Pulpo (octopus). Everywhere you go in Galicia you can find something bearing the name. Restaurants, sports teams, clothing brands and even towns are named after pulpo or polbo, the Spanish and Galician names for octopus. Nearly every city or town has a pulpería (common restaurants across the region that focus on serving octopus). Many local club sports teams have the eight-armed animal as their mascot, and people across the region have pulpo brand shirts and jackets in their closets. How did pulpo become the unofficial mascot of the region?
The love of octopus reflects the larger Galician connection to seafood. Roughly 50% of Galicians live along the coast, and this proximity to the sea is reflected in the cuisine. Shrimp, mussels and scallops are all staples on menus in local restaurants. One of the first questions many of my new friends, teachers and students asked me was if I had tried pulpo yet, with many offering suggestions for the best place to find the delicacy.
These questions and recommendations reflect the social nature of food in Galicia. Eating isn’t just a way to get energy or a chore in Galicia, it is treated as a connecting and relaxing experience.
