Book Recovering Traditional Cerdanya Calendar to be Presented in the Region

The work by Joan Pous and Salvador Vigo, the result of decades of research, documents local folklore, festivities, and gastronomy.

Generic image of a presentation room or library with a microphone and empty chairs.
IA

Generic image of a presentation room or library with a microphone and empty chairs.

The new book El calendari de la Cerdanya i el Baridà, by Joan Pous i Porta and Salvador Vigo i Pubill, will be presented this Friday, April 10, at the Cerdanya Comarcal Archive, recovering local folklore and traditions.

Editorial Salòria has recently published El calendari de la Cerdanya i el Baridà. El santoral, les festivitats, el folklore, la casa i les menges de temporada, a work that comprehensively documents the traditional life of the region. This 200-page publication is the result of extensive research carried out by authors Joan Pous i Porta and Salvador Vigo i Pubill.
The book's foundation comes from fieldwork conducted during the 1990s, involving interviews with residents of Cerdanya. This material, initially collected in handwritten notebooks, now holds invaluable significance, as many of the interviewed individuals, who passed on their grandparents' knowledge, are no longer alive.

"It was and has been a lot of work, but we had a great time back then. And now, honestly, I've really enjoyed writing the book."

Joan Pous · Co-author of the book
The work explores the customs, festivities, traditions, and beliefs of Cerdanya and Baridà, including a section dedicated to gastronomy. This final part highlights recipes from the women of the region, featuring seasonal products and dozens of preparations explained by local people, who still keep some of these culinary practices alive today.

"Many things have been broken by so-called progress. For example, cooking no longer provides those flavors and cooking methods. Modernity has destroyed a gastronomy of wisdom."

Joan Pous · Co-author of the book
The authors lament the loss of oral transmission of popular culture, which previously occurred during evening gatherings around the fire. They attribute this breakdown to depopulation, the loss of figures who maintained liturgical traditions, and especially the advent of television, which replaced shared stories. The book's publication thus aims to "preserve, remember, and make known" the lives of ancestors.
The final pages of the book feature the covers of the annual Cerdà calendar, a publication edited since 1980 by the Associació Amics de Cerdanya and the Institut d'Estudis Ceretans, also promoted by Pous. This year's calendar is dedicated to cinema filmed in Cerdanya, thanks to the contribution of local historian and collector Martí Solé.