Fiesta Vaqueira. Valdés y Tineo
La Braña de Aristébano, between the councils of Valdés and Tineo, hosts the Fiesta Vaqueira.
That day, a wedding is celebrated according to the vaqueiro rite and custom: the newlyweds arrive on horseback and, in carts pulled by oxen, bring the belongings they bring to the marriage, such as the bed (alluding to fertility), the bride’s trousseau (showing the family’s ability, their dowry) and the groom’s riding equipment.
Accompanied by bagpipers and a procession, they ascend and celebrate the wedding; the traditional food (empanada, chosco, lacón, natas) washed down with wine and cider, the dance to the sound of bagpipes, drum and pandeiro, but also of the payel.la (an instrument resembling a cast-iron frying pan with a long handle) and singing vaqueiradas, complete this journey.
Thus, the vaqueiro way of life is honored: the segregated, semi-nomadic (hence called vaqueros de alzada) life of these nomadic shepherds marginalized by the xaldos (villagers) and the marnuetos (coastal neighbors). For months they lived in the brañas or mountain settlements grazing their livestock, returning in winter to the valleys; today, there are few vaqueiros who maintain these traditions.