Salmon Festival
A Estrada crowns the king of the river
The salmon reigns supreme in the river Ulla as it passes through A Estrada. The Pontevedra town has been celebrating, for more than 40 years, the gastronomic festival dedicated to the river monarch, an event that has become a symbol of the important link between this fish and the municipality and has been declared of Galician tourist interest in recent times.
As well as being a delicacy, salmon offers other attractions for tourism in the Rías Baixas. Long before the event in which the different recipes are prepared, fishermen arrive in A Estrada from all over Galicia and the rest of Spain. They are attracted, above all, by the great popularity of the International Fishing Competition organised by the Sociedad Deportiva Río Ulla.
They cast their rods and try their luck from the first day of May, a day when all eyes are on the campanu. That first specimen caught in the waters of the Ulla will be the one that opens the season. Some years it is earlier in the morning and others later, but all the spotlights are on it.
Along with the fishing, the fishing preserves of Strada - the traditional ones of O Xirimbao (Couso), Sinde and Ximonde, but also the more recent ones such as Santeles or Pontevea - are more than just spaces in which to tempt the silver fish. Throughout the year, and especially with the arrival of good temperatures, they become ideal areas for relaxation, sustainable tourism and outdoor activities. Included among the main attractions of the municipality, these spots are a real relief on hot days.
At the Salmon Festival, the local restaurants and bakeries offer a wide variety of different dishes and organise a popular tasting that attracts more and more people every year. Grilled, en papillote, in empanada, pizza or baked are some of the recipes that can be savoured along with new proposals that surprise local restaurateurs and which explain why in recent years it has been impossible to find a free space at the table.
On its big day, the Salmon Festival begins with the reading of the proclamation and the awarding of gold badges to outstanding personalities. A leisure programme for the whole family gives way to the tasting itself, which usually starts at around 12:00 hours and for which tickets are required. From midday the celebration moves to the restaurants on a day when groups of friends and families take the opportunity to share a table and tablecloth.