These days, something shifts in Galicia. The pace eases, and the squares fill in a different way. In kitchens across our community — in every neighbourhood and among people of every origin — stoves are lit and recipe books open, carrying stories from another land.
Galicia is now a diverse society. Portugal, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Morocco and Romania are among the foreign nationalities with the largest presence here. They are our neighbours, bringing their stories and cultures to this land. And this week, in one way or another, almost all these cultures experience a special pause of some kind. At its heart, everywhere, it is the same: gathering, cooking together and sharing a meal.
A journey through six cuisines
You do not need grand speeches to find interculturality. Sometimes it is enough to look at what each family puts on the table at this time of year. We have explored six backgrounds represented in our community and found something striking: in every one of them, this season brings the same human ritual of pausing, cooking slowly and sharing.
🇵🇹 Portugal
The street as a shared space
In Portugal, these days fill the streets with flower carpets, lights and neighbourhood gatherings. Public spaces become places for the community. At the table, a special place is reserved for cod and folar da Páscoa, a sweet bread with eggs that marks the arrival of spring.
🍽 Cod · Folar da Páscoa
🇻🇪 Venezuela
Cooking as an act of memory
For many Venezuelan families living in Galicia, these days are a chance to cook the recipes that taste like home. Fried fish with tostones and dulce de lechosa — green papaya in syrup — appear on the table as an emotional bridge to their country of origin.
🍽 Fried fish · Dulce de lechosa
🇨🇴 Colombia
Diversity within diversity
Colombia is a fascinating example of how cuisine changes from one region to another: mote de queso on the Caribbean coast, estacas antioqueñas inland, and cuaresmeros in Valle. One culture, expressed in many ways. A lesson that also helps us understand Galicia today.
🍽 Mote de queso · Cuaresmeros
🇧🇷 Brazil
Joy as an ingredient
Brazil turns these days into a celebration of simple pleasures: fish with family and exchanging chocolates among friends. The amigo secreto de chocolate — a sweet version of the classic Secret Santa — shows that celebrating can also mean creating shared joy without elaborate rituals.
🍽 Fish · Chocolate eggs
🇲🇦 Morocco
Gathering at dusk
The calendar of Moroccan families in Galicia is different, but the gesture is the same: at the end of the day, the family gathers around harira, a hearty soup of legumes, meat and spices. Above all, it is a recipe rooted in hospitality and community.
🍽 Harira · Chebakia
🇷🇴 Romania
Colour as a symbol of identity
The Romanian community celebrates Easter in mid-April. Hand-painted eggs with traditional designs are among the most recognisable cultural expressions of Eastern Europe. Alongside them, cozonac — sweet bread filled with walnuts — brings families together around tables in Vigo and A Coruña.
🍽 Cozonac · Pasca
“Six origins, one shared recipe no one writes down: pause together, cook slowly, sit down without rushing.”
What brings us together
Looking across all these traditions, something appears that no recipe book states explicitly, yet is present in every one: the pause as a collective act. Whether in Braga, Caracas, Popayán, São Paulo, Fez or Cluj, these days share the value of coming together.
All these people live in Galicia today. Each brings not only a personal story, but also a way of understanding community, shared time and hospitality. That does not make Galicia poorer. It enriches it.
At SenValos, we work every day to make diversity an opportunity, not an obstacle. So that people who arrive can find a place to belong. And so that those of us who have been here longer can discover how much we can learn from the people alongside us.
A small idea for these days
If you have people around you whose background differs from yours — colleagues, neighbours, or families your organisation supports — these days can be the perfect opportunity to ask: “What do you cook at this time of year?” Their answers may surprise you. And sometimes the best friendships begin with that surprise.
Interculturality is not built through grand declarations. It is built in the kitchen, in the square and over a long meal. It grows when we recognise that behind every recipe is an identity, and that this identity has value and a place here.
