Camino Photo of the Day: Cruz de Los Valientes

Being a Christian pilgrimage route, the Camino has many, many roadside crosses and shrines. This particular one exists as the result of a medieval boundary dispute between the towns of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Grañón. This site gives one popular version of the story:

It is said that, many centuries ago, there was a dispute over an extensive pasture that was located between the towns of Grañón and Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The inhabitants of Grañón observed with displeasure that the holm oak grove they considered their property was used by the residents of Santo Domingo. The Calceans argued that these lands belonged to them in their own right. They did not agree. Day after day, residents of both towns had constant altercations and arguments. There would come a time when an armed confrontation broke out between the inhabitants of the two towns, so the leaders of both towns met and decided that a neighbor from each municipality would be chosen to fight hand-to-hand, unarmed, in defense of those lands. Whoever wins will take the holm oak grove for his people.

While the chosen Calceatense, a specialized fighter, was fed with select foods, Martín García, the Grañón champion, continued to carry out his agricultural tasks and ate caparrones (red beans).

The big day arrived. The Santo Domingo combatant had been smeared with oil so that the Grañonero could not catch him. Faced with this difficulty, Martín García inserted a finger into the orifice of his opponent’s anus, in that way he raised him up and threw his opponent. This is how Martín García won the lands of La Dehesa for Grañón.

The boundary remains unchanged to this day. Songs have been written about this fight. Locals still leave candles and flowers here.

Date: 10 April 2013
Place: between Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Grañón (La Rioja, Spain)
Today started: Santo Domingo de la Calzada (La Rioja, Spain)