The town of Úbeda (Jaén) will be the setting on November 7 and 8 of the XIII Fiesta del Primer Aceite de Jaén, an event promoted by the Provincial Council in collaboration with the Ubetense City Council, which will bring together more than fifty leisure activities and oleotourism experiences to spread the excellence of Jaén extra virgin olive oil (AOVE).
The Deputy for Promotion and Tourism, Francisco Javier Lozano, and the mayor of Úbeda, Antonia Olivares, have presented the program for this edition, the thirteenth, which returns to the city for the second time.
The opening speech will be given by the comedian and presenter Manu Sánchez, while the role of ambassador will be assumed by the researcher, consultant, and specialist in the olive oil market Juan Vilar.
The celebration will have its epicenter in Parque Norte and seeks, in Lozano's words, "to give a boost to the Jaén olive oil sector at a time of special difficulty because of the market prices our producers are getting, around 3 euros." He has emphasized that this is one of the "major actions" included each year in the Provincial Council's strategy for the promotion of olive oil.
During the weekend, up to 100 companies linked to the olive grove will gather in Úbeda: 94 of them AOVE producers, four dedicated to cosmetics made with olive oil, and two focused on artisanal work with olive wood. For Lozano, these figures make clear "the strength of olive oil in the province of Jaén and also demonstrates the resilience and resistance of the sector, despite the difficulties and market prices".
The program includes a wide range of offerings: musical performances, gastronomic demonstrations, olive oil tastings, flamenco shows, and children's games, always linked to the culture of the olive grove.
Lozano has especially wanted to highlight the choice of the opening speaker and the ambassador for this edition. About the former, he has spoken of "a magnificent choice," referring to the "great communicator, presenter, and producer Manu Sánchez, from the television program 'El perro andaluz'."
"As an Andalusian, he knows perfectly well the great virtues of extra virgin olive oil, he is a defender of our land, of our identity, and he is a communicator who is in a privileged space at the communicative level, which has a great reach and which we know he is going to do with a great deal of affection and great enthusiasm," the deputy added.
Regarding the ambassador, Lozano has defined Juan Vilar as "a first-rate man from Jaén, from Chilluévar, who has occupied different spaces of prestige, of study and of data analysis, and he is also a facilitator of great tools for our companies when it comes to conquering new markets and continuing to work while being competitive for olive oil".
Free breakfast and prominence of craftsmanship
The opening of the Fiesta del Primer Aceite de Jaén will include, as usual, "a great completely free breakfast with early oils, whose still life formed by the nearly 100 participating AOVE will be provided by the Asociación de Artesanos de Úbeda". Lozano has pointed out that "the artisans from Úbeda will be very present with the holding on both days of traditional pottery and ceramic decoration workshops".
The program is completed with musical and cultural proposals. For the opening day, a flamenco dance performance by the local dancer Dalia Sánchez has been planned. In the afternoon it will be the turn of the groups 'A fuego lento' and 'Cantores de Híspalis', while on Sunday the Escuela Municipal de Úbeda de Danza will perform.
Likewise, guided visits to Úbeda's historical heritage have been organized during Saturday and Sunday, with the aim of linking the olive-oil event with the city's monumental appeal.
Tastings, micro-olive mill and gastronomic experiences
Lozano has highlighted the paired tastings that will be held from the Centro de Interpretación del Olivar y el Aceite, in addition to those offered by the three Jaén designations of origin and the IGP Aceite de Jaén.
Among the technical activities, the workshop on oil production with a micro-olive mill also stands out, designed so that "people can see firsthand how that mechanical process is carried out to extract that juice from the olive without any chemical product".
There will also be specific proposals for children’s audiences, such as face painting, clowns and a playroom. On Sunday, a showcooking will be held with the participation of the restaurant Cibus Renacimiento Culinario, the Taberna Gastronómica Tinta Fina and the restaurant Cantina la Estación.
Added to this offer are the gastronomic experiences that will be proposed by around ten restaurants in the city through a themed menu centered on the AOVE of Jaén, with a price of 45 euros, VAT included.
The deputy has emphasized that this event "demonstrates the enormous capacity that the province of Jaén has to defend what is ours, in this case our greatest treasure, those early AOVE that are conquering the palates of the whole world". He has insisted that with this initiative the Diputación aims to "dignify olive oil, valorize it" and raise awareness about "the need to defend the AOVE of our land, especially when difficulties arise, as is happening now with prices, and to be its best ambassadors".
Projection in Galicia and commitment of Úbeda
The Fiesta del Primer Aceite de Jaén will also have an extension outside the province, as it will move to La Coruña on November 20, 21 and 22. "For us, northern Spain is a reference area because it is a consumer of olive oil and Galicia has an enormous strength around hospitality and restaurants," Francisco Javier Lozano has noted, who has advanced that there will be 35 olive oil companies that will travel to Galician lands.
The mayor of Úbeda has thanked the Diputación for choosing the city as the venue for this new edition of the festival. "We have put the entire machinery of the City Council to work so that everything goes perfectly, and both the people of Úbeda and those who come to visit us on the occasion of this festival see their expectations fulfilled," Antonia Olivares has stated.
The mayor has emphasized that for Úbeda, "the olive grove and olive oil are something transcendental, extremely important," recalling that the municipality is "the largest producer of olive oil per hectare in the world".
She has stressed that "the olive grove is also landscape, health, economy, traditions, but, above all, future opportunities for the new generations, who must continue to see in the olive grove and in the AOVE possibilities for work in the province of Jaén and in the city of Úbeda".