| What makes it historical? |
As we all know, Spain conquered the vast majority of Central and South America, and one of its most notorious conquistadores, Hernán Cortes, really took to this marvelous substance called xocolotl. In 1545, long after returning from across the Atlantic, Cortes attended the wedding of his daughter to the marquis of Astorga. He brought some chocolate hors d’oeuvres, and the rest is delicious, delicious history!
Actually, there was more to it than that. Since chocolate was the Marquis’ new favorite food in the world (and officially endorsed by the diocese of Astorga), he made use of the network of roads, put in place by the Maragato transporters (to be detailed tomorrow) for quick access to the port of A Coruña. That meant a quick and steady flow of chocolate supplies into Astorga, where the demand was increasing by the day!
By 1914, there were over 49 brands coming out of Astorga, such as Magín Rubio’s La Palma Astorgana (founded 1878), José Gómez Murias’ Los Maragatos (1887), and the appropriately named La Paz of Gervasio Sarmiento (1896). Vintage chocolatiers got very creative with their bars, releasing special themed sets, featuring flowers, royal costumes from different periods of history, and even early Hollywood celebrities! Right now, the big brand of Astorga appears to be Alonso, because it is advertised everywhere! |
