Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente’s ‘Diccionariu de la mazana, el pumar y la sidra’ is a “map of words that takes us to the extremely heart of Asturian cider culture.”
Phrases, popular expressions, rituals, trades, and rigorous and passionate lexicographical work lead readers to the cider houses, conversations in the taverns, the oral tradition passed down from generation to generation, its flavors, varieties, and even the pleasure of going for a small glass when reading it to see if the bottle they serve “can be drunk,” “can be drunk,” “is at its peak,” “is ready to be poured,” or “is top-notch”; expressions that indicate it is superb and that it will surely not be the first one you drink. Perhaps not the last either.
The Cider Universe
With this work, sponsored by the Consejería de Cultura, Política Llingüística y Deporte of the Principado de Asturias, the author takes us through its pages to an entire cider universe.
From the ‘albornia’ – the white layer found under the bark of the tree – to the ‘zapica’ – a hand-carved wooden jar used for drinking cider, of various sizes and capacities ranging from half a liter to 15 – there is a wealth of terms related to how the apple is grown, how the apple orchard is worked, how the cider is made, and, above all, how life revolves around this quintessential Asturian drink.
Identity as a People
This work, sponsored by the Consejería de Cultura, Política Llingüística y Deporte of the Principado de Asturias, takes the reader through the pages to a whole cider universe.
As the counselor for Culture, Linguistic Policy and Sports, Vanessa Gutiérrez, recognizes in the prologue written in Asturian, this book has a special value.
“No culture can be understood without the language that expresses it, without the network of words that makes it possible to look at that world with the same eyes as those who work it, celebrate it and transmit it. Cider – the people, their trades and rituals, their memory – is spoken in Asturian. This is recognized in this declaration (by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) which embraces the uniqueness of our culture, caressing our identity as a people.”
A Lexical Map
Initially, 2,500 copies have been published, which the Counseling will distribute in the main cultural facilities of the Principality, as well as those spaces linked to cider culture. Its publication is framed within the Pluriannual Program of actions for the preservation and promotion of Asturian cider culture, which brings together more than a hundred measures aimed at strengthening, making visible and guaranteeing the transmission of this Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
the work configures a lexical map that collects, in addition to the vocabulary, knowledge and traditional expressions, techniques and trades that create up a way of understanding the territory and its culture.
Of Trades, Instruments and Techniques
It would be interesting if some publisher were as well interested in this work in order to expand its scope of dissemination, as it is an essential tool for researchers, teachers, professionals in the sector, citizens interested in Asturian heritage and essential for tourists visiting Asturias and wanting to know the linguistic and cultural universe surrounding cider.
From ‘Blanquina’ to ‘Coloradona’
More than 80 names of apple varieties, many of them linked to the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) are collected in the book: small, large, early, late, sweet, acidic, bitter. They are also defined by their color: Blanquina, chata blanca, chata encarnada, coloradona. Others bear women’s names: Xuanina, Ernestina, Marialena and there are also varieties that are defined by a state: Perezosa, Regona, Teórica….
The popular sayings are very wise and many expressions linked to cider attest to the quality of the drink. Among all of them, we choose the most significant for their extraordinary flavor, how well it sits, the good temperature it has, etc. The first is the sensation of the body when taking the first sip: “It goes down well” which encourages you to continue drinking for its good effect and with the phrase “It makes a good glass” it is said that the cider meets the conditions of “breaking, holding and spreading in the glass that are considered ideal”.
‘From the Pipe to the Gut’
However, there are many more, such as, for example, “It’s loverly”, which indicates that it pleases and has a good palate; “It’s a singer”, when the quality of the cider invites “euphoric singing”, “It has soul” which refers to the quality of the cider that “is endowed with sufficient alcohol and spreads soothingly”; “It’s top-notch” with which its great quality is praised in a superlative degree or, among other expressions, “It’s strong” that has a strong flavor that “invites you to click your tongue. It is also said of what is exceptional”.
And so, a myriad of words, sayings and expressions that add up to the numerous organoleptic properties and talk about the gas, the touch, aroma, balance, etc.
Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente (Gijón/Xixón, February 1, 1949) is married and has three children. He holds a degree in Romance Philology from the University of Oviedo and worked as a professor of Language and Literature. He was a founder and promoter since 1974 of Surdimientu asturianu, of Conceyu Bable.
The Political Trajectory
His political career began in 1974 in the Popular Socialist Party (PSP) of Enrique Tierno Galván, an organization in which he was secretary of Culture and general secretary in Asturias and for which he was a candidate for Senator in the general elections of June 15, 1977.
A year later, like the rest of the PSP, he joined the PSOE, and was part of the AS of Piloña, and belonged to the Regional Committee of the Asturian Socialist Federation (FSA).
The Youngest Deputy
Xuan Xosé became the youngest deputy of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias in the Provisional Legislature (1982-1983), in which he served as spokesperson for the PSOE and secretary of the Parliamentary Group. Representing the PSOE, he chaired for four years the Public Foundation of Fine Arts and the Public Foundation of Caves and Prehistoric Sites, and also the Culture Commission of the Diputación in which he served as spokesperson for the Socialist Group.
The Asturianist Party
In 1985 he founded the Asturianist Party (PAS), of which he was president, and as a candidate he was again elected deputy of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias in the III Legislature (1991-1995) and IV (1995-1999). He also promoted in 2004 the creation of the Asturian Union.
Literary Creation
In addition to his political facet, for which he is very well known in Asturias, his literary creation is abundant. He has published more than thirty books of poetry, theater, novels and essays.
The Theater
Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente also ventured into theater with the publication of ‘El Pelayu’ (1985) and, in 1992, published all his theatrical creation in a volume under the title ‘This dance is yours, if it is that you like it: theater’.
The Classics
His biography also highlights the edition of ‘Esvilla de poesíes na llingua asturiana’, by Xosé Caveda y Nava (1979). His ‘Asturian-Spanish Dictionary, Spanish-Asturian Dictionary’ is also highly recognized.
Political Articles
In 2012 he published ‘Refraneru asturianu’, and ‘El picu Pienzu’, a compilation of political articles that appeared in the Asturian press and in 2015 ‘Picu’l Sol’, a compilation of articles of political, social and economic criticism that he had written in a regional media.
Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente has obtained the Xosefa Xovellanos Prize for narrative for ‘La muerte amiya de nueche’ and the Criticism Prize in its Asturian poetry modality.
