious: there were Viking raids along the Asturian-Leonese coast between the 9th and 12th centuries, but there is no documentary or archaeological evidence to prove a Norman settlement in Cudillero. That's perfectly fine. The essence of Cudillero doesn't need this to be unique. It stems from the trade, the port, the fish, from a maritime community with its own vocabulary and a clear boundary between those who lived off the sea and those who belonged to other trades, the so-called caízos.
Nun seremus lus primeirus,
from Cantabrian as of old
peru lus mijoris, piansu,
siguru siguimus siandu,
¡po lu menus en el “pinchu”!
The people of Pixuetos call Saint Peter today.
L'Amuravela is Cuideiru, the lower part, the fishing and seafaring area of this town. One of the original ports of Asturias and the entire Cantabrian coastUntil a few decades ago, before having a large and modern dock, it was barely a small berth that the boats did not fit in it: they were taken ashore, parked in the streets and at the doors of the houses.
There aren't as many sailors as there used to be, and the port no longer holds the economic importance it once did when life depended more directly on fishing. Today, less fishing is done to support the town and more to satisfy the tastes of that other tide: tourism.
Comu cambearun las cousas
in Cuideiru with the tiampu,
anantis todu eran peixis
desdi la Rula p' abaxu,
agora todu son mesas
tourists already enjoying themselves!
But in L'Amuravela, besides coastal scenes and fish prices, there's room for fires, local politics, war, popes, blackouts, the newly renovated town square, irony aimed at the powerful, and applause for those who work for the people. It's a salt-scented archive, a people's parliament perched atop a boat. And cultural accolades have also grown up around it, such as the Golden Amuravelas, awarded by the Friends of Cudillero Association since 1980. Receiving this award is an unspeakable honor.
And the reciter ends like this:
As long as Cudillero lives!
and last La Fuenti'l Cantu,
San Pedro goes to La Ribera
with all the other saints!
Amura vela! Isa vela!
Fire to port! Fire to starboard!
Long live Pedro!!!
If you want to be amazed by the ingenuity of each and every one of the amuravelas, you can do so at this link: https://amuravela.com/amuravelas/
Information:
To visit Cudillero and L'Amuravela, it is advisable to plan your parking, as the historic center is pedestrianized and does not allow parking.
The best options are the Port parking lot, about 500 meters from the center, regulated between June and October, with daily payment; and the upper area of El Pito or the cemetery, free and with more spaces, although it requires going up and down many stairs.
More info: turismocudillero.com
Photographs: © Cudillero Town Hall
