Ribera del Órbigo is a region () located in the

León province Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

, Spain.

Geography

The region covers the territory bathed by the waters of the

Órbigo River The Órbigo River is a river in the provinces of Province of León, León and Province of Zamora, Zamora, Spain. It begins at the convergence of the Luna River (Spain), Luna River and the Omaña River in the village of Secarejo, in the Cimanes de ...

; this rises near Secarejo, fruit of the confluence of the rivers Omaña and

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

, although the northern limits are located somewhat further north and include a brief stretch of the

Omaña River Omaña River is a river with located in the northwest of Spain, in the province of León. It is formed as a stream at the Spring (hydrology), water spring from the eastern slope of Tambarón Peak, in the village of Montrondo, which falls within the ...

. From north to south it covers the municipal areas of Las Omañas, Llamas de la Ribera, Cimanes del Tejar,

Carrizo de la Ribera Carrizo de la Ribera () is a town and municipality in the Province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2008 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 2,554 inhabitants. It is si ...

, Turcia, Santa Marina del Rey, Benavides de Órbigo, Villares de Órbigo, Hospital de Órbigo and Villarejo de Órbigo.

History

Waters of the river and the different canals that have been built since the Middle Ages. It favored a rich and varied agriculture that has traditionally developed and favored the settlement of urban centers with a more or less stable population. The geographical and economic characteristics of the valley contributed to the formation of the regional identity. Formerly it was an archpriest Diocese of Astorga, within the archdeaconry of Ribas del Sil. As an exception, the places in the municipality of Las Omañas, which belonged to the

Archdiocese of Oviedo The Archdiocese of Oviedo (; Asturleonese: ''Archidiócesis d'Uviéu'') is a Latin Church Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Spain.La Milla del Río, Quiñones del Río and Velilla de la Reina, who were from León.

Culture

Festivals

The antruejos or traditional carnivals are one of the most important festivities in the Ribera del Órbigo. The word antruejo has its origin in the old Leonese word ''entroydo'', which referred to the entrance of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The origin of the antruejo is unknown, although it could be associated with the

Saturnalia Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By t ...

Calends The calends or kalends () is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The English word "calendar" is derived from this word. Use The Romans called the first day of every month the ''calends'', signifying the start of a new lunar pha ...

and, mainly, the Lupercales, celebrated in honor of the god Faun Luperco , all of them celebrations of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

in which, among other rituals, animals considered impure were sacrificed and later dressed in their skins and impregnated with their blood as a symbol of purification and fertility in preparation for spring. At the beginning of the Middle Ages they began to assimilate to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

through

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

as a prelude to the recollection and penance of Lent. From this process of syncretism come numerous features of the antruejos that have been preserved, among which those of Velilla de la Reina and Llamas de la Ribera stand out, both declared Festival of Provincial Tourist Interest, and that of Villamor de Órbigo.

Gastronomy

Typical dishes include, trout soup, made with

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

. Among the traditional

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

are common donuts,

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

mazapan Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of ...

es, ears, puff pastries and sequillos, and

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink. There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...

in terms of drinks.

References