The “espetaza” is a genuine piece of my invention. How did I come up with it? I wanted to make a souvenir of Malaga and I thought that there are few things more characteristic of this city than the espeto, a true delicacy of the gods.
The espeto is a simple, exquisite and inexpensive dish that brings together elements typical of the Malaga coast: sardines, reeds, dark sand and summer, because you have to eat it from May until September, when the sardines are small and do not have the big spine and its fat is tastier. It is the healthiest fish you can eat.
It is said that the espeto originated on the beaches of El Palo, a fishermen’s neighborhood east of the city, in a beach bar called “Gran Parada”. It is called “espeto” because the sardines are skewered on a rod. Along the coast and in the streams, reed beds grow. From them, the reeds are cut in the shape of a spear. But espetar the sardine has its art, because if it is not done well, it falls apart when roasted. By tradition the espeteros are marengos, seafaring people and it has been a trade that has passed from one generation to another. Nowadays, it is common to use metal rods to skewer them. To keep the fish fresh, they were left in a container with sea water, but nowadays they are preserved with the cold of the ice or the fridge, and once they are skewered, coarse salt is added.
@alrebalaje
To grill the espetos you have to prepare a good bonfire. The firewood is olive wood because it burns strongly, takes a long time to be consumed and gives a good aroma to the sardine. When the embers are ready, the sardine skewers are placed vertically in front of the embers. It used to be done on the beach, directly on the sand, in the moragas, celebrations around a bonfire. Nowadays, we can eat them in the beach bars, looking at the sea. To do this, they light the fire in small boats, like those used by fishermen in the past to catch “el copo”. The “copo” is a fishing technique that could be seen practiced on our beaches until a few years ago. My mother remembers seeing the fishermen pulling the nets from the shore when the sun was rising and the women of the neighborhood would come over to buy the fish right there. It was a way of life that no longer exists, but there are still the boats stranded on the sand, the small fishermen’s houses, the practice of rowing the seines and the older men, sitting in a circle, among the boats, chatting for hours. When you walk through the neighborhood you immediately perceive the calm, slow rhythm in which the hours of the day go by, with the sea as horizon and within the beautiful light of Malaga.
I’d like to think that all this was in my head when I imagined the shape of this mug. The process I followed starts with the modeling: I modeled the cup on a wheel, I made the sardines by hand, and then I joined them together. Then I made the plaster mold that I use to make the sardines using the technique of casting with stoneware paste. After several hours, the piece has dried enough to remove it from the mold and to be able to retouch it. When it has finished drying, I fire it at 980º. And then, I give it the oxides and glazes and fire it again, this time at 1260º.
I like the idea that when our visitors buy the espetaza, they take with them a souvenir with the essence of Malaga or those of us who are fortunate enough to live here, a cup of Malaga flavor.
