ROUTE 2

Itinerary through the historical part of Malpica de Bergantinhos

Calle Eduardo Vila Fano, O Cruceiro, Rúa Tío Paz, A Atalaia, O Miradoiro, Dársena, Lonxa.

Length of routel: l.l Kms ( One way )
Time needed: 1 H. 15 Mins ( return journey)
Recommended: Only on foot. Throughout the year

Malpica de Bergantinhos / A.F.M.

It can be said that Malpica de Bergantinhos sits on a small peninsula, given the presence of three determining geographical elements: sand, land and sea, or in other words, the Area Maior, the top of the Atalaia and the port. Places with capital letters, contexts in which both life and death are put and which make up the physical aspect of a village and the singularity of its people.

Eduardo Vila Fano street marks the starting point of this journey which takes place through streets and back alleys. The aforementoned engineer managed to lay the foundations of the present day port of Malpica de Bergantinhos with the invaluable help of Emilio González López (member of Parliament ) during the II Republic ( 1931).

Along with Caión, Corme, Laxe, Camelle or Camarinhas, Malpica de Bergantinhos is one of the typical seabord villages in this mythical area called the Costa da Morte. Nowadays we are only able to see drops, the odd examples of marine architecture among the predominant urban schizophrenic one. Despite all this, the narrow, laberynthine streets, the bright colours of the houses and window frames, the smell of the algae, the warmth of the inhabitants remain unchanged through time. The visitor should allow himself to be sweep along with the atmophere

The slogan thought up by the local authorities in the 1970´s was 'Malpica de Bergantinhos : A vila da vida na Costa da Morte' (Malpica de Bergantinhos. The village of life on the Coast of Death). Dozens of arteries, through which hundreds of lives flow, emerge from the main street, giving the impression of vitality and uncommon activity. Conversations held out loud and in typical melodic tones; the comings and goings from one small shop to another, and the traffic reveal a certain harmonic chaos which the visitor regards as essential and relaxing at the same time. It´s a pity that the architecture to privide a rational contrast to such hustle and bustle isn´t present here.

The saltpetre spread by the loud north-east wind, the everpresent seagull, the faces with chapped skin from working daily in the sea fill the village with character, this village which has seen, on these very streets, the 'Misiones Pedagogicas' (Educational Missions), the actors who arrived from the Castille, the parade in of the first civil guard assassinated by the E.T.A (Basque separatist movement), processions celebrated according to the santoral calendar, and dawn flights to freedom. It was during the Spanish Civil war that three motor-boats. From Malpica, full of men, fear and regret, risked their own and other´s lives to avoid having to take part in the war between brothers of the same faith. These are some of the life stories waiting to be written.

MARINE ARCHITECTURE

House with balconary / X.M. Varela.

As in any other seaboard village, the first houses in Malpica de Bergantinhos were built sheltered from the north-east wind, and facing the south at the foot of the Atalaia. Slowly the houses were hung until they reached the very rocks on the seashore. Thanks to the economic growth brought about by the work of the fishermen, the houses passed from ocuppying their original location to spreading along the main street, through previously reserved areas. The modern buildings, built in the style of graceless cubes, are erected thougthtlessly in windy areas, lacking the least bit of harmony with the surrounding area and also the beauty of the corridors and galleries of the houses of days gone by which fascinated each and every gazes that fell upon them.

Casa terrea (one-level house)
This is the most primitive type of housing. The stonemasonry walls have reinforced corners and recesses. They´re built low so as to be protected from the strong coastal winds. The inside is divided into a few essential areas: kitchen, passage, pigsty, bedroom and an area for keeping tools in. They consist of only one floor.

House with porch
Its a two-floored terraced house. The front part of second floor is held up by iron or stone columns, or by an arch. No example of this type of house has been found in Malpica.

House with corridor
Made of wood or iron, nowadays cement, held up by modillons or a stone shelf which juts out from the front of the house, these houses have balconies which give them a stately appearance. These areas were for leisure, a place to hang fishing tackle or clothes; and in one corner an enclosed space which was used as the household toilet.

House with gallery
These are the houses of the wealthiest families, the ship´s captain´s family. The verandah, covered with glass and facing south so as to capture and keep the heat inside the building. It was an area to practice lace-making (palillar) or enjoy a good read for families with more leisure time.

In the Praza do Cruceiro, where a stone cross, engraved on all four sides now stands, there used to be a natural spring from where the dwellers of the Atalaia would get their water supply from right from the earliest times of the life of the village. The square is a crossroads which invites us to follow diverse routes. One of them leads to the port. This is Antonio Montero street, whose name commemorates a well-loved village teacher, one who educated many generations of malpicans. San Ramón street, which borders the Pazo of the Viscount San Alberto and leads us to the Atalaia. We will walk along Pazo street, a kind local sailor who was well-loved by the local children for his stories and his skills in the art of fishing, which the would teach them when they paid him visits. We walk while the route hangs from the primitive houses of Malpica, so that envy doesn´t enter them, and we reach the 'Mirador'.

We can observe the small bay now converted into one of the most important coastal fishing ports in Galicia. The dock which shelters the small boats, the most defenceless. We can see the " Casa do Pescador " ( Fisherman´s House ) with its murals painted by Urbano Lugrís. The Camiño do Río which slowly became filled with brick boxes which also watch over the dangerous dock

The jagged coast with low-growing vegetation and potentially dangerous caves. This is a place in which to stop for a while to stop time and simply contemplate the bustle of both fishermen and traders in the port below.

We go down the flights of stairs which lead from the wide roof of the old fish market, nowadays used as lecture rooms for dock activites. Below, various types of fishing vessels; the ancient trades which shaped the economy of this seabord village, and the variety of captured fish and shell-fish await us.

THE PORTO

Fishmen/ J.L. Fernández

Malpica de BergantiNHos grew out of a whaling port in the 17th century, Jerónimo del Hoyo ( 365 ) tells us that this was the port in Galicia, which captured the greatest number of whales: 'seven or eight whales', give or take two either way, are caught each year, the Biscayans pay a lease on the port as they are the ones who catch the creatures; they pay archbishop a fixed income of seven thousand 'maravedis' a year (maravedis: a Spanish coin which has had different names and values according to the time in which it was used) perhaps from that moment on, the 'piojo' (flea) port (nick-named in this way due to the no-longer existing local custom of battling with the plagues of this parasite in children´s hair at night-fall) has never stopped improving. The harbour, made from concrete and boulders from mount Beo to impede the entry of the reef called the 'plancha'. Despite its height and length, it´s not enough, and on some stormy days many ships must seek shelter in other docks. This isn´t a natural harbour, which leads to the search of human solutions to nature´s harshness.

Tarrafas
These are the largest vessels of the port and are dedicated to the capture of horse mackerel and sardine. Their tonnage oscillates between 0 and 50 Tons, and they cover the area from Laxe to Cariño. Some time ago, the Domingues sea was an important shoal area, situated at 10 sea miles from the port of Malpica. The fishing tackle the " tarrafas " use is a large net which measures 550m x 90m with which they surround the shoals. On these ships we can see the existence of three different types of sterns: "de pavo", "de rabo de gallo" and "espejo o estampa ". They go out to sea in the late evening and they return when they have a catch or, at the lastest, the following day at dawn. It´s wonderful sight to watch the tasks of auctioning and unloading being carried out. They usually have between eight and twelve men on board, divided into "classes", according to their duties ( engineer, the "largador", who´s in charge of lowering the net into the sea, skipper, etc ) and they get paid according to this in " quiñones " which means share of the profit.

Day vessels
These are vessels of smaller tonage which are dedicated to the capture of crustaceans, cephalopods and whitefish from dawn to dusk. The fishing area of the smallest vessels stretches from the Baixos de Baldaio to the Sisarga Islands, whereas the larger vessels go out a distance of 11 or 12 sea miles. They use fishing tackle such as fish traps, long lines or boulters.

Rowing boat skippers
Malpica is the only place in Galicia where this job also known as marine taxe-driver exists. The "boteros" transport the sailors from the wavebreaker to the vessels anchored in the middle of the port. Their uniqueness lies in how they´re paid for their work: they get paid in kind, in certain quantities of fish which, once night time has passed, they sell in the fish-market. There are whole families of boteros: 'Os Espasandín', 'Os Gagos', "Os Juancinhos'…

The Rederas
It´s an impressive scene to see the women of Malpica sat on a carpet of net while they repair the tears in the nets brought when it gets caught in the reef or by a shoal of fish that managed to create a whole through which to escape. With the net hooked onto the ends of their feet and using a small collection of needles, they weave the net until this piece of equipment is completely repaired. Nowadays, they use a warehouse to carry out such tasks, although it´s still possible to see them working in the port area.

THE FISH-MARKET

From O Miradoiro/ X.M. Varela.

Ever since Malpica de Bergantiños became a coastal fishing port, after its whaling past, the auction areas for the daily catch have changed place many times. Jose Mas, in his novel " La Costa de la Muerte ", describes the fish-market and the unloading of the fish in the 1920´s, which was situated on the foundations of the Casa del Pescador, as soon as the boats passed the reef, the women with their bare feet and legs, would go forward in groups of four or five so as to fasten themselves to the stern and help their menfolk in the complicated and laborious task of unloading the boat... with large baskets, and helped by the crew, they would transfer the catch to a corner of the market which was, miraculously, free. " Once the boat had been unloaded, the fishermen and the skipper would leave... The only owners of the fish, therefore, were the women. The would carry out the deliveries themselves". From here they would carry the sardines, on their heads, to the canning and salting factories in the town. In this task of trasporting the baskets of fish inland, both children and women would take part, earning a "tarja" for each trip they made ( a " tarja" being a local coin of symbolic value which was later exchanged for pesetas at the skipper´s house. This tradition was lost decades ago.

Once the first expasion of the port was carried out, the old fish-market was built, and this has now given way to one equipped with more modern resources.

The auction
With respect and silence, one can attend a traditional system of bidding, and almost extinct in Galicia, which is the auction of the catch. The catch of the 'tarrefas' is auctioned on electric screen monitors. With each a lot, a sample of the catch (2 or 3 kilos) is brought so that the buyer can examine what he´s buying. The cost of the product, once the price of the whole load has been agreed, is assigned to the " Cofradía de Pescadores" (fishermen´s society).

However, the catch of the day is bid for by the buyers singing out the lowest price per kilo for each type of fish; once the sale has been accepted, the fisherwoman places a paper with her name on the sold fish.

The commercialization
After the auction, a small amount of Malpica´s ships´ catch supply the local market, while the rest are taken to the capital of the region (Carballo), to market-places as important as the Coruña, Santiago or Vigo, and sometimes they reach Madrid or Portugal. Part of the catch is also used in the production of fodder in the flour factories of Carinho.

The species
Whitefish as well as blue fish, crustaceans, molluscs and even echinoderms like sea-urchins are all caught in this port. The most common species to pass through the market, apart from the previously mentined sardines and horse mackerel are rays, codfish, sea bass, octopus, spider crab, fiddler crab, goose barnacle among others. There are some, like the red mullet or Saint Peter´s fish ('El pez de San Pedro'), which is facing extinction.