The purpose of this section is to familiarize you with a few of our attributes like rural sports, professions and traditions. Just like Saja Nansa, it’s a reflection of both the land and sea. Luckily, as the area is part of living history, it’s still possible for you, the traveler, to learn about them first hand:

 Bowling

Just as football or basketball are played today, in villages the sport of choice is bowling. There are different categories of bowling like “bolo pasiego,” “pasabolo tablón,” “pasabolo losa” and “bolo palma,” which is the most common. The players form bowling teams that play in different leagues and competitions regulated by the Cántabra Bowling Federation. The key elements are: the bowling alley, the pins, the balls and, of course, the bowlers. In the bowling world, there’s a hugely important figure: Rogelio González “The Lefty of Bielva.” He was born in La Habana, like many children of emigrants. When he was a year old, his family came from Cuba to Bielva and he started bowling at a very young age. He was ahead of his time because, despite not having an athletic figure, he knew how to work his mental strength to perfect his technique, just like elite athletes of today. He’s remembered in Bielva with a commemorative bust next to the bowling alley and a memorial that’s celebrated every year.

An interesting fact is that in his daily life, Rogelio was right-handed but he learned to bowl with both hands. In the end, he favored playing with his left, so he was nicknamed “The Lefty of Bielva.”

Therefore, he was neither left-handed nor from Bielva. Along with “The Lefty,” the region has other notable players like Calixto García and Tete Rodríguez.

Bowling was declared an Immaterial Cultural Interest Asset.

The Sport of Bowling in this video you can see some images of it; although the most distinct characteristic is the sound of the wooden ball striking the wooden pins.

If you want to watch a bowling match, starting from the day of San José, many teams start to train in the bowling alleys. On summer afternoons, it’s common to see the village people watching matches in villages like Roiz, Comillas, Ruente, Bielva or Treceño.

Albarcas (Wooden clogs)

They are a type of wooden clog that are used to go outside and protect feet from water and humidity. They have a different shape and decorative design depending on the place. The wood used to make the clogs are cut into crescent quarters so they’re more resistant, and they are called ‘tajos.’ They’re usually made from birch, alder, walnut, and most preferably, beech wood; however, they can be made from other types of wood, as well. Once you have the ‘tajo,’ the meticulous task of creating the albarcas begins:

1. Shaping the wood. First, it’s coarsely cut with an ax and later with an adze. 
2. Hollowing out the space where the foot goes. A drill and scraping tools are used for this part.
3. Sanding and decorating the clog. The filigrees on the footwear depend on if the wearer is a man (which are plainer) or a woman (which are more elaborate).
4. Drying. They’re dried standing up and in the shade because if they dry in the sun, the wood dries too quickly and cracks.

Carmona is known as the Jewel of the “Albarqueros” because there were many artisans that made the clogs to be sold at fairs and markets. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer “albarqueros” (albarca-makers) in the area, but if you walk through Bárcena Mayor, Renedo de Cabuérniga, Carmona or Lamasón, you may come across some artisans making some. We’ll leave you with a video explaining the history and the creative process:

Hilario the “albarquero” How are albarcas made?

‘REDERAS’

When we talk about the sea, we associate the profession of fishermen with it. In Seine fishing, the necessary equipment is the net. Sometimes, due to the currents, a bad maneuver, or the weight of the trapped fish, the nets break. After having received prior notice from the captain, the ‘rederas’ (the women who fix the nets) await the boat’s arrival at the port. With lots of skill and patience, the women are in charge of repairing the broken nets. Before, the cloth or mesh was made of hemp or cotton, but nowadays synthetic fibers like nylon are used. The nets are measured in fathoms rather than meters, so 1.70m equals one fathom. The women have the most work on the mackerel coast (or sarda) or the anchovy coast. However, it’s an unstable job with an even more unstable future: there are fewer boats and nets these days are more resistant. In San Vicente de la Barquera, an initiative has started to recycle the nets that have fallen into disuse and to continue with an activity parallel to the profession called: RED ERA. In this program, fishing nets are recycled and re-purposed into handbags, backpacks, decorative items, etc. The following video explains more in depth about this project:

The history about the ‘rederas’ of San Vicente de la Barquera.

THE RABEL OR THE BANDURRIA

The rabel, or the bandurria as it’s called in Polaciones, is an instrument with a rich cultural history. In the 1980s it almost disappeared, but thanks to people in Campoo and Polaciones who still knew how to play it, the tradition was revived. The bandurria was an instrument that was played in kitchens when everyone gathered in the Hilas or Jilas (meetings among neighbors to make yarn from wool), especially during the cold winters.
If you want to listen to this instrument accompanied by ballads, you should come to two festivals: El Encuentru, which takes place on the Saturday closest to St. John’s day, and the Rabel Competition in Pejanda, on the last Saturday in August.
The rabel, or bandurria, is a wooden instrument with two strings and stringed bow which makes noise when you rub them together. The strings on the bandurria and the bow were traditionally made with hair from a horse’s tail!

Pedro Madrid, a rabel player and professor at the Torrelavega Folklore School, was born in Tresabuela. He played the rabel for the soundtrack of Mario Camus’ film “Los Santos Inocentes” (“The Holy Innocents”).

 In Sopeña (Cabuérniga) lives a luthier. David López is an artisan of music, his hands create rebecches, bagpipes, ocarinas, whistles... Recently, together with other artisans, he has created a set of musical instruments made with the wood of the Cajigu Cubilón, a hundred-year-old oak tree emblematic of Mount Aa.

  GARAUJA

In the Saja villages, “garauja” refers to the set of farming tools and home utensils made out of wood.  During the long winters with the short days and the cattle settled in the stables, it was the perfect time to put hands to wood and make winnowing forks, rakes or ladles. When summer came around, they loaded their cart and set off towards Castile, where they were sold or bartered for lentils, flour or wine at fairs and villages.

The village people knew beforehand when the “montañeses” with the garauja were arriving: the screeching of the cart’s wheels gave them away.

Nowadays, you can still see some woodworking artisans in Bárcena Mayor or Los Tojos, although now they mostly sell their products to visitors of the area.