The Market at Grado

[Manuell Alvarez]

The historical market at Grado was established in 1256 and became one of the prominent and renowned markets in Spain and Asturias. It shipped cured hams to other places in the world and even set the prices of the hams. Many other products and produce were sold there as well

It is still in existence today and is striving as a market and tourist attraction. They even sell items from other parts of Asturias and Spain.

The Grado Market is where my grandfather sold his cattle for raising the money to send my father to the United States. Their village of Vega Peridiello is located in the el Consejo de Grado and appears to be a good distance away. Dad told me that one of his brothers was a livestock auctioneer at the market and would try to get top money for their cattle.

My grandfather also owned a pear orchard there on their farm. After the death of my first cousin, Fernando, the farm was sold and the home where my father was born and grew up is no longer habitable.

[Art]

Thanks, Manny, that's an interesting story. Do you have a photo of the market at Grado?

[Manuell Alvarez]

Art,

I do not have a photo. There was some information on the internet and a travel film about Grado that featured the market. Once in a while my father would talk about his life in Asturias and how they came by the money for his travel. My problem was that I did not ask enough questions. He also told me that the farm house where they lived was built by my grandfather and it had a dirt floor. My grandfather was a stone mason along with being a farmer.

Manny

[Jasm]

In Grado as in Cangas de Onis, there are 2 markets (Wednesday and Sunday(
http://historiasjasm.blogspot.com/2017/ ... pa-no.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTatWZ1Evs

https://www.lne.es/servicios/multimedia ... do-retrata

[Art]

Gracies, JASM!!
Los trajes de las mujeres en las fotos me recuerdan de mi bisabuela, quien vendía pescado por las calles de Avilés.

[Manuell Alvarez]

Grado is also famous as being the cross road of the el Camino Real de la Mesa and el Camino de Santiago. It is probably the biggest city that my father ever saw growing up in Asturias with the exception of Gijon when he left for the United States in 1920.

There are beautiful homes built there in Grado by Asturians who returned home from the Americas. Grado is the county seat of the el Consejo de Grado.

I recommend viewing the YouTube film: Things you need to know about Grado-Asturias

[Marta Elena Díaz García]

This is an old postcard of the Grado's market.

The market day is Sunday. You can find products for the sourrounding farms as well as shoes, clothes, cheese, bread, boroña, cold meat....The shops are also open.

I love to go there. I remember when I went with my parents (I miss them too much) and then, after the market, we took lunch in one of the many restaurants in Grado.

[Manuell Alvarez]

Hi, Marta,

You have fond memories of going to the market at Grado with your parents. Thank you for sharing them with us along with a great keepsake photograph of the historical market. It is good to see that in Grado they still keep the traditions alive in this age of shopping centers.
My own experiences of going shopping with my mother and siblings on a Saturday night back in the 1940's and 1950's are gone forever. It was a time when people would dress up, talk, and socialize with their neighbors and friends. I miss my parents too and it is hard to lose them at any age.

Manuell

[Manuell Alvarez]

Hi, Marta,

Do you know if seafood was ever sold at the Grado Market? My father loved eating Squid and often said it was a delicacy in Spain. We children would purchase a dozen tins of imported Spanish Squid from an import store located in a shopping center in Virginia for him as a Christmas present.
I am trying to figure out how he and his family were exposed to seafood living on a farm in Vega de Peridiello during the early 1900's.

Further, he mentioned that the Asturians during the occupation of Spain by the Moors were given permission to eat meat on Fridays by the Pope because the supply of fish and seafood was scarce. How he came by this knowledge, I am not sure. I believe he may have mentioned that there were some papal documents located in their Church which was established in 1177.

Manuell

[Art]

That is quite a walk from the sea to Vega de Peridiello. I wonder if there were peddlers who would take seafood from Cudillero or Aviles, perhaps, to the Grado market. If people came in from villages surrounding Grado, that would potentially be a large clientele!

[Jasm]

Hay que recordar que Veiga Peridiello, esta cerca de Trubia, y muchos de sus vecinos trabajarón en la Fabrica de Armas a partir de que el General Elorza tiene la dirección, a mediados del s. XIX, el ferrocarril Norte llega a Trubia en 1883, antes de abrir Pajares, y sabemos que en 1885 una partida de pescado de Candás para Oviedo, terminó en Trubia, ese mismo año es cuando la Parroquia de Trubia deja de pertenecer al Concejo de Grado y pasa a Oviedo.
En el caso de Grado hay que recordar que el 02/08/1904, abre su servicio el ferrocarril métrico Vasco Asturiano desde San ESteban de Pravia a Oviedo y a Ujo, con lo que fue muy utilizado por las pescaderas de la zona de Cudillero, San Esteban, San Juan de la Arena.
En Asturias ya se hacian conservas desde mediados del s. XIX
http://historiasjasm.blogspot.com/2017/ ... erves.html
Las comunicaciones interiores dentro del propio concejo de Grado eran dificiles hasta el s. XX.
http://historiasjasm.blogspot.com/2017/ ... neces.html

Pido disculpas por haberlo escrito en español.

[Marta Elena Díaz García]

Hi Manuell,

As I could know, the market in Grado was held two days a week: Wednesday and Sunday. Both days, a lot of people attended them.

Wednesday market was mainly for cattle from the Asturian fields, and that of Sunday was for hogs from nearly farms. The picture below shows Grado's market, probably that held on Wednesday.


Today, the Sunday market is the most popular (vegetables, clothes, shoes, cheese, bread, etc) but nor fish nor meat.

I think that it was difficult to find fish in Grado at the begining of XX century due to the long way from Avilés, Gijón or Cudillero. Perhaps fish from rivers (trouts, salmon..) or herrings were an option for the "moscones".
Upon the train was an option, it was more easy to get sea fish, as Jasm said.

See the image of the Grado station (1906).



Moscón (moscones, plural) is the nickname for native of Grado. And Grado is also known as "Villa Moscona".
Moscón = blowfly

The origin of such a name is unknown.
One hypothesis refers to a rich family in Grado (Early Middle Ages) surnamed Mosca.
Another hypothesis refers to the ambushes against French troops in the narrow walkway of Peñaflor, where Grado militiamen fired from both sides, making their bullets to whiz as blowflies.

[Manuell Alvarez]

Marta,

Thank you for those historical photos and history of the Grado Market. You are very kind to answer my questions. Grado is very close to my heart since it is the location of the government of the Grado Consejo. Outside of the Catholic Church records, our Asturian familys' civilian records are located there.

As I mentioned before, it is where my grandfather, Manuel sold his cattle to afford to send my 17 year old father to the United States in 1920. It is good to know that the Market sells livestock on Wednesday. Further, knowing that there was train service there in Grado would explain and answer my question how small villages like Vega de Peridiello received fresh seafood and traveled to Grado and Gijon. I had visions of travel by foot or wagon back in the early 1900's.

I am trying to put together family information for our son and grandson. Thanks for helping to contribute to our Asturian family history. Today, is Wednesday, and I suspect the livestock market in Grado is opened and selling cattle, keeping the tradition alive.

Manuell

[Jasm]

Manuell, for some time now there has been no livestock market, the Wednesday, there are the first Sunday of month but is very poor, and the fairs, La caida (September), the meadows (September, which was still celebrated in the parish of La Mata in the 19th century), San Simon ( equine, in October).
In Grado if the Civil Register of Grado is conserved since 1870, but there are only the census of 1931, and in 1815 and 1824 besides these last women don't appear, only father and sons with one surname, although in case of San Martín differentates the villages (Somines....), the parish of San Martín de Gurulles, is only preserved baptized (1860-1894), Confirmed (1873, 1894) and Married (1860-61, 1862-1892), also in Gurulles had a convent, there is a book "La abadía secular de San Martín de Gurullés. Sus
propiedades a comienzos del s. XV".
There is a book with the history of Council of Grado, published in 1907 "Grado y su concejo", it is free in the web of City Hall of Grado
https://www.ayto-grado.es/c/document_li ... pId=113029
The Vasco-Asturiano Railway began on August 02, 1904, but the people from San MArtin de Gurulles, could take the train in Trubia, the railway Oviedo - Trubia began on April 30, 1883, and to Trubia, it arrived fish from Candas. And people of San Martin worked in the weapon factory.

[Manuell Alvarez]

Jasm,

Thank you for the clarification about the status of the Wednesday Market. I appreciate the additional information and historical resources to add to my family history research. Some of the dates that the Civil Register has on file might work for research on my grandparents and great grandparents but not with my father.

La Inglesia de San Martin de Gurulles is where I understand from one of my cousins that my grandparents, Manuel and Manuela are buried.

My father left Spain from Gijon around late 1919 or early 1920. He and his family probably rode the Vasco -Asturiano Railway. The train system would explain how a small village like Vega de Peridiello could ship their farm products to the cities. It would also be the way that they would received fresh seafood from the Port of Gijon.

Manuell