There may be thoughts of “Christmas in July” at this time of year, but real Christmas is looked at in today’s Poet’s Corner contribution by Marina Sanchez.
She writes temptingly of Nochebuena, the family evening feast of Christmas Eve which is often the biggest occasion of the season for Spanish cultures around the world. In case it is needed, a poetry editor’s tastebud translation table follows.
Nochebuena in Exile
Before Christmas Eve, Dad used to drive to the DF,
on the old road with the hair-pin bends,
to the shop of one of his Republican friends
and he came back laden with Spain:
in the tins with swirling
gold and silver letters,
their little keys for scrolling
back the tricksy metal where
we used to cut our fingers, but
we couldn’t wait to release
the taste, the smell
of unknown oceans:
Calamares en su Tinta
Almejas en su Jugo
Mejillones en Escabeche
and he came back laden with Spain,
in the cold meats and cheeses, in the creamy,
waxy paper that crunched when opened,
Jamon Serrano
Queso Manchego
Chorizo de Cantimpalo
laden with Spain, in the chunks
of salted cod that Mum had to soak
and cook following his recipe of
Bacalao a la Vizcaina
green olives peering through tomato sauce,
vermilion pimentos like fantastic seaweed.
And all the sweets.
Peladillas
sugared almonds
in soft pink, white and blue;
Figuritas de Mazapan
little bears, dolls and jars and people
that we released from the squeaky
cellophane, eating them in one mouthful;
slices of Turron de Jijona,
the hardest sweet we’d ever tasted.
And on that night only, my sister
and I were allowed to drink wine:
Rioja de Valdepenas
Marques del Riscal
that almost, but only almost,
made us too sleepy to wait up
for presents at Midnight.
And we all still hear his last toast,
as he was not a man for blessings:
Que vuestra mesa nunca tenga menos
May your table never have less.
Marina Sanchez is of Native American and Spanish heritage and received her education in Mexico and Europe. She lives in London, where she has worked at a secondary school in special needs teaching, and as a freelance translator. Her poems, and her translations of such as the classic One Hundred Love Sonnets of Pablo Neruda, have appeared internationally in journals and anthologies. Her new award-winning chapbook Dragon Child, from Acumen Press and the Poetry Kit, is about raising a daughter with CHARGE syndrome.
And may the tastebuds begin:
Calamares en su Tinta: a squid in its own ink recipe.
Almejas en su Jugo: clams (cockles) cooked in olive oil, onion, garlic, parsley and pepper.
Mejillones en Escabeche: mussels marinated in olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, bay leaf and pepper. Can be purchased tinned.
Jamon Serrano: a prosciutto-like ham, “from the mountains”.
Queso Manchego: a firm buttery sheep’s milk cheese from the La Mancha region.
Chorizo de Cantimpalo: a chorizo sausage from Cantimpalo in the province of Segovia.
Bacalao a la Vizcaina: salt cod with red pepper sauce, a traditional dish of the Basque region.
Peladillas: candied almonds typical of the Valencia region, can be multi-coloured.
Figuritas de Mazapan: traditional centuries-old marzipan figurines, made from sugar and ground almonds.
Turron de Jijona: a nougat from Jijona, a town in eastern Spain famous for this delicacy.
Rioja de Valdepenas: wine region and town going back to the Phoenicians. “La Rioja Tempranillo” is perhaps one of the most iconic of its numerous red, white and rosé varieties.
Marques del Riscal: a reference to one of the wineries of the above region.
Que vuestra mesa nunca tenga menos: “let your table never have less”.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.
