“Burela, nacida do mar e do barro” (Burela, born from the sea and the mud, in English) is a video-guided route along our coastal stretch and its surroundings, where you can discover aspects related to culture, history, customs, ethnography, society, and geology, as well as anecdotes about our town, narrated by residents of Burela and experts in the field. The goal of this route is to disseminate and showcase what is “ours.” Our legacy. The videos combine photographs, aerial shots, and sounds to immerse us in both the Burela of the past and the present.

The name of the route, “Burela, Born from the Sea and Clay,” comes from the location where Burela had its origins. As explained by Herminia Pernas, the official chronicler of Burela: “Its settlement was made at the base of the Castelo and A Puida mountains and was forged around the sea and clay (Burela del C-101, which was the technical name for kaolin).”

Both the sea and the clay (the name that Burela’s inhabitants gave to our white clay) were worked and provided sustenance and prosperity, contributing to the growth of this land.

From our “clay,” known for its exceptional quality and formerly exported to Europe, there were mines, washhouses, and factories, such as the Sociedad Cerámica de Sargadelos (1901-1908), which produced refractory bricks, and Gres Cucurny or Gres Burela, which manufactured tiles, tiles, and ceramic flooring.

Regarding our sea, there is a testimony from the 15th century by Pedro de Bolaño, mentioning the port of Burela, granting it to his eldest daughter. Our old port was a place for whaling and sardine fishing, and the old sea wolves say that the Burela we know today “was made from bonito coasters.”

Introduction

In this journey along the coastline, we will delve into the origins of Burela, into that sea that gives us life and sustenance, and into that land that housed for centuries one of the most valuable pre-Roman treasures in the world, discovered in 1945 by those who worked it with their own hands, a farmer.

Our Burela was born both a seafaring and agricultural town; the fields extended all the way to the Cantabrian shore (*1).

Burela borders the north and east with the Cantabrian Sea, the south with the parish of San Pedro de Cangas (Foz), and the west with the Cervese parishes of San Román de Vilaestrofe, Santiago de Sargadelos, and Santa María de Cervo.

Its settlement was made at the base of the Castelo and A Puida mountains and was forged around the sea and clay (Burela del C-101, which was the technical name for kaolin). Water, both fresh and salty, has been and continues to be very present in its history.

At the confluence with the parish of Cangas de Foz, there are five streams: the Vilachá River and the streams of Areoura, Lamestra, Perdouro, and Torrentes. The Torrentes designate an area where the waters that reached the sea on the old Castrelo beach descended, and Torrentes was also the name given to the dividing line between the parishes of San Pedro de Cangas and Santa María de Burela (according to a 1128 document issued by the Castilian king Alfonso VII, confirming the distribution made by Bishop Nuño Alfonso and Count Rodrigo Vela).

The Lamestra stream, channeled, pours its waters into the Cantiño estuary, while the Perdouro stream flows into the Perdouro estuary.

In the Burela de Cabo district, there was the Pasadiñas River, which descended from Burela de Cabo to the port, passing through the street called “O Río” and crossing the main road under a stone bridge, of which some remnants can still be seen today. It still exists but has been channeled, now flowing underground to the port.

In the Vila do Medio district, there is the Pomeda River, also known as Canteira, Cinoche River, or Ribela River. It runs to the west of Vila do Medio and flows into the Ril cove. There are also numerous street names related to water: Calle Cinoche, Calle Barridal, Calle Pasadiñas, Calle del Río, Calle de la Lamestra, etc., and some place names like Navia (a pre-Celtic water goddess) and Torrentes exemplify the presence of water that nourished fields and meadows.

(*1) Texts by Hermina Pernas Oroza, on the Burela town hall’s website.