Santo Tomás, where local products, talo and sago offer a great fair to enjoy.
The day of St. Thomas is celebrated throughout the Basque Country and rural products take all the limelight along with sagar (cider) and talo (corn cake). The towns and cities that host this fair are Arrasate, Azpeitia, Bilbao, Donostia, Errenteria, Hondarribia, Irun, Lekeitio and Usurbil.
The Santo Tomás fair is held on December 21, except in Arrasate, which is on December 22 (Santamasak). Apart from the garden products, this celebration has animal exhibitions, music and traditional dances of the Basque culture and an unbeatable atmosphere. Bilbao is the place where more people attend the event, with more than 100,000 visitors year after year, and here we mention the main points of interest of the Santo Tomás fair in the Biscayan capital.
History: It all began in the 19th century when the “baserritarras” had to pay rent for the land they cultivated. This payment was made on December 21st and the “baserritarras” went to the city to pay their debts with their best products. To take advantage of the trip, they would take all their harvest to sell to the citizens of the town and thus began the Santo Tomás market. Year after year the event has been gaining more strength until it has become a tradition.
Animal fair: the animals shown on this day are usually farm animals and chickens and pigs are the protagonists, without forgetting cows, oxen, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys. But without a doubt, the star is the pig that is usually raffled on this day (they usually communicate who the winner is on December 22), it is usually displayed at the fair and people can buy as many tickets as they want.
Music: Musical groups, trikitilaris, txalapartaris and bertsolaris give the note with performances in the street and animating the festivity.
The little ones: Bilbao does not forget the “txikis” and in the village we will find a wide range of games and activities for children. They also have craft workshops and farm activities, helping to understand the rural world and the care of the garden and animals.
Market: The main attraction of the fair is the market and the two most important points are in Plaza Nueva and Arenal. Hundreds of stalls crowd these areas and the great variety of seasonal products give the town a colorful atmosphere that attracts anyone. It is recommended to get up early if you want to buy without crowds and in a quiet way because at noon it gets crowded and shopping becomes more complicated. It must be said that taking advantage of the multitude of customers who come this day to the different markets, prices are usually a little higher than normal but maintaining the excellent quality that characterizes this fair.
Talo and Sagardo (cider): Another highlight of the fair are usually the small booths that are set up along the Arenal and Plaza Nueva, where among other things the typical talo with chorizo and sagardo are offered. The talo is a traditional corn cake of the Basque culture and usually comes rolled up with a piece of chorizo or chistorra sausage, although you can also choose blood sausage or pork loin. And of course, it is accompanied with sagardo from Guipuzcoa or txakoli. If you are not too interested in the products of the garden and the rural world, perhaps this attraction is what convinces you to go to the fair, undoubtedly, an explosion of flavors for the palate.
The night: Like almost all festivities, when the sun disappears and night falls, the bars and restaurants take center stage. The streets of the old town of Bilbao fill up and a cheerful atmosphere fills the 7 streets. For the revelers, the bars do not close until the early hours of the next morning and a large number of people hold out until the sun reappears.
I hope that the information shared will convince you to go to St. Thomas on December 21. For more information, access the website of the Bilbao City Council. Here is a video about the fair:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iu-ZO5vvFs
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