Festivals San Martiño Moaña
A cup of wine in the "furanchos" of Moaña
Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of these taverns in this great festival.
The historic quarter of Moaña, unlike most towns and cities, is outside the town centre. The centre is located by the sea, as in all the fishing villages of the Galician estuaries that grew up around the intense activity of the ports, but the origin of this dynamic municipality in the region of O Morrazo lies in the upper part, specifically in the parish of San Martiño.
There we find a beautiful 12th century Romanesque church and a neighbourhood, O Cruceiro, where centuries-old houses intermingle with others built in recent decades. This is the scene of the great festival in which the furanchos are the meeting point for thousands of people.
The ground floor of the old houses in the neighbourhood become taverns for a few days where you can share a cup of white or red wine and taste chestnuts, empanada or omelette with your friends.
Every November 11th, the locals go up to the feast of San Martiño, where hundreds of people also come from other parts of O Morrazo and the rest of Galicia. The ground floor of the old houses become furanchos, full to the brim and with a bustling atmosphere, where groups of friends share cups of homemade wine accompanied by typical Galician products.
Bagpipes, tambourines, drums and tambourines play in the taverns, where musicians improvise muiñeiras - the traditional Galician dance - and other musical pieces.
The festival of San Martiño begins on 9 November and lasts almost non-stop from early morning until the early hours of the morning for the next four days. Along with the furanchos, large tents with counters are set up around the church to serve wine, empanada, omelettes and various pork dishes. Altogether, the public can visit up to twenty taverns between houses and open-air installations. The neighbourhood of O Cruceiro becomes an enormous and multitudinous festive enclosure.
The procession on the 11th, the feast of San Martiño, represents the high point of the festival. The image of the saint is carried from the church together with the figure of the Virgin of Carmen, the only one in Spain made from a single piece of oak trunk. Hundreds of people crowd the sides of the street as far as the cross that gives its name to the neighbourhood, and from there the procession returns to the parish church.
Traditional music groups, bands and charangas liven up the atmosphere, and the programme includes games and other recreational activities. The night-time verbena, with the performance of great Galician orchestras, also attracts thousands of people to this festival in which devotion is paid to San Martiño and home-made wine.
And to round off the day...
Moaña offers numerous places of interest to round off the day during the San Martiño festivities, as well as a wide range of quality bars and restaurants.
For a first impression of the surroundings, one of the best places is the viewpoint of A Fraga. From there you'll enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the town and the estuary, dotted with rafts, with the city of Vigo in front of you. In the town centre, we recommend you take a leisurely stroll along the seafront (the Alameda de Moaña) and enjoy monumental sculptures such as O Fisgón. Also, if you go with children, this area has a very well-equipped playground. From there you can always walk along the seafront to the blue flag beach of O Con.
The largest sandy area in Moaña is A Xunqueira, with a recovered dune system, a wooden promenade and a large garden area with large trees. If you continue walking from there in the opposite direction to the town centre you will reach Samertolameu, also with a wonderful park where you can spend some leisure time.
