Sunset at Samil beach
"They say it's full of slopes, although I don't even notice them anymore. It's never too cold, nor too hot. I guess it's because of the marvelous estuary that surrounds us. Special microclimate. It has streets and corners that you can only discover for yourself ".
And that is what Offreds invites us to in his new book, to discover the Vigo city through his veins, slowly going through each aorta and each capillary; drawing his own sketch, that of words, emotions and personal stories, mapping a sentimental map of the city.
This the reader will find in 1775 streets ( Frida Editions ) a collection of poems that surprises because anyone (Vigo or not) will be involved in more than one verse, as if it belonged to his life, as if Offreds had hit the nail on the head: as if he were spying on us from that portal or that side street. A poetic way, in verse and with assonance rhyme to discover Vigo from the futon.
The author of the emotional map of Vigo, '1775 streets'
We interview Offreds , surprised by such an immaculate and accurate description of Vigo's character:
"Give me many more walks along the beaches. A well-sought sunset. Some tapas in Casco Vello. A goal in Balaídos. Never forget your surroundings. I have always wondered why people who leave They feel homesick and end up coming back. But when I go through it, I understand it. Nobody is going to argue with it."
Do we go through it?
Everyone (from Vigo) will be familiar with this image...
How do you think the city has influenced you? Vigo in your writing?
My writing does not have much quality but it has a lot of reality . Many of the stories I tell that have happened to me in the city are true. The city changes and influences, I have lived it and it has accompanied me as a child and adolescent.
You could say that 1775 streets is an emotional map of the city of Vigo. In which streets of the city would you say that there are more accumulated sensations, that keep more "good vibes" from passers-by?
The center of Vigo : Although it is more 'crazy', it is not crazy like in other cities. It is a place with a lot of light, with a swarm of people talking, living... It also brings back very good memories. teis , a neighborhood where people still know each other very well, continue to buy at local stores... And, without a doubt, the Samil beach walk on weekend . Gives a very good vibe: you have to live it.
In which would you say that you breathe the real vigo , the “usual”, the most “haunted”?
In the Casco Vello from the Bouzas neighborhood or in the hairy helmet from the center. They are very charming places where you could not choose a street because in each of them there is a shop, a tapas restaurant... there is a lot of life.
In recent years we have witnessed a radical change in the city's Casco Vello, what remains to be done in Casco Vello? Which of its alleys do you prefer?
As in life, there is always something to improve. The Casco Vello is the history of the city and, finally, it is in better condition. If someone is lucky enough to experience the party of to reconquer In this neighborhood you will realize that each street, each store, has its time and its place. But come on, if I have to choose I'll take the Collegiate Square in summer , with people drinking beers in the surroundings.
They say of the people of Vigo that we have good buttocks and twins thanks to the famous slopes (you, in fact, remember it in the dedication). Any street on a slope that is worth climbing little by little?
Everything that goes up must come down: everything is compensated . What I like, even if it's a bit hard to do, is to go through the neighborhood of Teis going up to A Guide , by a little hill next to which there is a soccer field. It is a slope that brings back very good memories and I love the views that you find the sea as you raise it.
You speak of To Rua do Pracer in the epilogue, in addition to dedicating a story to it (for me, the most intense, perhaps). Here is a literary café, the PHEW. What would be for you a good literary route through the city, of bookstores, literary cafes, museums...?
For starting to Rua do Pleasure It is a very special street for me for personal reasons and, specifically, the Uf _(Rúa do Pracer 19) _ It is an endearing, quiet place, it brings back very good memories too. Literally, in addition, many places have been born in the city. In the Independence Square there is a cafeteria-bookstore, perfect for having breakfast surrounded by books that are not the classics, they surprise you. ( Mishima , Rua do Regueiro 4). Also the cafeteria ** Detrás do Marco ** _(Rúa Londres) _, The House of Words (the Verbum , an interactive museum to learn about sounds, words, linguistic codes...) curious, different, free _(Avenida de Samil, 17) _. And on Calle Gerona _(number 21) _ I discovered the second-hand bookstore bookworm , organized by theme and author and is a very good way to recycle books.
Mishima, the literary cafe in Independence Square
How do we explain to a foreigner the charm of our fountains (the Sireno, the Paellera... the Plaza de América totem?
They are not the most handsome in the world but they are the richest . It's like the Dinoseto, which seems silly but becomes fashionable, people approach him... and what makes people go out and connect him with the streets is very good. It is very Vigo: you can say that “ vigo is ugly ”, and it is that Vigo “has nothing”, but it has many streets and many corners.
“Movies, caresses and popcorn”, you say in one of your short stories. What films are essential to understand the Vigo/Galician character?
Mondays in the Sun, Sea Inside, The Language of the Butterflies ... The other day, not long ago, I saw a movie, The unknown , which does not talk so much about Galicia but about A Coruña and its essence. What he deduces from these films of the Galician character is that we are people hardworking, humble, simple , and that it is difficult for us to have that confidence from the start but once we have it... it is for life.
In the same way, any song or music group? And concert halls in the city?
Without a doubt, I prefer the open-air concerts of the Castrelos Auditorium . Great groups came here _ [(Jamiroquai, Prodigy, Arctic Monkeys, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Norah Jones…) ]_ and we would have to add all the venues in the Churruca neighborhood who have inherited the spirit of 80's scene , What The chocolate Factory (where I have gone up to his stage to recite a couple of times, in Roger Abalde 22 ) , The Enlargement _(Rúa Santiago 1) _… and groups like Total Sinister, The Pirates, Ragdog, Iván Ferreiro alone, Xoel López … Of Ivan Ferreiro I prefer 'turned', 'Our kisses are precious' ... of The Pirates, ‘(M) ’, ‘I will miss you’ ...couldn't choose. mclan They have a song called ‘We meet in Vigo’ and what does it say:
the sun dazzles my eyes
we spent Orense during the day
we meet in Vigo tonight
yesterday in Coruña it rained
The Chocolate Factory: hitch guaranteed
At Traveler.es we are big eaters and we try to taste the cities bite by bite: could you recommend us some restaurants in the city?
In the hairy helmet I love lunch and dinner, it is an ideal place for tapas. I would highlight To Regueifa _(Rúa San Vicente, 1) _ and ** Retranca ** (Rúa San Vicente, 4), pay attention to their burgers with melted tetilla cheese on top. Also in this same neighbourhood, ** Lume de Carozo ** _(Joaquín Yáñez, 5) _ with a great and varied menu of the day.
From my parents' window I have seen many people eat in Fuck Novas _(Rúa Serafín Avendaño, 10) _ and frame house _(García Barbón, 123) _, which will be about 500 meters away. The Othilio _(Rúa Luis Taboada, 9) _ It is a very special place (for personal memories) you have to make a reservation, yes or yes, but it is a gastronomic experience… essential. I also like them a lot Maryline's sandwiches on Calle Canceleiro number 16 (the one with loin, cheese and mushroom cream is impressive). But without any doubt, the best food in Vigo is the one my mother makes and the potato omelette, my girlfriend's.
Othilio Bar
“And you will have coffee...” in the Rua Irmandiños . Where would we taste a good coffee, where would we take a break after eating?
I'm not much of a coffee person... but there is a place where even those of us who deny coffee try coffee. The Coffee Land _(Serafín Avendaño, 8) _, it's a great place, the owners are charming and beyond the coffee there are milkshakes, chocolates... And ** Vitruvia ,** a place where you can listen to live music and with a grand piano in the top floor _(Plaza de Compostela, 5) _. The Mario's Cafe (Rúa Caracas 5), with board games, is only open in the afternoon and evening and is perfect for spending an evening with friends.
You dedicate a “street” to the Vigo train station: is it your favorite means of transport? what is the charm of the train? And of the trains that cross the veins of Galicia?
I love the train, I find it much more comfortable than the bus. You can write, listen to music, get up, go to the cafeteria car... When you go by train through Galicia you see a lot of water, animals, green… but when you leave Galicia, you go through places full of land and few trees. The difference is very noticeable when you travel in Galicia and change to another community. It is very evident, just looking out the window you realize that you are no longer at home.
Coffee and MUCH more
The sea is very present in your pieces. From which street or from which area would you look for the best views of the sea in Vigo and sunsets?
From the Columbus street in the center and to the north you can see the sea from any point, it is a luxury . But the ** Cíes Islands ** are wonderful, they cannot be compared with anything. Also the Samil coast, the Bao beach... any sunset is wonderful and, in Marina Cies _ [a beach club on Samil beach]_ you can have a drink while you watch the sunset with the Toralla Island and the Cíes in the background. Now, I'm very fond of him. top of the guide . As you climb it, you look for corners and from any of them there are wonderful sunsets.
The best beaches?
If you are stressed, spending a couple of days in the Cíes is to recover three months of life , not only for the sea but also for the fauna, the walks to the lighthouse... Cíes has no comparison.
This photo of the Cíes Islands is more reminiscent of Altojardín, isn't it?
A bit of news: the future project for the city bakery . What opinion do you deserve? What would you propose?
It has been useless for too long, uselessly, falling apart. Now we know that it will be a Bread Museum with spaces for concerts, with a gym… I think it's fine as long as all the people who live in Vigo can use it. I think it's going to give a lot of life to the area, which is pretty dead, and in my opinion, if it's going to be beneficial for the city, that's fine.
Referring to the epilogue “The ones you never get tired of passing by...” What street in Vigo never tires of you?
I would say the Rosalia de Castro street , which is where my parents live and where I grew up. In addition, it has evolved a lot: it is changing, it is dynamic, whenever I pass by I discover something new...
The dedication (I think that everyone from Vigo will smile when reading it, remembering each and every one of the moments that you highlight and that everyone from Vigo has experienced), is pure idiosyncrasy of the average Vigo: of all those "mythical" moments of someone born in Vigo, ¿ which one do you prefer and why? What does that moment say about us as “children of the city”?
It's a city where you can't say “you have to go here to do this”, no. Everyone has walked through Samil, everyone has eaten a waffle on Calle Príncipe… It's moments, it's a city of moments. Like when Celta wins and the Plaza de América is filled with Celtists celebrating.
Although it is unorthodox, I would like to end the interview by asking you about something you mention in the prologue of 1775 streets (“Thank you for putting thousands of books on your bedside tables. On your travels” ) . What book has made you travel from home? What book would be a good copy to take with you on a long trip?
I was very lazy and, luckily, my mother was a member of the Círculo de Lectores; I remember how those books came home and one was always for me. And what began to attract my attention, as I write mostly about love and heartbreak, were, ironically, the stories of mystery, intrigue and terror of Stephen King . One of his books the long march , got me feeling claustrophobic and that has a lot of merit.
Also, I love The little Prince , I have it in different versions and even editions from other countries. Lastly, I would recommend The mess you leave by Carlos Montero that takes place in a town in Ourense, near Celanova and I leave it as a recommendation.
I have always been more into books than titles and authors (I am very little mythomaniac). I would like the same thing to happen to me in the future. Parts of my texts are shared from very strange places and extracts of my texts are even shared by people who have previously criticized me. And they share it without knowing it's mine. What I like about it is precisely that: like the text Plain and simple.
I am no expert in anything. I always say that my "literary quality is little but my reality is great", the names are worthless, matter what is transmitted.
Views of the Ría de Vigo from El Castro
'1775 Streets'