The palm grove Crafts with dried palms, traditional use and collection of dates | Documentary film

Bañada by the Mediterranean coast, extends the city of Elche, It's formed by a large palm tree surrounded by buildings. The most representative of the Italian landscape is the whole of the orchards. It is named after the palm tree that covers a large part of the city and countryside. The palm tree, fenis datilífera, has an age of 130 million years It has been one of the most specifically weighted trees in the history of mankind. Its distribution is mainly in the Asian and African continents. The most extensive implantation of this tree in Spain, It was a symbol of prize and victory because you don't let yourself be defeated and defeated by anything. It's in Alicante and, more specifically, in Elche. Although for a long time the theory has been maintained It was the Phoenicians who introduced the palm tree to this area. The latest discoveries in paleontology They prove that their origin goes back up to a thousand years before their arrival in the Iberian Peninsula. Jaime I dictated a standard of protection which, thanks to their obedience, have allowed us to conserve this palm tree, It is the largest in Europe and the most central in the Mediterranean. The municipal park is the emblematic place of the historic palm grove of Elche. In the Huerto del Cura, the imperial palm is its most universal exponent. According to popular tradition, He who wants to marry must make seven turns a la pata coja around this gigantic palm tree. In addition to being a sign of identity for the city, The palm grove of Elche has been, over the centuries, a means of life for many peasants. These palm trees have had to defy the law of gravity to climb up the trunk of the palm trees to its top and extract the fruits it offers. The main tool of the palm-tree is the cord. Each one is made from five mallas or sogueos de esparto. With his extremes attached to a tree, El Palmer is a man with the ability to make five cabos. For this task you need the help of other comrades The cables are passed through and linked together to form a compact tissue. The safety of the palm tree depends on this rope. Therefore, the maximum tension must be applied to the truss to make it more resistant. Avoiding any small fall by which you might give way and break. Once the rope is trenned, Carmelo, helped by his comrades, The stretcher so that the five esparto meshes remain tense and entangled with each other, So that I won't give in to using it. The palm trees are divided into males and females and these are the ones that bear the fruit. The pollen to fertilize the hembra palms produces the floral clusters of the palms The males are the wind and the insects are the ones in charge of transporting it. One of the first works to be carried out in the palm plantations is the entaconado, which consists of manually fertilizing the female flowers and thus ensure the reproduction of the species. For that, when the spring comes, The palm tree must be lifted up to the palm tree's top. to cut with the gummy the flower clusters. Afterwards, the palm tree must suffer a las palmeras femeninas to deposit the branch of male pollen on the virgin of female and guarantee their fertilization. To avoid damage to the cord in the kidney area, to get up and down to Las Palmeras, These peasants protect this part of the body with a piece of cloth or leather. One of the products offered by the licitan palm trees are dates. The collection of these hanging clusters is normally carried out in the autumn, Although the best months are January and February. Cargo with the appropriate tools and recipients, Diego climbs the palm tree with his cord to collect these golden fruits. To collect the dates, El Palmer places the debajo of the cluster Las Arandas, It's a big one with a small fund. When you have some clusters, you pass them to the sabahino. He'll drop them with a rope so they can pick up their comrades. The selector is responsible for selecting the fruits according to their degree of ripeness and quality. There are four varieties of dates to be used, black, candy, tenacious and tender. The best quality, in their different states of conservation, Frescos, adobados o en seco, form part of the human diet, Especially in the winter months and, more specifically, at Christmas. Of the pulp of the best varieties of dates, It is a refined liquor that has its roots in medieval traditions. It contains all the essence of these fruits. The specialized shops offer these excellent products which enjoy great popularity, Both for direct consumption and for the preparation of juicy dishes. And that is why the use of dates in the exquisite Italian cuisine has as reference dishes, Among others, the deliciousness of Elche, the hojaldrado solomillo with dates, The milk fried with cream of dates or the ice cream of dates. The palm tree is used for almost everything. They are acquired by the Escoberos artisans who still work in the pueblos del entorno. To mount the scoops, place the leaves on the wire in an orderly manner. And then wrap them around the end of the cane. In the knife, the artisan cuts the scope to the desired size and then passes the palms. by a rotary screw-pull grater to split them into thinner strips. Fences to separate the orchards or to prevent animals from damaging the crops, They are constructed with the cascabouts of pinchos that result from the powder. Two or three wire guides, according to the height of the fence, They cross two layers of inclined cascabouts so that the web is thicker. Pero es la palma blanca el producto más singular y relevante But is the white palm the most unique and relevant product which is obtained from Elche palm, as a result of a risky technique The palmers and licitanos know it well and they practice it every year, the encaperuzado. The pre-encapsulation phase is initiated and is carried out from December onwards. To do this, the palm tree must climb with the rope to the end of the tree, Secure with the belt and equipped with the large basket. First of all, Carmelo cleaned and sanitized the Copa de la Palma, leaving him all the dead and dry branches. Afterwards, cut the outer palms already developed, which will not be used by be too open and leave those younger to protect the new shoots. With a cord of esparto, the palm tree groups the palms to give it more Consistency to the pen and avoid any light entrance. In this technique of attachment, use some rope rings with knots. And distributed by all the vegetable penchacho. To climb the highest steps of the rope, you use the horquilla. The palms that cut the palm tree serve afterwards to close the lower part of the pen, That's the only place where the light can pass through. In this case, the peasant has left the upper part open for the Pogoles can be born and develop. Once the palm tree is covered, Carmelo replaces it with the flat surface of the palm tree. And leave it for a few months for the new shoots to develop in the dark. Planted by old palms and in special conditions of absence of light The sun's rays, which inhibit the process of photosynthesis, in their development the young leaves will take a white yellow. In the months of July and August, the new outbreaks are about to cross the extreme I'm going to get you a penny. This is the moment of the encaperuzado, which consists of prolonging the caperuza with the escamonda, The palm trees are dry as a result of the powder. For this task, Carmelo used a light wooden ladder, fixed with a rope to the top of the stairs. Penha de Palmas, which will allow you to reach the tip of the palm. Several meters away, his coworker reaches him from Las Palmas. I'm going to expand the caper and get a bigger enclosure that will prevent any The entrance of light into the tips of the new branches that are developing. It is precisely this encapsulation operation that differentiates the palm production The Commission has decided to grant the exclusive right to use the site for the production of palm oil. Although the palm-people reinforce their experience and safety of their work with a rope, Throughout history this risky activity has not been without falls with The Commission has not yet adopted a proposal. Once the feather is closed, you just have to wait for the passage of time. Nature knew how to do everything else inside. From the month of January, the activity of the white palm harvesting begins. The Palmers must once again defy the law of gravity to rise with the rope up. The Penachos de las Palmeras are going to reap the fruit of their efforts. A blow with the corbellote, Carmelo cuts the ligatures that have imprisoned el caperucho Keeping in its interior the new golden shoots of the palm, which for the first time go A ver la luz. I was just... As you cut the palm trees, the spear will cut them. The water is then placed vertically on the bank floor, thus avoiding any impact that could damage them. Normally, each caperucho usually has twenty to thirty white palms of different lengths. and qualities. In the same palm grove, Carmelo cleans them and classifies them. That's by size, it's three meters, two and a half meters, two meters, one, that depends The size of the palm, you have to look, calculate more or less if it is clean or is If you want to see the color of the water, you have to cut it. So that it is of one class or another. Son once los grupos en los que se dividen las palmas. This is the first time I've seen you. Those which are totally smooth and clean are classified in the first category when: They are three metres wide, the second two metres and a half, the third when measured. About two meters. Finally there are the cogollos y las puntas, which are the smallest. If the palm trees have received the influence of the light and have taken a little green color, They are called entrefinas. If this green color becomes dominant over white, the palms receive the name of Battle, and if the palm is totally green, it separates as it does, which in other times It was used for the works of the clerk and for the elaboration of hats. Once tied in fards, the palms are transported to the dependencias, where they will receive the treatment for final bleaching and preservation until maturation It was Domingo de Ramos. The bleaching process is carried out with a bath of water and lye, in the proportions I'm not going to lie. During two days of soaking, they manage to eliminate the tiny stains they might carry. Las Palmas, a la vez que estas toman el color característico del marfil. The palm trees, a la vez que estas toman the characteristic color of the ivory. This is the palm tree, this is the palm tree. How the white palms deteriorate after a few days of contact with the air, after From the blanching in the balsa, the palmers are stored in chambers hermetically. Cerradas, sometimes in an atmosphere of burnt sulfur that will finish its yellowish color I'm going to go. The toxicity of gases produced by sulphur combustion becomes a risk This operation. Under this environment, with their tips placed in a bath of water, the palms will remain. All the time necessary until its marketing or decoration is completed. The elaboration of the rizadas palmas occupies several illicit families, above all women, The Commission has also adopted a proposal for a directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation. The rizahora meet in the workshops or workshops, where they combine the skills of His hands, tradition and creativity to shape extraordinary works of art. Art, starting from the foliolos de las palmas. The risado de las hojas begins with a preliminary cleaning with the brush. Because it's like the palm tree. It's got a lot of dust and it's got some bugs. And that's how we get it all out. After opening the foliolae in half, separate the two layers and dispose of the The tires are for trenzar. I'm gonna take the back off so it opens, because if I take the front off, It's open. And then we take the back part off and it opens. One leaf becomes two, because now it's open and now it's time to start. There are two types of white curly palms, the artisanal ones, which are those that decorate themselves. without using elements other than the palm tree, and the artistic ones, which are the ones that incorporate a subornamentation of foreign components such as wires, wires, corks. The most common trencados o rizados of the lacinias de la palma are those of the body You are the posters. The first ones are made with the straps of the palm itself and can be sardines, chainette, I'm going to go with the pleita y palmetes. The posters or add-ons take different forms, roulette, stars, balls, churrets. In this environment of family workshops, the women who enjoy this practice From experience, I've done my job very quickly. Well, it takes us a long time because we work in a chain, as we say, one in which is La Palma, others in the ornaments and others in the van arrange. The artisan palma blanca was very widespread in antiquity. Currently 99% of the world's production of all ornamental white palm is grown in the Mediterranean. The Commission has not yet adopted a decision. Every year the City of Elche orders local artisans the white palms Artistic works of great size, which will be presented to the Kings of Spain or to the Su Santidad el Papa, who traditionally always licen un ramo ilicitano el día de I'm going to the hospital. Once the white palm has gone outside, it only remains tender for three or four days. So once the palms are twisted and twisted, they come back to the bathroom. The product is then washed with water and leached before entering the sulphur chamber to be stored until it is marketed. A few days before the Ramos Sunday, the shops specialized in the fruits of the Palmera devotes all his efforts to putting in the hands of his clients these pequeñas obras de arte, fruit of the artisan activity of the city of Elche. The price of the branch is according to what you take and the work you take, because there are since The cheapest, that's a thing like this, that's between 400 and then you take Here's another floor, that would be 800 yards and then there's more flowers, more trees, You're through with the thousand pesetas. If you want to be a little higher, you want to be a little higher, because you're two thousand. Three million. Anyway, we have everything y también luego because this is what girls normally wear And then we have the little Lisa, without anything, that's the one that carries the child. The Elche palm grove supplies the European market with white palm. Among the recipients of the palm-planting crafts are Italy, France, Britain and Belgium. But the traditional palm and licorice market is on the street. Since the Friday before Domingo de Ramos, the beach of Baix is flooded with vending stalls The people of Palmas are already starting to experience the festive atmosphere. Neighbors and visitors come to the stalls to choose carefully their palms and participate with her in one of the most crowded demonstrations of Elche, the Entrada Triunfal of Christ in Jerusalem. The big day of Domingo de Ramos begins with the traditional contest of palms organized by the Junta de Cofradías y Hermandades de Semana Santa. In it, extraordinary palms represent complex figures related to each other. With the Christian culture or with monuments and licitanes traditions. Many hours of work, effort and imagination are exposed in the Sacristy of the Basilica Santa María before the attentive gaze of the licitanos and the visitors who have moved Until Elche to live this great day. The artists of these exceptional works show their work to an expert The jury, after analysing each of the presented palms, evaluated the effort made. At one o'clock in the morning, the traditional burrita, embellished with ornamental details. This is the sign of the licit identity of the white palm, the sale of the Basilica of Santa. María a hombros de los cofrades. I was just about to say that. On an altar raised in the open air on the Paseo de la estación, the blessing is performed. de las palmas, where all kinds of varieties, lisa y rizadas, artísticas have been concentrated You artisanal. The procession of Domingo de Ramos de Elche is declared of national tourist interest and of international tourist interest. On this day, around ten thousand licitanos accompany between palms y palmeras la imagen Jesus triumphing in the streets of the city. The palm tree was a symbol of fertility for the Egyptians, of triumph for the Hebrews. And the Greeks, the Tree of Life for the Chaldeans and the Tree of Blessing for Islam. In the Christian world, the ceremonial use of the white palm is associated with the festive I'm going to have to ask you a question. Once the procession is over, the burrita enters the Basilica of Santa María. accompanied by the faithful, to participate in a solemn mass in which a The reading of the Passion of Christ. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, in the Salón de Plenos del Ayuntamiento, a Reading of the Judgment and Award of the Ramos Competition The palm of artisanal, artistic and miniature. The efforts of the palm-peasers and licitanos during a year of work alone have shone One day, or rather, only one morning. Regardless of who the winners of the prizes are, the most important thing for them The craftsmen have been feeling that satisfaction that the neighbors themselves produce Visitors appreciate the effort made. El Palmeral de Elche, which is today a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Site, It is a magnificent plant treasure of cultural heritage that must be preserved. For its excellent quality, the result of a careful crushing, the Palma Blanca de Elche is a product The only one in the world, which every year the palm trees put in the hands of the faithful who participate In the procession of Domingo de Ramos. I'm Eugenio Monesma, director and producer of the documentary you just saw. If you liked it, I encourage you to subscribe by activating the notifications from the bell And you can enjoy the hundreds of documentaries I have on the channel. I'm going to go up there every week.