LA SIDRA DE PAPEL, MORE THAN LABELS/ La Sidra de Papel, más que etiquetas

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The history of «La Sidra de Papel» (“Paper Cider”) begins with Fernando Paredano, a great enthusiast of cider and its culture, peeling off a label in a cider house in Cimadevilla (Gijon) in 2001, when the first cider labelling law had just come into force and when it was still being debated whether it should have a collar, a paper label or a sticker.

After years of searching the Internet, sending letters to more than half the world, exchanging labels and meeting with collectors on Sundays, first in the basement of El Molinon Stadium and nowadays in El Ateneo de La Calzada, we reached the summer of 2010, when the opportunity arose to put on an exhibition with the material collected.

In Fernando’s words, starting the collection was not difficult, despite being very busy with his work at the head of the cider house Sidreria Paredano in Luarca, as the cider makers themselves provided him with the labels. On his visits to the Asturian cider houses, he managed to obtain unique pieces, such as first editions, old or rare ones, after having a good conversation with the owner, tasting cider at the foot of the barrels.

In July 2010 took place the first great exhibition of La Sidra de Papel in Spain, which meant a before and after in his work as a collector, since now he would do it in a professional way, divided into four blocks:

– labels of 101 natural cider, sparkling cider, table cider and ice cider producers

– labels of 20 champagne cellars in Asturias

– labels of ciders from the rest of Spain and the world

– photos, postcards, stickers, invoices, posters, etc…, mainly from Asturias and South America.

For this occasion, a commemorative label was made under the name of «La Pañadora»(apple picker), designed by Fernando’s wife, Lydia Rico, another great cider lover, which was attached to bottles from the Solleiro cider press (Taramundi).

After this first contact with the public, another exhibition followed in March 2020 sponsored by the cider collecting group «Sidrastur» under the title «El Papel de La Sidra» together with two other members of the group at the Ateneo de La Calzada, which was suspended shortly after opening due to the pandemic.

From 30 April to 12 May 2024, the Casino Circulo Liceo in Luarca hosted the exhibition «La Sidra de Papel», the largest and best preserved private collection of labels, postcards, stickers, advertisements and other curiosities related to Asturian cider since 1872. In the exhibition, which included only part of his immense collection, visitors could enjoy a master class by Fernando on the history of his research work for more than 25 years, as well as a tasting of twelve types of cider from Viuda de Angelon cider mill.

The exhibition consisted of 32 panels of the Philatelic Numismatic Group «Rio Negro» of Luarca, of which the collector himself is a member, plus 8 panels and 3 showcases lent by the Town Council, where labels and advertisements of all kinds were exhibited, as well as posters and other curiosities. Fernando Paredano has managed to compile a large part of the history of Asturian cider thanks to his own initiative and participation in different cider events, as well as exchanges with collectors from all over the world.

The first labels of the 121 cider houses currently registered range from the oldest cider houses -some of which have already disappeared- to the newest ones, as is the case of Cañon (2014) or El Romano (2015). Some stand out for their large size, such as San Pedro, El Fugitivo, Bernueces, El Trole or Cortina; others, such as Valveran, show the only harvest of natural cider – at one time they also had table cider and sparkling cider before devoting themselves exclusively to ice cider; some pay homage to the homemade cider festivals of Piloña, Sariego, Caudal or Villaviciosa (Mundo Collada), as well as three from the council of Valdes where this type of competitions are not held; others show the first ciders with Protected Designation of Origin: Baragaño (L’Argayon -now disappeared-), Sobigañu (La Llarada), Minin, Muño or La Flor de Navalones.

And so on, a long list of curiosities, including the following:

– Collars and labels of institutional ciders, brut, pouring and table ciders, of which 50 cases were sent for the wedding reception of the Prince of Asturias (current King of Spain) in May 2004, which was finally cancelled after the Madrid bombings of 11-M.

– The oldest PDO Brut cider, El Urriellu, Valle, Ballina y Fernandez or Poma Aurea (Sidra Trabanco), presented at SICER, International Quality Cider Fair at FIDMA. Held in 2007 and 2009, this fair was not without controversy due to the impossibility of presenting those ciders that did not have a Designation of Origin. The first year it was held, countries as diverse as Argentina, Mexico, Japan, England, France, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the USA took part.

– CONGER cider, Conrado and German, from the 1920s: before the taking of Gijon in the Civil War, they loaded all their machinery into two lorries and went to Meliana, the liberated area of Valencia, where they returned to produce cider under the names of Maniela, La Traviesa, La Carreña, La Manzaneda or La Praviesa; La Mocina and La Carbayona cider label (made in Gijon!!)

– Antonio Arias, (Arias, Nachon & Co.) Sidra Pelayo, a company created in Infiesto, dissolved in 1902. Antonio Arias kept the brand and that same year established his own champagne factory in Corias de Pravia where he already had the company Mantequerias Arias, Sidra Pelayo already had its advertising in Cuba, Buenos Aires and Spain, as it had the distribution network of the butter factory, which sold its products since the late 1800s in the Philippines, Cuba and Madrid and took advantage of it to expand the cider; – Arias Extra, comes with the Pelayo brand and then, La Praviana, La Pastora, and a cider label for the Basko – Astur bank

– Vereterra, from Oviedo, with its price list of 1895 and 1897, which later created the partnership with Cangas. El Molino cider, the highest quality label in existence, showing in gold and relief the blades of the mill, the fence, the balagar (pile of mown grass) and the seals. Die-cut -also the collar and the small label- at Artes Graficas del Rio Luarca. The company Viña made another plain.

– Villaviciosa, A. Peon labels, lithographs from 1872 and 1874, with 20,000 litres of cider and paying 13 pesetas (former Spanish currency) in taxes to the treasury, is registered in the registration book between 1872 and 1875. His lithographs, commissioned in Paris and Barcelona, are of exceptional quality, with a paraffin cover to protect them. They are the oldest surviving lithographs from Villaviciosa (Amandi) and among the oldest in Asturias.

– Discs (from 1924 to 1945) with universal calendar on the back (La Aldeana and El Gaitero), geographical disc Sidra Zarracina, with the most important cities of Asturias: Gijon, Langreo and Luarca, as well as their number of inhabitants and all kinds of data on the province.

– In 1900, Zarracina – founded in 1857 – in order to win over the Basque market, registered the label Sidra Sagardua (1900), with advertising in the newspaper La Nacion de Buenos Aires without its name or Asturias appearing. Initially, it was only sold in Argentina. Advertising in the same newspaper for Sidra El Gaitero, for 6 bottles a crocodile leather gift box. Also labels of children, vedettes, cities… The first sparkling cider, followed by Cima (which closed in the 50’s) and, later, Blanco (Ribadesella), Vereterra, El Oso, El Gaitero…, whose production they learnt in France. They learnt how to make it in France; installation of Zarracina for the Ibero-American Exhibition in Seville; reproduction of the church of Santa Maria in Cangas de Onís; photos of working women in the 1930s; Jose Cima in 1875, repatriated, set up the champagne factory in Oviedo and sent 3,000 cases to Havana which arrived broken due to a miscalculation of pressure when crossing the Equator. After three years of hard work, they managed to send them back to the Cuban market, the most important at the time.

– Unique aperitif pieces – since they were thrown away after use – from 1950, with a calendar on the back: Sidra Princesa de Asturias – Perfecto García, Bodegas Asturianas de la Pola.

– Bernardo Alfageme, known for his canned cider. After his execution and that of his grandson in El Rinconin (Gijón), his brother returned from exile in the 1940s and sold the cider mill to Garcia Turueño (Gijon), who kept the brand and, with the money obtained, ordered the construction of El Maritimo, whose original name was Hospital Marítimo de San Bernardo y San Hermenegildo (the name of Bernardo’s grandson). It was inaugurated in 1945, on Covadonga’s Day; Viñao, El Sol de Asturias; La Asturiana: Valle, Ballina y Fernández and Sidra El Gaitero are not shown; El Guirrio (La Felguera, beginning of the century); La Tremenda (Gijon).

– In the 1940s, Luis Gonzaga, together with Manolo Zapatero, founded Sidra El Bombe in the Nava square. After separating from his partner, Manolo moved to a new cider mill in the town and founded Sidra Zapatero, later M. Zapatero due to legal problems with the brand.

– Oldest El Gaitero stamp (1893). Photos by Ramon del Fresno showing the production, bottling and packaging. In black and white in 1925. Postcards of the El Gaitero aircraft 1911 black and white, in colour the following year. 60’s and 70’s advertising.

– Series of lithographs commissioned in Barcelona from the best poster artist of the time, Luis Labarta y Grañe, printed at Lit. Magin Pujadas in 1902. The cards were given as a gift with the cider purchased in the grocers’ shops. Each packet contained four collectable cards. Fernando has a total of 54 cards with the complete Asturias series: Rafael del Riego, Menendez Pidal, Campoamor, Jovellanos, Evaristo San Miguel… And the rest corresponding to the rest of Spain series, the Mexican series and the one corresponding to Argentina.

– Escanciador (1960s), La Pepa, Ciber (for Galicia), Kiges (for China), Asturr, El Bochero, Enol, Millenium (2000), on the back label of which Villaviciosa, Ribadesella, Colunga, Nava, Gijon and Luarca appear on the map, but Oviedo does not; «Vicente Martinez» cidery letter (Ujo).

– Series of the Kings of Asturias. In 1852 Queen Isabella II commissioned Luis de Madrazo to paint the paintings of all the Spanish dynasties, which became the property of El Prado and were ceded to the Museum of the Royal Site of Covadonga in 1870. The Ribadesella champagne company Blanco, Saro & Co. commissioned a copyist to do the whole series but, on investigating, Fernando discovered that the one who appeared as Ramiro II was not himself, but Don Galindo II Aznar, Count of Aragon. The series is headed by Pelayo and also includes his wife and daughter Hermesinda (Joaquin Gutierrez, 1856). In order to portray Gaudiosa, Pelayo’s wife, they use the image of Usenda, Hermesinda’s daughter, who, changing the colour of her clothes, appears as if she were her grandmother.

– El Gaitero’s great rival, which came onto the market in 1890, was El Horreo, which appeared in 1897. This provoked a great advertising campaign on the part of the former, causing an increase in expenditure from approximately 8,000 pesetas to more than 30,000 pesetas in 1905 and 1906. El Horreo, sons of Pablo Perez, had business in Madrid, concessions in ports and roads. They presented themselves at the Regional Exhibition in Gijon with an horreo (traditional Asturian granary) made with 12,000 bottles of cider with its label and huge bottles like the stickers on it. The staircase is made with crates of cider bottles where «Libardon piper» performs. The horreo is in Gijon in 1899 and, the following year, it goes to compete with the Eiffel Tower in Paris for the International Exhibition of 1900. In 1906 it was at the Spanish-French Exhibition in Zaragoza, and in 1909, at the Galician Regional Exhibition in Santiago de Compostela. In 1911, he went to the International Exhibition in Buenos Aires. In 1924, on the occasion of the first Gijon Trade Fair. When it was not travelling the world, the horreo was set up on the esplanade in front of the factory in Colunga. Among its advertisements are the postcards commemorating the wedding of Alfonso XIII in 1906 or those dedicated to the Sieges of Zaragoza with images of the ruins and characters of the time, which were given away at the 1907 exhibition.

– The first press advertising of Sidra Corzo, in a 1926 yearbook; El Morrudo, from San Esteban de las Cruces, in 1944; San Timoteo, El Llagar del Nora, Ballongo.

– La Victoria, La Praviana and El Gaitero; Blanco y Negro magazine, report on the 1899 Gijon Regional Exhibition; Years 1893 and 1899, Sidra Maria de Oviedo and Sidra La Asturiana de Caravia labels that came from Cuba via Cádiz, official records from Havana, with the governor’s signature and stamps; Sparkling cider El Oso, from Muñiz, Gamba y Belaunde, cider from Aviles with representation in Madrid; Sparkling cider from Luarca, Jaime Sagredo; Cofradia de los Siceratores (Cider Advocates Guild): Roberto Llamedo, Ricardo del Rio and Ana Emilia Ordoñez, also Luis Roza.

– Real Sidra Asturiana; PDO C¡der of Asturias; ice cider; homemade cider.

Poster by Garrido (new) and update of the original by Neto.

– Champagne cider: La Princesa de Asturias (Siero), large advertisement reading: «Children can drink»; Cider poster (1905); Pelayo, El Gaitero, El Hórreo, Valle, Ballina y Fernández, Zarracina.

– Music score of El Gaitero (Julio Garcia Mencia), author also original and life-size paintings sent to grocers in Cuba; Manzaju cider; Villabona (Nava), Escanciador and El Gaitero pennants; Vereterra pack of cards (Viva Asturias cider)

– Sidra Churruca (Sidra El Horreo) , made exclusively for South America: «Due to its low alcohol content it is the ideal wine for children».

– Grusifas (Grupo Sindical de Fabricantes de Sidra), cooperative of Nava champagne cider makers; Rosé and alcohol-free Pomar cider.

– Champanera de Villaviciosa, acquired by Cima when the latter closed down, whose logo is very modern for a 1950s company.

– Mayador and old Xana label.

– Cider festivals, Tudela Veguin cidery, El Sol de Asturias, Viva Asturias.

– Advertisements from 1894 in the magazine Blanco y Negro. Villaviciosa, Buenos Aires and Cuba; La juventud de Patty, El Horreo advertising; President of South Africa (1910); The boy, Queen Regent Maria Cristina and Pope Pius XII advertising cider;

– La Providencia, whose shipping details were placed on the front of the pipes; Champagne cellars: Asturiana, de Villaviciosa, Vigil y Blanco; El Segador, la Gran Cruz (with a large number of pictures of virgins and altars)

– Valle, Ballina y Fernandez: collectable cards of famous people of the time.

– Bottling process and women workers at Bodegas Asturianas del Nora.

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