Unlike the multitude of cheese making appointments in the Principality, Cuerres has its own distinctive essence, it is not about eating for food, but about Savor the unique atmosphere of a picnic that, enjoying cordially in the company of family and friends, has something of ancestral. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Quesu de Cuerres Fair is a whole model of traditional pilgrimage, and perhaps it has to do in this authenticity the fact that the Fair traces its origins centuries ago, being the feast of San Lorenzo a key date for the local merchandise, with a large-scale cattle fair included. You may also have to see the place itself, enclave riosellano (Cuerres) whose name evokes the ancient Celtic spirit, hinting at a possible fortified village from the iron age. Today the tradition is renewed, and Cuerres keeps alive the flame of market specializing in an ephemeral and populous rite that always leaves a good taste in the mouth among his faithful followers.
There is cheese, a lot of cheese. Around a ton is the final balance of sales year after year. The artisan stalls gathered in the town supply the instant consumption of the most impatient stomachs, and only a smaller percentage of what is purchased is reserved to bring the flavor to family and friends who have missed the fair. The town of Cuerres becomes for a few hours the cheese capital of Asturias. The traditional fairgrounds and the surroundings of the parish church become picturesque and improvised restaurants.
Gamonéu, Cabrales, Picón, goat cheese from Vidiago, from Pría and an endless number of nuances of dairy production in the region are present in the town square. But besides cheeses are tasted many other products of the earth to satisfy the appetite, as well as native desserts designed to sweeten digestion. Spicy and sweet chorizo, cecina, canned fish, liqueurs, cider, jam, sweets, honey, empanadas, dumplings, cakes, casadielles, frixuelos, breads of all types and sizes and endless varieties with the label "From home" they are arranged in the late afternoon on improvised tablecloths in the prau of the party. Hundreds of diners jam the jira and prolong the gatherings until the night falls on them.
Later, the crowd approaches the mobile bar and the orchestra, unhurried, begins its first chords. The Jira continues in the Plaza de la Parroquia de San Mames with a relaxed festival packed with animation. One way or another, everyone ends up getting into the "core" and the extraordinary turnout for the dance confirms the festive status of the village. And the thing is that Cuerres continues to be the ideal excuse for not letting up on summer nights, with the unstoppable inertia that the Descent of the Sella brings with it at the beginning of August.
It dawns in the village and there are still many who do not want to leave, the cheese has acted in its own way, perhaps as a "magic potion."
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
