Two Asturian emigrants in Cuba, 1885. Valle, Ballina y Fernández Historical Archive. Image from the Fundación Asturies XXI exhibition.
Fundación Asturies XXI is recovering the visual history of cider in the Americas through a book, an online exhibition and a travelling display that will open soon in Bimenes.
Cider travelled with the people who emigrated from Asturies, helping them maintain ties with their homeland. This connection between memory, identity and cider culture lies at the heart of “La sidre na emigración asturiana. Memoria gráfica d’una cultura compartida”, a Fundación Asturies XXI project bringing together material from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Photographs telling the story of emigration
The initiative brings together historical photographs, posters, labels and documents. They can be explored in a 48-page book and an online exhibition of twenty items, accompanied by a timeline and a map. A travelling display of twenty photographs measuring 70 by 100 centimetres completes the project, designed for institutions, associations and educational centres.
The selection includes a photograph taken in Mexico around 1870, showing a cider bottle on a scribe’s desk; a portrait of two Asturian emigrants in Cuba in 1885; and an outing organised by Juventud de Cuideiru in Havana in 1917. These scenes document cider’s place in everyday life and in the celebrations of emigrant communities.
A photograph of cider being loaded at La Espuncia quay in Villaviciosa around 1920 also highlights the commercial dimension. Advertisements and labels trace the relationship between Asturian cider producers, American markets and people seeking to maintain their customs across the Atlantic.
Opening soon in Bimenes, with institutional support
The travelling exhibition will open soon in Bimenes. The project has received a grant from the Government of the Principality of Asturies through its Department of the Presidency, Demographic Challenge, Equality and Tourism. The credits also list the councils of Nava and Bimenes, CiderCities European Network, LA SIDRA, CIFP Hostelería y Turismo, FASCA, Cátedra Sidra d’Asturies, the Fundación Asturies XXI Cider Sommelier School and Fundación GijónRural.
The material comes from museums, archives and private collections. The initiative remains open to family photographs, letters, invoices and other documents that can expand this shared record.
The online exhibition and book are available on the Fundación Asturies XXI website, which also explains how to contribute material or request the travelling exhibition.
