| New
York City’s Castanyada’ 05
by Mercè Pujol
On Friday, November
4, 2005, the Catalan Institute of America celebrated
its traditional holiday of “La Castanyada”
in New York City. Unlike past years, the executive board
of the association decided not to celebrate “La
Castanyada” on the same day and week as Halloween
this year. This was partially done, not just for puritan
reasons, but also to see if Catalans in NYC and their
friends were still interested in celebrating the Catalan
holiday. “La Castanyada” is celebrated in
Catalonia as one of the traditional meals of “la
Nit de Tots Sants,” the evening of the Day of
the Dead. The Day of the Dead, by the way, is also celebrated
in the United States, especially among Latino cultures.
However, this holiday is not as popular as Halloween
among native Americans and immigrants nationwide.
The Catalan crowd of around
100 people gathered in the lounge of Club Mannahatta,
a cozy and trendy spot right in the heart of the Village.
Once again, the staff of the club provided participants
with a warm welcome and first class services. Among
attendees, it is important to mention that the crowd
was a good example of New York City’s melting
pot. There were native Catalans, friends of Catalans,
friends of Catalonia, researchers of Catalan language
and culture, Spaniards, Latinos, Americans, and as many
combinations of these all as one can imagine.
Josep Pujol, owner of
Barcelona Bakery, and of course, the baker the association
favors, prepared the party’s most delicious Castanyada
menu consisting of meat and cheese pies, croquettes,
and roasted chestnuts. Additionally, he offered a great
selection of panellets (delicious round cookies made
with almonds and pinenuts). Paula Ginestar brought home
made moniatos ( baked sweet potatoes). People who were
still hungry and still felt homesick could, furthermore,
enjoy Birba cookies from Camprodon, graciously given
by Ole Ole Foods. Moscatell (light wine made from grapes)
and ratafia (liquor made with juices of certain fruit)
were offered at the bar to anyone who wanted to follow
the Catalan tradition strictly.
The setting and musical
tone were an arrangement of D.J. Sanuber, who surprised
the audience and enlivened the evening with an interesting
blend of musical tunes. Moreover, a huge projection
on the wall showed vivid images of the celebration of
“el Dia de Tots Sants,” the Day of the Dead
in Catalonia. A variety of Catalan traditions, such
as how “panellets” are made and how “castanyes”
or chestnuts are roasted, were projected on the wall.
It was not just a recollection of and an appreciation
for our customs, but also an eye opener for those who
were not so familiar with the Catalan culture and its
traditions. At the entrance, attendees were invited
to take flyers describing Catalan traditions written
in English by Hillary Gardner.
The President of the Catalan
Institute of America, Joan Salavedra, put closure to
the event with a delightful raffle. The prizes were
a beautifully adorned bottle of “moscatell,”
a gift certificate for two people to dine at a Spanish
restaurant in New York, and another gift certificate
for the moving company INTER S & R services.
Apart from the many photographs
that were taken throughout the party, a group of students
from the New York Film Academy was also videotaping
the event. They said they were planning to include portions
of La Castanyada in their final school project. Samples
of all these photographs will be soon posted on the
association’s website.
On a personal note,
it is interesting to highlight that the Catalan writer
Quim Monzo was in New York City earlier that week for
a presentation at the Instituto Cervantes. Unfortunately,
he couldn’t stay to attend the party as he was
leaving shortly. He explained that La Castanyada is
a beautiful Catalan tradition, but unfortunately, it
seems that it is slowly disappearing in Catalonia. Monzo
promised to join the Catalan Institute of America and
its members once he visits New York City in the near
future.
Click on the images.
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