Happy bloomsday! Every year, without fail, homage is paid to «Ulises«, the novel of James Joyce, following the route covered by its protagonist Leopold Bloom through the streets of Dublin. Bloomsday is gorgonzola cheese sandwiches, burgundy wine and lemon soaps. The literary spirit populates the alleys that follow in the footsteps of a work that is considered miraculous in the cradle of its writer. Find out!
Bloomsday: The Making of Literary Culture
Which for many is the best novel in the English language of the 2022th Century celebrates its first centenary in XNUMX. Every year, the Irish streets are filled with people who celebrate and honor the pages of the book imitating the route that its protagonist follows in the work.
Every year, in the Martello towerAround 45.000 literary pilgrims pass through what is considered the Mecca of Ulysses. «For me, Joyce decided to start here because it is a place of Hamletian resonances, with the waves hitting the rocks. Also because from here you can see the city in the distance. Telemachus' journey has to start somewhere» he says james holahan, president of the Society of Friends of Joyce Tower.
The same writer ventured into this area back in September 1904 when his «literary independence» compared to the great Irish glories.
A book itinerary
But here we come to know the gastronomic part from the party. And it is that the bloomsday begins by mimicking Leopold Bloom's breakfast. A plate of fried kidneys that recall the beginning of the day in the novel.
To continue with this gastronomic tour, curiously we must leave the food for a moment and go into the Sweny's pharmacy, in Lincoln Palace. There we will find the lemon soap which is sold for five euros. These soaps serve to keep that space open, maintained by volunteers who love the work.
The next destination on our route is the Kennedy Pub. In it, lovers of the work will enjoy a good burgundy wine next to a handful of gorgonzola cheese sandwiches. This will recreate the scene from the eighth chapter of the book, when Leopold Bloom enters the Davy Byrnes Pub from Dublin.
The tour will end late in the day, with a visit to the Red Light District, where Leopold visited The Poety Brother's nightly cabaret. Nearby, on Talbot Street, stands a statue of Joyce symbolizing the end of a journey littered with passages narrated in ink and paper that represent the spirit of the XNUMXth century in Dublin.
Bloomsday in Madrid
The best of the bloomsday is that this year it will not be necessary to travel to Dublin to enjoy the tradition. Although part of the charm lies in being able to walk the streets of the Irish city, the event will seek to create the greatest resemblance possible with the original experience. From the hands of the Irish Tourism organization and the Soy de la Cuesta association, the first bloomsday Madrid-Dublin It will be June 16.
The date refers to the same day that the Ulysses plot takes place, June 16, 1904, which also coincides with the day the author met Nora Barnacle, whom he would end up marrying. Therefore, on the occasion of hundredth anniversary of the work, there will be a twin route to which we can find in Ireland.
The party will also serve as a link between the two key European capitals in universal literature. the named City of Literature of Dublin next to Madrid and its legendary Neighborhood of the letters.
Although the places cannot be imitated, food yes, it will be the same as in Joyce's work. Gorgonzola sandwiches, Burgundy wine and a host of cured meats and irish delicacies They will serve to set the atmosphere for the participants of this meeting as if they were browsing the pages of a book.
And you? Do you dare to taste a true literary delicacy?
