My memory of San Mateo festivals
My memory of the San Mateo festivals lives on in my city. The fireworks and the lemon ice cream. Holding tightly to my father’s hand at the fairground rides. The puppets in the Doctor Zubia square, and the festival on Calle Colón, with that unmistakable aroma of lamb chops grilling over vine shoots.
Moreover, my mother would dress us up, often adding a jacket, to go to El Espolón and watch the traditional grape treading. Each year, those sturdy men locked shoulders, leaning on one another to press down firmly on the mound of black grapes piled inside half a barrel set in the middle of El Espolón. The must flowed from the spout, and the ritual ended with applause from the authorities and from the whole crowd gathered there.
The harvest festival was a living metaphor for the city of Logroño. It began with the agricultural fair on the weekend before the celebrations. We loved gazing at the giant, colorful vegetables—the fruit of hard work by farmers from every corner of La Rioja, from Calahorra to the fertile lands of Varea, just outside Logroño.
What remains with me most from San Mateo is the atmosphere: the festive spirit of a quintessential Spanish provincial town, the local culinary traditions, and those familiar flavors that mothers kept alive in family kitchens—sea bream in Riojan sauce, lamb stew with peppers, and, of course, the layered pastries from La Mariposa de Oro that my mother adored. And on those days, you might sip a glass of wine from one of the great bodegas, simply because it was San Mateo.
Laurel Street: the heart of Logroño
But if there is one place that becomes special during San Mateo, it is the Laurel street. There, among the sound of people, songs, and toasts, locals and visitors mingle in an atmosphere unlike any other. Laurel becomes the very heart of tapas culture. Each bar serves its pincho, always paired with a fine Rioja wine.
Many visitors ask me what to see during the San Mateo festivities, and I always tell them the same: beyond the grape treading, the parades and the fireworks, you must wander through Laurel. That’s where the true heartbeat of the city lies: groups of friends with scarves tied around their necks, spontaneous songs breaking out, and the mouthwatering aroma of Riojan gastronomy filling the air.
Because when San Mateo festivals come to Logroño, the entire city feels different.
