Granai della Memoria

Alberto Lopez de Ipiña, was born in Manurga, Spain, in 1960; he has been interviewed for the Granaries of Memory during Terra Madre 2012.

He was born in a little village, inhabited by 90 people, in the community of Alava, in the North of Spain. Lopez narrates life and traditions of himself, his family and his hamlet, going from his childhood, spent outdoor, working on the fields, to rites linked to religious celebrations.

Food has a relevant position in his narration, because his family used to live just by auto-sustenance: he describes typical Basque products and the biodiversity of flora and fauna that characterizes Alava, but also the moments of food sharing, in particular in breaks during collective works. Are than explained some typical recipes and dishes of his family, such as “bacalao al pil pil”, that is salt cod with a sauce made of garlic and chili pepper. 

Lopez also describes the customs and the traditions of farmer's world, the periodicity and the need to follow Earth’s rhythm, the propitiatory rites, the collective tasks and the unusual professionals, such as “curanderos”, that were healers able to use plants and natural remedies to attend village’s inhabitants.