Since 1992, in July has been the date for this celebration of the famous percebes(barnacles) from Roncudo. During this day, the village of Corme is taken over by people from all over who come in search of this prized delicacy. The date of the Festa do Percebe has been carefully planned by the organisers. They check to see the moon phase around these dates to ensure that there will be extreme low tides in the three days preceding the event. This means that more percebes will be exposed on the beautiful yet dangerous rocks of Roncudo for the daring percebeiras (the people who collect the percebes) to collect. These are said to be the best percebes in the world. More than 1000 kg of percebes are eaten in the best way possible – accompanied by a bottle of good wine and a plate full of cachelos (whole cooked potatoes).
This succulent dish, which was once considered peasant food, is nowadays considered to be a gastronomic treat. It is simply the products that the land and sea offer, with no other condiments or anything more complicated that cooking everything in salted water. According to the organisers, the town welcomes six to seven thousand people to the festa and they prepare a tented eating area of over 1000 square metres (in case it rains – not a rare occurrence during a Galician summer!). It is not all about filling your belly though; there is also a party with music from traditional Galician groups and charangas (popular dance bands), just like the good old days, as the old folks would say.
Over the last few years, the fiesta has grown bigger than ever and the party atmosphere starts from early morning with the arrival of coachloads of people from the surrounding towns and villages.
