Tomorrow, Saturday, April 13, the La Meyor First Cider of the Year contest will be held to choose the official PSLA cider in La Montera de Ramón (3, Saavedra Street), the verdict will be announced at 6:30 p.m.
A decade of life meets the First Cider of the Year. Xixón is preparing again for one of its celebrations with more roots and tradition within its festive calendar. The PSLA will take place from April 18 to 21 at the Muséu del Pueblu d’Asturies. The schedule will be on Thursday from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm; Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 22:00 and Sunday from 12:00 to 18:00. The PSLA is one of the clearest manifestations of the support of the magazine La Sidra and the Asturies XXI Foundation for the Asturian Cider Culture to be recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, an initiative of which said means of communication and institution They are ambassadors.
On Thursday, April 11, the presentation of this tenth edition took place at 12:00 in La Casa de la Palmera in Xixón. In the act they intervened Jorge González-Palacios, manager of Divertia; Marcos Fernández, president of the Asturies XXI Foundation; Pedro Baldó, cidermaker of El Duque; and Óscar Estors, member of ’30 days by bike ‘. Marcos Fernández, said that the First Sidre l’Añu (First Cider of the Year) was declared by the municipality of Xixón as a Celebration of Social Rooting. “What was a project at the time, now is a consolidated meeting. The PSLA is a reference in the sociocultural offer, in the world of cider and also internationally, since people from different countries of Europe come to it to live this celebration, “he said.
Fernandez also wanted to emphasize that the PSLA is the most important espicha that exists in Asturies in representation level: “One of our objectives was to revitalize the espichas of Holy Week. Previously this was the date when it was crashed and when the espichas were made. We wanted to continue with it and give it a boost. Also, with this event, it is sought to claim the cider over the mother, the cider that is untrimmed, the first that came out of the barrel. The modernization of the llagares led to almost disappearing, but since we started until now, we have managed to revitalize it and three or four industrial llagares and commercialize it ”
The PSLA will be held from April 18 to 21 and, for 6 euros that costs the entrance, attendees can enjoy the new cider of about 70 llagares. “But not only of cider, also of all activities; and at this point we want to highlight the festive atmosphere and the large number of initiatives we have prepared. This allows a quiet consumption and, above all, responsible, “said the president of the Foundation.
The first act will take place on April 13, four days before the PSLA begins properly. This Saturday will be when the contest ‘La Meyor First Sidre l’Añu’ (Best First Cider of the Year) will take place, in which about 40 industrial llagares will participate and in which the official cider of the event will be chosen through a blind tasting. The contest will take place in La Montera Picona de Xixón (Saavedra Street, 3). It will be carried out in two phases: the first in the morning and in which the five finalist ciders will be selected. The second will be in the afternoon and the final verdict will be given with the first five places at 6:30 p.m.
“The PSLA is a participatory meeting in which the attendees will be the protagonists. We want to give impetus to the socio-cultural elements of the espicha, so we have a very broad program” said Marcos Fernandez and cited some examples such as the mayada cider for children, a competition of infantile pillboxes, games and traditional sports, and even a showcooking so that the smallest of the house can make their own gastronomic elaborations.
Also, the president of the Asturies XXI Foundation indicated that the PSLA collaborates with the hotel industry in Xixón, and at this point he thanked the presence at the ceremony of Ricardo Álvarez, president of Otea Xixón. “We are going to give the assistants a map with all the cider bars of Xixón. The PSLA ends at 22:00 hours and many people go to the winches later “explained Fernandez.
On the other hand, the organizers also wanted to show their commitment to the environment and new trends, hence they have invited the association to collaborate are ’30 days by bike ‘. On Sunday 21, the entrance will be free for those who come with their bike to the Museum of the Pueblu d’Asturies. The entrance of pets is also allowed and in the gastronomic offer a vegan menu is included.
The Asturies XXI Foundation has been named ambassador of the Asturian Cider Culture to be recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. For this reason, the PSLA will collect signatures to validate it.
