The Mercau Astur in Nava, which coincides with and enhances the popular San Juan celebration, is a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest overflowing with color and excitement. The town transforms into a living museum, with numerous stalls and artisan workshops showcasing all the traditional crafts: clog makers, jewelers, tinsmiths, jet artisans, basket weavers, shoemakers… Visitors can witness live demonstrations of leather embossing, tinsmithing, wool carding, metalworking…
This reenactment also includes a remarkable gastronomic showcase . Good food and good cider abound in this quintessential cider-producing town. Regional cheeses and cured meats, homemade pastries, garden produce, artisanal packaged goods, and much more, extending to other traditional consumer products such as organic cosmetics, textiles, and a wide array of regional crafts.
At the Mercáu Astur in Nava, you can eat, drink, shop, learn, and have fun. Especially the latter, as the day progresses and the visitors' excitement grows. Characters of ancient origin mingle with the public: giants, big-headed figures, and puppeteers . And the music, dances, Asturian songs, juggling, storytelling, and folk music never stop. These are days marked by lively activity, with not a moment's pause: fountains are decorated with branches, parades with traditional carts begin, acrobats perform, and children's activities commence with pottery workshops, donkey and horse rides, tug-of-war, sack races, and stilt walking.
Night falls with the spectacular bonfire of San Juan and live music. The party doesn't stop, but the next day someone will need to be level-headed if they hope to win the Ramu. Like many other Asturian festivals, Nava preserves this tradition: the Puya l'Ramu . At midday, artisan loaves of bread are placed on a wooden structure decorated with floral motifs and colorful ribbons. In the fervor of the festivities, the bidding always reaches prices far exceeding the actual value of what's being auctioned.
And it is that the value of the authentic has no price.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
